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How to Make (or Unmake) a Reader by Linda Urban
I’ve read my share of Nerdy Book Club author posts. Some are about becoming a writer. Lots are about becoming a reader. Mine starts like one of the latter, but like many a tale, it takes a nasty twist. You’ll see.
I read a ton as a small child. My mother says I was reading at three. I’m not sure that’s true, but I do know I read fluently before I went to school. According to family legend, I read aloud at Storytime on the first day of kindergarten. In second grade, inspired by class read-alouds and guided by our school librarian (my beloved Mr. Yelinsky), I plowed through every Beverly Cleary and Laura Ingalls Wilder book I could get my hands on. In third and fourth grades, I met Fudge and Andrew “Freckle Juice” Marcus and Linda “Blubber” Fisher. One of those grades was coincident with the nation’s bicentennial, so I also devoured a wall full of Founding Fathers biographies.
Once, near the middle of fourth grade, my father came to pick me up at school for a dentist appointment. No one could find me. I went to one of those “open schools,” the kind with no walls between the classrooms, and I had simply gotten bored with math and wandered into the library. After a long and frantic search, I was eventually discovered in a bathtub full of pillows, reading.
I’m certain that this was a contributing factor in my fifth grade transfer to Catholic school. My new school had walls and doors and a tiny library located far away from the classrooms. Its door was always locked and light rarely shone inside it.
If we had a librarian, I don’t remember her (or him?). And the books . . . oh, the sad and pitiful books. There were some Beverly Cleary and a few Judy Blumes, but mostly the books were stand-offish, cloth bound things without cover pictures or flap copy to skim. Between their dull covers were equally dull, decades-old stories of teenagers who fretted about whether they had one cashmere sweater or two and which color lipstick they might wear to a party. Should they marry after high school? Or study to be a nurse?
Nerds, I stopped reading.
Not entirely, of course. My parents always bought me a book for Christmas, and once in a while a paperback would pass from girl to girl through our classroom, quick and urgent as gossip. My 7th grade teacher, Mr. Cipelewski*, read us Tuck Everlasting, which I adored.
But my identity as an avid reader died when I no longer had unfettered access to those long rows of library books and to the librarian who bought, shelved, and shared them with us. By high school, I was out of the habit, which was fine because the fiction section of our high school library was nearly as outdated as that the one at the school I had just left. I didn’t read much for fun in college either. Or grad school.
It was not until my final year of grad school – the one where I was supposed to be working on my (ill-fated) dissertation – that I took a part time job at an independent bookstore and my passion was restored. And then? Look out, sister! Once again I was deep amongst the shelves, and while there was no librarian around, I had my fellow booksellers, every one of them as eager to hook me on some great new tale as Mr. Yelinsky had been when he first handed me Henry and Ribsy. I was insatiable. I read two or three books a week. And my thoughts were bigger, and my conversations more interesting, and eventually, after about eight years as a bookseller, I even got the idea that I might try my hand at writing.
Recently, I read Colby Sharp’s plea to get a librarian at his school. He asked for documentation of the difference a librarian can make in reaching educational goals. I can’t give documentation. I can’t offer studies and sturdy research-based conclusions. Everything I have to say on the subject is anecdotal. But I’m a fiction writer. I live by the anecdote. So here’s my story: I was a reader when I attended a school with a vibrant library and a dedicated librarian who kept the collection current, the students engaged, and the lights on so that readers always had a place to belong. I stopped being a reader when that was no longer true. If I hadn’t become a bookseller, I may never have become an avid reader again – and I surely would not have become a writer. Not everyone wants to be a writer, of course. But everyone deserves the opportunity to read and be inspired by the stories they read. Everyone deserves a chance to imagine other worlds, to think about other ideas, and to imagine themselves in situations beyond their every day.
Books let us do that.
But only some books. And they aren’t the same for every reader. Having someone around who makes sure that the selection of books is relevant, diverse, and just-right-for-its-readers is the difference between a library and a storage facility. It is a library that our children deserve.
Linda Urban is the author of Hound Dog True, A Crooked Kind of Perfect, and Mouse was Mad as well as the forthcoming The Center of Everything (Spring 2013). You can find her on Twitter as @lindaurbanbooks or on the web at http://www.lindaurbanbooks.com.
Thank you for this post! School librarians do make a difference and I love that I get to spend every day doing it. The focus of our job has shifted a lot during my ten years, but turning kids into avid readers is still the reason I go there everyday.
I agree. You folks have so much more to master and translate than librarians of the past ever did. I’m glad that so many of you still seem to instill a love of reading in your students. Thank you for all you do, Sara!
I like this post. I like it alot. When I got to the part about you becoming a bookseller, I could not stop smiling. Still am. What a story and the perfect anecdote to the importance of a vibrant library with a librarian at it’s helm. It _does_ make a difference. Thanks for sharing your story.
