“over and over [kids are]telling me that the books I wrote for them to read are being read to them by their teachers. And hearing a story read doesn’t seem to expand their vocabularies. If a teacher is going to take limited classroom time in reading aloud (and even giving away the ending), the least she could do is hand out a list of vocabulary from the reading to be looked up and learned.”

While I think Peck was complaining about classrooms where kids’ only exposure to trade books was hearing them read aloud, some teachers have articulated thoughtful responses, among them Monica Edinger and Sarah, who blogs at The Reading Zone.

I’m just grateful that Peck is still doing so well in his dual roles, as a novelist both respected by critics and enjoyed by kids, and a provocative voice in the shaping of young people’s literature and its importance for readers. Thirty-five years ago, in American Libraries, he wrote one of the most cogent responses I’ve seen to Cormier’s newly published The Chocolate War. And, with the Grandma Dowdel books, I’m loving his renaissance of books for younger readers–remember Blossom Culp?

Also, I predict that this Twitter tempest will seem but teacup-sized once the p.c. police get wind of Mrs. Dowdel’s charade, in A Season of Gifts, with the bones of the alleged Indian princess. Pass the popcorn.

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I would personally like to give a reading-aloud award to Kate Reading for her superbly inflected performance of Middlemarch for Tantor Media. I’m a bit more than halfway through and have finally come across the first definitive evidence of someone making whoopie: Rosamond is expecting!

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I guess kids smarter than I could have a great time with this, but I kept thinking about what a handy vehicle it could be for playground victimization. (All together, sing: “Memories / light the corners of my mind . . . .”) Better even than dodgeball, because Assassin seems to offer far more interesting opportunities for psychological torture. I guess any game that involves someone being it has that potential.

On a book-related note (heh), I was able to help another student who has a young child living temporarily in the Philippines and was trying to solve the problem of intercontinental bedtime stories. I suggested using the International Children’s Digital Library, where electronic editions of books from around the world can be read in a variety of ways. I didn’t know if it could work synchronously, but Jeff told me that he and his kid were able to log on at the same time and turn the pages together while talking on the phone. (I guess that should really be “turn” the “pages” “together.”) All very Jetsons, yes?

One last thing: being in that class reminds me what a salutary experience it is for those of us who teach to be the student once in a while. You can forget how things look from that end.

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