$6.99 Can Show A Reader That They Matter

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Last week, I sat down to chat with one of my readers for a reading conference. Earlier in the year, he really struggled finishing books. He would get excited early, but quickly lose interest. During the conference he was pumped to tell me about how much he was loving Jennifer Li Shotz's Hero. We talked about what he liked about the book. His energy made me add it to my to-read list.

Our conversation moved to what he was going to read next. He turned to the end of Hero, and showed me a picture of some of Jennifer's books. "I want to read, Max," Mr. Sharp. "You don't have it, but we need it."

I pulled out my phone and bought the book for our classroom library. He looked at me with wide-eyes. "Really?' he asked.

I nodded. "The book will be here in two days. I'm proud of you. You are right. We do need this book."

Two days later the book arrived. The smile on his face when I handed him the book was worth way more than the $6.99 that I paid for it. My reader was shown that he is a valuable member of our reading community, and that his reading life matters.

We can't buy every book that our readers want, but we can buy some of them. Helping a reader see that we will do whatever we can to help them find the stories that will touch their hearts, is why we became teachers.

I had a blast interviewing AS King about her book Dig for The Yarn Podcast. It was one of the best conversations I have ever been a part of. If you are interested in listening, please click on the image below.

I am so excited to read The One and Only Bob! Last week, I received an advanced copy of the book, and I cannot wait to read it. The One and Only Ivan is one of my all-time favorite books. During lunch last week, I turned on my camera and talked about my thoughts heading into the book. Did I mention how excited I am to read this book?

This week, I'm giving away a copy of each one of my books (The Creativity Project and Game Changer!). To enter the giveaway, please respond to this email and let me know the title of one book that your classroom is missing. For me, it was Max. Now that we have that, the book that we probably need the most is The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read.