I find a new report that 4th graders in the United States lag behind other countries in reading skills very disturbing. We need to read to kids from an early age and then get them excited about reading. I invite all my readers to reply to this with their suggestions of books 4th graders might find interesting or which they remember reading in the 4th grade. I'll begin with a book that I picked up at Borders in Knoxville recently as I was browsing. The book was written by Deborah Wiles and is entitled Each Little Bird That Sings. I think it would make a great read-aloud book. In the book, Comfort Snowberger lives in a funeral home in Snapfinger, Mississippi. She enjoys writing obituaries. In the book, Comfort's Great-Uncle Edisto and Great-Great Aunt Florentine die. Comfort and younger cousin Peach have a near-death experience of their own.
P.S. - I've added another entry in the page 161 meme. I made some comments about a comment that George Morgan made regarding library funding that really ties in well with this.
Update: An interesting Wall Street Journal editorial on the subject of reading.
2 comments:
I whole-heartedly agree that we need to get kids reading early. And put down the video games or better yet don't buy them at all.
My mother read to me at a very early age. Then I was able to spell words like xylophone at age 3 and started kindergarten at barely age 5.
These were some of my favorites. Admittedly I may have been reading them in 2nd or 3rd grade:
Harriet The Spy
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
Charlotte's Web
Anything Laura Ingalls Wilder
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankewiler
Christmas Carol
Black Beauty
The Homecoming
Hi Lori -
Children's literature is a big part of the world that I live in. Wonderful books reside in every room of the house.
As for recommendations - I could write volumes of them. A good start might be the Carnival of Children's Literature (good recommendations there). Also check out www.librarything.com. Try typing in a book that interests you (or a young person in your life) and you'll come back with many, many recommendations by others who have enjoyed that book.
Check out my family history blogs for children's books on related topics such as Ellis Island, the lives of coal miners, the railroad, and some good Irish stories. I'll be adding more children's books soon.
Happy reading!
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