The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child

This book is inspirational for any teacher that longs to break out of the curriculum mold. Even though I teach high school right now, and this book is geared more toward a middle school atmosphere, I still think there are some ideas that I can use. It would be easier if I still taught 7th grade, but it is not impossible. I like her ideas for promoting a reading culture in her classroom. Building and maintaining a classroom library is probably the most daunting task since she makes a good case for buying all those books herself. I am thinking that maybe I could just build a virtual library on google and use our library system to get the books we want? I think this a good companion book to read with Readicide by Kelly Galagher which is geared more toward a high school setting. Both books reinforce the "revolutionary" idea that reading skills and test scores are not improved by drill and kill and test practice but by simply letting students read! What a novel (pun intended) idea!

Most teachers hope to inspire their learners. Donalyn Miller reminds us that inspiration comes from within . . . and reading is its own reward. She invites readers of the Book Whisperer into her 6th grade classroom to observe how she brings all readers into the reading circle of life. It starts with choice, and it ends with conversation.

It is a wonderful read!