2018 School Spending Survey Report
>When good kids show bad judgment
>Today's NYT article about the popular Junie B.
“My dad doesn’t like the grammar,” said the Bartells’s youngest, Mollie, 9. “And I guess that’s important, because maybe when you grow up and you’re at work and you say, ‘I runned,’ people will get annoyed at you.”
Mollie, that is so true. In fact, I'm already kind of annoyed at you at nine.
Added To Cart
RELATED
RECOMMENDED
Please register with us to continue reading.
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? LOG IN
We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? LOG IN
Thank you for visiting.
We’ve noticed you are using a private browser. To continue, please log in or create an account.
Add Comment :-
Comment Policy:
Comment should not be empty !!!
Anonymous
>Whoops, and yes that should be 'Their' not 'There', I'm a terrible copyeditor (or perhaps have read too many Junies.)Posted : Aug 02, 2007 01:50
Anonymous
>Anon here-my argument is based on the development approach-ideally finding a book that they love/that's not 'work' assigned by an adult but just pure fun, has the potential to open a door for that child and lead them to a future of more and perhaps better books. It's based on growing up with kids who didn't love reading and who always thought of books as school work, things they had to read for school and hated. Those kids always made me so sad, and I blame it partly on the books they were reading. There parents weren't giving them books, so it was up to the teachers. In hs I remember reading Billy Bud, which I'm sorry to say I hated. I'm an avid reader, so that didn't turn me off reading. But no wonder a lot of the kids I grew up with didn't get the reading bug-they couldn't relate to Billy Bud and it definitely didn't make reading feel like a fun, appealing pleasure time option. And I really do think that's key-if you find a book that makes reading fun-whether it's Junie or James Patterson-that can change your whole life. There's something magical about that. Maybe it's a socio-economic thing. I see where you all are coming from and respect that viewpoint, but I stand behind my belief that anything that gets a kid reading is a wonderful thing.Posted : Aug 02, 2007 01:48
Roger Sutton
>I don't get it either, Ruth. Harry Potter aside, our bestseller lists are currently dominated by James Patterson, who I think is a terrible writer. Lazy, too. People may agree or not with me on that point, but they don't get all huffy that I've insulted public taste. When it comes to kids' books, though . . . .Posted : Aug 02, 2007 11:31
Ruth
>Okay, I don't mean to single out Anonymous here, but can someone just explain to me, once and for all, the logic behind this argument about reading? I've never gotten it. Why does the act of reading justify that which is read? Why does the fact that someone (only a young someone?) is *reading* forgive-- and even defer criticism of-- a book's flaws? Don't we care about reading, at least partly, because of content... or is reading itself a sacred thing, separate from the text?(Or, is this argument founded in a developmental approach... i.e. the young reader will develop a love of reading so as to move on to other, better books?)
I don't mean these questions at all facetiously... I really am curious.
Posted : Aug 01, 2007 08:31
Anonymous
>I agree with Jenni-I think the article said there were over 40 million copies of the books in print-Junie might annoy some parents (obviously), but that's stil a huge number of kids reading them and loving them. To me, that's a miraculous thing-any books that get kids (esp. reluctant readers as Junie often does ) engaged and excited about reading deserves applause, b/c that book-Junie or Amelia Bedelia or even an Archie comic just might change that child's life and turn him/her into a reader. Getting angry b/c the main child doesn't use perfect English, seems incredibly petty and is missing the point.Posted : Aug 01, 2007 05:40