The Gift of Reading - Softcover

Bouchard, David; Sutton, Wendy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1551432145 ISBN 13: 9781551432144

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers, 2001

Synopsis

Promoting literacy should be our focus from before our children are born until they leave secondary school. Teaching children to read and to love reading is the shared responsibility of every teacher, every administrator and every parent. Together, David Bouchard and Wendy Sutton explore how we can turn our homes and our schools into environments rich in literature and how we can model the love of reading for our children and our students.

About this title

About the Authors

Métis author David Bouchard has written many bestselling and award-winning books for children. David grew up on the prairies, where he lived and breathed street hockey. David is a Member of the Order of Canada, and in 2013 he had a public school named after him in Oshawa, Ontario. He currently lives in Victoria, British Columbia, with his wife, daughter and two dogs.

Wendy Sutton, professor emerita, taught both elementary and secondary school before joining the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia. She is now retired and serves as a language arts/children's literature consultant.

From the Back Cover

reading, books, children's books, literacy

Reviews

If you need some fresh ideas to promote reading, this book is for you. The authors combine their vast experience as teachers to describe how they introduced their students to the best books available. The first third addresses parents, explaining the importance of reading. Next comes "Teachers, Students and Literacy" (the term teacher includes librarians in Canada). The third part, "Administrators, Districts and Schools," discusses ways to promote literature and recreational reading in the classroom and in the broader community. Bouchard's advice, from the perspective of a teacher and principal, is to "become more flexible, less focused on making our way through a mandated body of material and more focused on addressing the specific needs of each of our students." He encourages administrators to realize their power, reminding them that by not modeling reading throughout their groups of staff and students, they are misusing their power and positions. In sidebars, the authors state their philosophies about reading and explain the methods they have used. There are wonderful quotations about books and reading sprinkled throughout. Separate lists of the authors' favorite read-alouds are included, as is a professional bibliography. Unfortunately, there is no index.Reviewed by Mary Lankford, Library Consultant Austin, TX
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1551432145
• ISBN 13: 9781551432144
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176