Your response made me smile, too. Thanks!
I feel a bit naive, but until I saw Colby talk about it, I had never heard of a school without a librarian. Books make such a difference, enlightening, teaching and creating spaces for adventure, but any adventurer will tell you, having a guide along the way can only enrich the journey.
Lovely post, Linda-I’m so glad you found your way back to reading!
Me, too!
I feel so lucky that the school my kids attend has a dynamic, interested, dedicated librarian. She is aces.
Until I began teaching in my current district, I was like you, Joanne, thinking that all schools had those amazing librarian guides. My own middle school librarian, Sandy VanStee, transformed me into a young reader.
Sadly, however, we haven’t had a librarian in the seven years I’ve been teaching in my high school. This year, they began actually disassembling the shelves of our unmanned library to sell/donate the books (that, of course, hadn’t been updated in at least five years).
While I am extremely blessed with an abundant classroom library that calls to all students (even those that I’ve never taught), it is heartbreaking that a place like the one Linda Urban describes no longer exists for my students.
Oh Erica! That’s awful! I’m so sorry for you and for your students.
Oh, that makes me very, very sad, Erica. Not having kids means I’m pretty out of touch with how things work in schools, but I know this is one thing that so, so matters. Thanks for providing what you do -I’m sure it makes a difference.
Totally off topic, except I was in an open classroom school for grades 3 and 4 before my mother pulled me out to send me to a Catholic school. Luckily, one with a great library and resource room. Basically as a teacher she was concerned w/ the lack of progress both myself and my sister (k and 1 in open classroom) were making. I’m always intrigued when I run into other students who were part of this educational experiment!
Isn’t it a funny thing, the open school? Poor teachers must have hated it. I, however, appreciated all the escape routes.
My memories of the library in my little Catholic school are about this little dark room in the basement. I remember pictures blacked out that might be offensive to our growing minds! 🙂 We must have checked out books regularly because I always had one in my desk for “sneak” reading. Guess that was something during a time of basal readers and SRA kits.
This is exactly why I will never feel bad about letting my kids have “just 10 more minutes, please!” of silent reading, or giving extra time for book talks, or just allowing the kids to share out what they are reading and make recommendations… We are very lucky to have a super engaged library aide at our site who is constantly bringing in new books that she actually reads, too. She’s my BFF at my new school!
Don’t you just love passionate readers? So great for the kids — and for personal recommendations, too. 🙂
Thank you for this story. I’m a high school English teacher where the school library is open, however they have no new books. Being a part time bookseller in an Independent Bookstore, I have collected a mass of new books. Since I started 8 weeks ago I have students visiting my class library (I still have at least 6 boxes of books to move in) and loving my books. The combination of a passionate reader/teacher/librarians and contemporary books is a very powerful thing.
Bless you for bringing relevant books to your students! And aren’t indie booksellers the best? Although I haven’t worked at one for eight years now, I still can’t help but alphabetize shelves and handsell favorites when I’m shopping in one. Thankfully, my local shop, Bear Pond Books, is terrific and they pretend not to mind.
Oh happy days! I am not the only one that fixes bookshelves (at bookstores, Target, libraries etc) and sells books to strangers.
Thank you for this post, Linda Urban. A good majority of children don’t have the luxury of being able to visit their public library. They might have a parent that works two jobs or a caregiver that is unfamiliar with the services the public library offers. Times are tough and this responsibility falls largely on the schools. If children have a school with a library and a librarian who is skilled at their job with a heart the size of Everest (I believe it’s scientifically proven librarians and teachers have hearts slightly larger than the average human), one can only imagine the success of these future readers.
My parents couldn’t get me to the public library when I was a kid. Too far away. No time. Etc. We really do need to champion school libraries if we want to insure that all kids have access to books and ideas.
We went to the same elementary school, though Mr. Yelinsky was the principal by the time I got there. I loved that library and probably read through the entire fiction collection at Heritage as well!
The thing I remember most from Mr. Yelinksy was him visiting our class in first or second grade to teach us about Hanukkah.
I had heard that he became principal! Glad to hear that another Oakbrook Elementary alum has made a living in the book world. Go Eagles!
Your story gave me goosebumps and teary eyes. Day in and day out I talk with adult volunteers about the power of options, of choice – and how by sharing their love for the written word and helping a student find their particular book (aka life) passion, they truly can change a child’s life. At each new volunteer training I share a variety of anecdotes to help them understand that power, and I will be adding your story to the mix. I hope that’s okay!! Thanks again for sharing.
@Tamara – I’m one of your coaches! I’ve been an avid reader all of my reading life and enjoying sharing that passion with anyone who will listen.
BTW – It was in my high school library where I first came across a science fiction book, by Robert A. Heinlein, which started me on many years of sci fi reading. What a discovery and what a wonderful librarian who had those books for us!
