Synopses & Reviews
"In an era of decreasing commitment to literacy . . . it is no surprise that most students, too, are bypassing books." So wrote English teacher Jim Burke in a seminal letter to the
San Francisco Chronicle-seminal because of the astounding response that ensued when he invited readers to "write to my high school students about your experiences with books, perhaps telling them what role books and literature have played in your life." More than one thousand pages of letters came pouring in. The best are collected in this funny, poignant, and inspiring book.
As poet Muriel Rukeyser wrote, "Our lives are not made up of atoms. They are made of stories," and here we find plenty of them-stories from librarians and celebrities, nuns and felons, cattle ranchers and artists, second graders and septuagenarians. Through their experiences, we become enveloped in a rich tapestry of life. And isn't that the miracle of reading itself, its ability to inspire us across the full spectrum of humanity?
Each letter is preceded by an insightful quote from a famous person musing on the power of books. The appendixes feature extensive lists of recommended books for all types of readers, including lists broken into categories like "Ten Books We Should All Read Before Childhood Ends" and "Ten Books a Teenage Boy Would Want to Read."
Review
Having spent two days with [this book], allow me to shout to everyone within earshot: This is brilliant. What a grand idea. It should be must reading for everyone in teaching . . .Jim Trelease, Author of The Read Aloud Handbook
Synopsis
Jim Burke invited readers of the San Francisco Chronicle to "write to my high school students about your experiences with books...." The best of the more than one thousand pages of letters are collected in this funny, poignant, and inspiring book.
About the Author
Jim Burke is the author of the Heinemann title What's the Big Idea? The question he's always tried to answer is "How can we teach our students better?" He began this search in his own classroom at Burlingame High School in California, where he still teaches. He shares his experiences there in bestselling professional titles with Heinemann such as The English Teacher's Companion; Reading Reminders; and Writing Reminders as well as through Heinemann Professional Development Services. Looking to his peers for still more answers, he founded the English Companion Ning, described by Education Week as "the world's largest English department." Jim continues to find and support best practices in many other ways, including serving on national commissions related to adolescent literacy and standards, such as the Advanced Placement English Literature and Language Course and Exam Review Commission with the College Board, and by being a senior author on the Holt McDougal Harcourt Literature series. Jim has received numerous awards, including the NCTE Intellectual Freedom Award, the NCTE Conference on English Leadership Award, and the California Reading Association Hall of Fame Award. He served on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Committee on Adolescence and Young Adulthood English Language Arts Standards and recently worked with ACT on their high school English Language Arts standards. In 200
Table of Contents
Introduction
Letters and Quotations
Appendix A : What We Read: The I Hear America Reading List of Lists
Appendix B : A Brief Directory of Useful Literacy Resources
Appendix C : "Hooked on Fish," by Carol Jago