Each semester in my son’s online English class, they read one book. Last year, it was The Way to Rainy Mountain one semester, which is a phenomenal book, though perhaps not the most obvious choice for 9th graders. And The Alchemist the other semester, and apologies now to all of the readers I’m about to offend, but…
It started sometime in grad school. This aversion to assigned reading. This rebellious streak about books. Grad school nearly derailed my reading life. So many books I was “supposed” to read. So many books I was supposed to have already read. Reading became a competition and an occasional source of shame. “What do you mean…
I’m trying something new in Adolescent Literature this semester. I have a list of required reading, but we aren’t reading the books in any required order. There are no due dates besides “read it by the end of the semester.” Five hours of reading a week. That’s their homework. There are few assignments in this…
Here’s what I’m thinking about requiring in Children’s Lit next semester. Like all my course reading lists, this one is a bit long, but I’m not sure yet what I want to lose: Jacqueline Woodson, Locomotion. Sharon Creech. Love That Dog. James and Joseph Bruchac. The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales.…