Hooray for your high school librarian!
Share away! Your mission is a noble one and if anything I said above helps, I’m pleased.
Wow — if this story doesn’t move the powers that be at Colby’s school, I’m not sure what will. Powerful!
Aw, shucks, Kirby! But wouldn’t it be awesome if it worked out that way? All schools need librarians and all kids deserve libraries.
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“But my identity as an avid reader died when I no longer had unfettered access to those long rows of library books and to the librarian who bought, shelved, and shared them with us.”
I have to confess only two memories of my middle and high school libraries: both include make-up tests or research. Something happened after elementary school. Maybe it was me. Maybe it was because we no longer had scheduled time within the school day for library visits. I continued to be an avid reader and visited my public library regularly, but I never once checked out a book from school.
There is an amazing librarian now at Eldorado High School. Mrs. Dahl actively seeks out new titles, encourages kids to write reviews, and hosts book club discussions. I am SO proud to know this is happening, and SO thrilled those kids have such an advocate in the library.
Hooray for Mrs. Dahl! I hope she knows what a difference she makes.
And yes, I think that scheduled library time makes a difference, don’t you? As soon as something drops off your school schedule you can’t help but think: Oh, so they’re saying this isn’t important any more.
I loved your post today! As someone who did not grow up as a reader, I do remember our school librarian reading to us. I still read Ticki Ticki Tembo to my students every year because I loved it so much when she read it.
I remember that book as a read-aloud, too — how could you not? That name is etched forever in my brain.
LOVE this post. I’m sending this link to our AWESOME school librarian! THANKS, Linda! 🙂
Thanks, Ame! I hope your librarian likes it, too.
I’ve been an elementary school library media specialist since 2006 and I absolutely love it. Always had my nose in a book as a kid, now my nose is always in the kindle app of my ipad. With all the teachers leveling their classroom libraries once in a while they’ll ask me about leveling mine. NO WAY. I feel my job (or maybe mission) is to get kids to love reading and books, not teach them how to read. And the books today make it easy – there are so many great books out there. So every day I’m trying, and loving every minute of it. Excellent post Linda!`
Nancy:
THANK YOU for all you do for young readers! I don’t know much about leveling, but it feels like what you’re doing lets readers discover and stretch when they are motivated to do so. How can that be a bad thing?
I so agree with you! I work in two charter schools. One does Accelerated Reader, one does not. In the one, the elementary fiction is all arranged by AR level. The teachers vary in their attitudes, from “Just get whatever you really want to read” to “No, see, that book is a 5.3 and your range only goes up to 5.1, and you haven’t made your goal yet. So you need to find a book within your range.” I am so sick of AR I could plotz (to borrow a word from Harriet). AR is not intrinsically evil, but in the way it is used, it just insidiously fosters this horrible blurring of the line between reading-for-school and reading-for-pleasure.
Anyway – Hold the line!
Reblogged this on the KSS Learning Commons.
I remember when I was very young – maybe 5 or 6 – my mom would bring us to a library for readings. I looked forward to that so much. When I was capable of reading novels, my grandmother supported me. She bought me books and opened a credit for me at a mobile bookfair. As an adult writing for children, my local librarians are enthusiastic and quite good in their choices of middle grade books for me to read. I supplement their suggestions with those of other authors. Works out nicely.
I’m so glad that your love of reading has been supported throughout your life. My local public librarians are awesome, too. I love swapping recommendations with them.
Judy Williams Teaching Librarian Childs Elementary 2211 S. High Street Bloomington, IN 47401
“Reading makes immigrants of us all. It takes us away from home, but more important, it finds homes for us everywhere.” Hazel Rochman ________________________________
Thank you so much for the post. Like you, I attended a Catholic school with a very small and outdated library with no librarian in site (I think we may have had an aide at times). The only reason I went into the school library was for Study Hall. Fortunately, my mother constantly drove us to the public library (20 minutes away) so that we could check out books. The public librarians were the ones that gave suggestions on what to read and ignited my love affair with biographies and memoirs. I’m so thankful to both my mom and public librarians!
YAY MOM! And hooray for community librarians, too. They’ve always been important but I believe their importance may be growing as more schools cut library staff and services.
Hi Linda! I grew up in Pasadena and spent many happy hours in that certain bookstore. I’ve been back several times since then – my how it has grown! And it’s still wonderful! Thank you for this post – it describes exactly what I aspire to as a school librarian. I’m lucky enough to work for a couple charter schools that value their libraries and give me a decent budget, pretty rare here in California right now.
Hey Anne. That bookstore is a super amazing place, isn’t it?
Thank you for what you’re doing with those charter schools. Those kids are lucky to have you!
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Amy,
Okay, I HAD to send this to you because it’s such a wonderful tribute to the power of a librarian and a well-stocked library. Enjoy!