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Reading a book you dislike
For about ten years now, I have taught Pre-K.
For about ten years now, I have taught Pre-K. One of my favorite parts of the job is reading stories to the children during circle time. I am far from a great entertainer, but I try my best to make the stories entertaining or engaging to the children in some way; however, making a story interesting for the children is sometimes difficult. One reason for this is because sometimes I don’t like the story I am reading.The vast majority of stories I read are ones I enjoy, but sometimes the children are fans of a book or series of books that I just don’t like. Two examples of this are the Skippyjon Jones series by Judith Byron Schachner and Pinkalicious series by Victoria Kann. In both these cases, I don’t like these books while the children in my class love them. For the record, I do not want to besmirch these books or their authors. I can easily see the appeal of them to young children, but there is something about the writing that bothers me on a visceral level I can’t explain. To use an analogy from another art form, the band Maroon 5 led by singer Adam Levine is very popular and I have many friends who enjoy their music; nevertheless, when I hear Levine’s voice and his band’s music it is like nails on a chalkboard to my ears and I am at a loss as to cogently give you a reason why.
This leads to the question: what should teachers of young children do when their students enjoy a book that they themselves do not?
Personally, I have a few strategies to deal with this issue. If it is a book I only slightly don’t like, I will hold my nose and read it doing my best to make it as engaging as my favorite children’s books. If the book is one that for whatever reason I just don’t like at all, I often will read it anyway, but leave out any attempts at reading it with gusto because I am just not a good enough actor to pretend that I am into the book. Other times I might even have the child read it if they are able to, or retell the story from the pictures which is an activity we often have the children engage in with stories they either can decode or know by heart.
Thus, I ask readers of Lolly’s Classroom for advice. Do you only share books you enjoy? What would you do if students wanted to hear a story you were not a fan of? Do you allow children to bring in books from home for the teacher to read and share with the class? How do you choose which books to read to your students and which books to have available in your classroom?
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Arika Dickens
I love your honesty and openness on this topic, Teddy. As an elementary librarian, I'm like you: I try really, really hard to stick to books that I like/enjoy. However, the annual Children's Choice Picture Book Award nominees from the state always give me a run for my money - there will be a handful that I just don't like - and I usually won't read them aloud. Even using the adage "fake it till you make it", my students can tell when I'm not into a book (unexpected behaviors increase, without a doubt). I say usually, as I have my 3rd graders give feedback on books they really want to read from the list based on cover/summary...and if enough want to hear a specific title, I'll pull together some gusto and read it. Otherwise, I'm up front with them: we won't read all the books together, but they're available for students to check out / read. For the littlest students, I only read books and authors that I love - both new and old. Providing exposure to well-written / well-illustrated books is so valuable that I don't feel guilty about omitting some popular titles. In the same vein, I think it's important to teach older students that it's okay to not like every book they pick up. Abandoning a book gets a bad rap, but there are too many great books out there to spend time on one that isn't working for you. When asked, I'll tell students that I abandon books, too...including some that they hold dear to their hearts. That's what readers do, after all. Know, too, that I'm also a mother of 2 littles. My children know that there are some books I'm not fond of, yet I encourage them to make personal choices at libraries / bookstores based on what they find interesting. And boy, do they! And while I read some of their choices aloud - think pink/superhero/glitter/movies - it is in limited amounts. I can only take so much before pulling Mercy Watson or Piggie & Elephant off the shelf for a family read-aloud that everyone enjoys. Finally, I quite like Eric's solution of inviting parents to come and share favorite titles. That could be a win for everyone: sharing literature and building community at the same time as staying true to you.Posted : May 02, 2014 06:14
Katie Bircher
This is a really interesting conversation for me to follow so soon after having read Cathie Mercier's "Becoming a Book Detective" https://www.hbook.com/2014/04/opinion/becoming-book-detective/ in the May/June issue. Cathie writes that, as a child, she disliked Harriet the Spy (and more importantly, Harriet herself) but was afraid of admitting her dislike to adults in her life who were excited to share it with her: "I fretted... [that] I would disappoint them, or, worse, I would fail some test of readerliness. When I finally sought advice from the best reader I knew, my mother said: 'It’s a book. If you liked it, good; if you didn’t, don’t read it again.' I found such release in those words, such permission to find my own reading way." Of course, for teachers with curriculum, not re-reading a disliked book is not always an option! But I wonder how students react to the revelation that it's okay not to like a book, even one that has been assigned or one that is beloved by others. (I'm thinking in particular of Alicia's comment above.) What has been your experience in letting students know it's okay to "find their own reading way," as Cathie says?Posted : Apr 30, 2014 03:43
Eric Carpenter
I have experienced this quandary as well. Each year at some point a few students (I teach first grade) discover Where the Sidewalk Ends or Light in the Attic on the poetry shelf in my classroom library and not surprisingly end up reading through all of the Silverstein collections. This is all well and good until some student starts telling their parents about how much they are enjoying these poems, and without fail this is when the student brings in The Giving Tree and tells me that its their family's favorite and I should read it to the class. I am sure you can imagine how difficult it is to refrain from snide comments about "The Taking Boy". My solution and suggestion to you Teddy, is to invite parents to read these books to the class. When a student brings in something like The Giving Tree and tells me it is their mother's favorite, I tell them that if it is their mother's favorite than we as a class would love to hear her read it to us. A quick email or phone call to the parent to schedule a mystery reader session and I've successfully avoided reading a disliked book without negating a student's enthusiasm for said book.Posted : Apr 30, 2014 11:35
Nicole Hewes
Kudos to you, Teddy, for posting this. Having to read books that you dislike can be challenging and it is hard to always fake it, especially if there are many reasons that you don't like the book AND your students ask for it to be read again and again. (Not to mention that throughout the day, teachers sometimes have to do many things about which they may not be enthralled because of mandated curriculum. Read aloud can be such a safe haven!) I do have a suggestion for teachers of students who can read with some degree of independence. I teach second grade, so one strategy that I use if I am not excited about a book is having a child who IS excited about the book practice it so that he or she can share it with the class. It's been wildly successful -- particularly when a struggling reader takes on the challenge of wanting to share.Posted : Apr 30, 2014 12:57
Teddy Kokoros
Thanks for all the feed back everyone. It is interesting to read others people's thoughts on this especially people who work with older students who might be required to read certain "classics" as part of a mandated curriculum. Christina, That is a really interesting story about the children having negative reactions when they did not share their teacher's love for a book. When it comes to any work of art, I feel one of the hardest things to negotiate is something being an "important" work of art vs. it being something we actually enjoy. Whatever the age group one works with, I think it is important to stress that is ok not to like something and with older students to know that a book might be significant work in some aspect but that does not mean one is required to like it. I believe it was Lolly (but it could have been someone else) who once told the story that when you ask children what the Caldecott Medal means they respond it means grown ups like the book. I am sure if the Caldecott honor were awarded by children and not adults something like Captain Underpants would have won by now.Posted : Apr 29, 2014 03:05