risalikesbooks's review
5.0
It is amazing how something that started out as a reading assignment for school can become so much more than that. I picked up a copy of Igniting a Passion for Reading: Successful Strategies for Building Lifetime Readers for two reasons: 1) I have always been a reader, a lover of books, and someone who cannot for the life of me understand why anyone in their right mind would not want to read, and 2) I had to choose a book to read for class. Mostly, it was for the first reason, though.
As someone who has always loved reading and the written word, I understand that there are people who exist who would rather not read. I don’t understand their way of thinking, but I understand that they are out there. This is a book about those people. This is a book about how to help those people to become the opposite of what they are: rather than allowing our children to opt out of “the reading thing,” Dr. Layne suggests that we need to find new and creative ways to help them to find something that they want to read so that they can realize that knowing how to read isn’t enough, you have to want to do it, too. It’s part of the reason that I became an English teacher: I love English and literature and all things language and I wanted to share that passion and, hopefully, pass it on to one (or more) of my students. This book has given me a plethora of tools to use, to try to implement, in order to help me in achieving that goal.
One of the things that I liked best about this book is that it’s not preachy in the way that some reading strategy books can be. Instead, Dr. Layne used humor to help break the ice. Reading this was like having a conversation over a cup of tea with an old friend who, by the way, just happens to be able to help you out with all of these amazing ideas for how to get your students reading. And not only to get them reading, but to help them enjoy(!) what they’re reading. I was discussing it with my husband and I mentioned to him that, once I have the money to buy another bookshelf (because I clearly don’t have enough space on the ones I currently have), this is one of the books that I’m absolutely going to have on it. He then suggested, seeing how jazzed I am about this book, that this is one of those books that I would like to have two copies of - one at home and one at school. (His mom was a teacher, so he gets me.) He’s absolutely correct. I would not only like to have multiple copies of this book for myself, but I wish that I could afford to purchase a copy of this book for every single teacher I know, regardless of the grade level or subject that they teach, because there is no reason that literacy instruction can’t be included across the curriculum at every grade level, and this book is chock full of great ideas about ways to make that happen.
This book is one that I believe that I will re-read over and over again, refer back to more than once a year (you know, once I finally get a job), and actually use the strategies from, because they’re brilliant! As someone who, throughout my education, has done the required reading as quickly as possible to “get it out of the way” so that I could get back to reading “the good stuff,” I can’t help but recommend this book that I just happened to choose for a reading assignment because it is “the good stuff.” An invaluable resource that has forever changed the ways in which I will approach reading with my students and with my own child, I am so glad that I chose to read Igniting a Passion for Reading.
As someone who has always loved reading and the written word, I understand that there are people who exist who would rather not read. I don’t understand their way of thinking, but I understand that they are out there. This is a book about those people. This is a book about how to help those people to become the opposite of what they are: rather than allowing our children to opt out of “the reading thing,” Dr. Layne suggests that we need to find new and creative ways to help them to find something that they want to read so that they can realize that knowing how to read isn’t enough, you have to want to do it, too. It’s part of the reason that I became an English teacher: I love English and literature and all things language and I wanted to share that passion and, hopefully, pass it on to one (or more) of my students. This book has given me a plethora of tools to use, to try to implement, in order to help me in achieving that goal.
One of the things that I liked best about this book is that it’s not preachy in the way that some reading strategy books can be. Instead, Dr. Layne used humor to help break the ice. Reading this was like having a conversation over a cup of tea with an old friend who, by the way, just happens to be able to help you out with all of these amazing ideas for how to get your students reading. And not only to get them reading, but to help them enjoy(!) what they’re reading. I was discussing it with my husband and I mentioned to him that, once I have the money to buy another bookshelf (because I clearly don’t have enough space on the ones I currently have), this is one of the books that I’m absolutely going to have on it. He then suggested, seeing how jazzed I am about this book, that this is one of those books that I would like to have two copies of - one at home and one at school. (His mom was a teacher, so he gets me.) He’s absolutely correct. I would not only like to have multiple copies of this book for myself, but I wish that I could afford to purchase a copy of this book for every single teacher I know, regardless of the grade level or subject that they teach, because there is no reason that literacy instruction can’t be included across the curriculum at every grade level, and this book is chock full of great ideas about ways to make that happen.
This book is one that I believe that I will re-read over and over again, refer back to more than once a year (you know, once I finally get a job), and actually use the strategies from, because they’re brilliant! As someone who, throughout my education, has done the required reading as quickly as possible to “get it out of the way” so that I could get back to reading “the good stuff,” I can’t help but recommend this book that I just happened to choose for a reading assignment because it is “the good stuff.” An invaluable resource that has forever changed the ways in which I will approach reading with my students and with my own child, I am so glad that I chose to read Igniting a Passion for Reading.
bcbirrer's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this book and have marked several of the strategies to begin using. I also liked that many of the strategies would not take inordinate amounts of time or money. He takes simple things like a certain bookshelf and creates a buzz. This buzz then moves over into the excitement for books. The majority of his ideas are practical and can be implemented by teachers. I also liked that he provided blank copies of any of the written materials he spoke about. As a librarian I have marked several strategies I plan to try implementing in my own library to help create readers. The book is also written with humor and in an approachable way. You feel like you are having a conversation with him rather than sitting in a boring professional development conference.
falconerreader's review
4.0
I don't know if a professional book has ever made me laugh out loud before, but this one did, several times. Some of his "from the trenches" stories are so funny I suspect he may be employing poetic license, but hey, just because something is made up doesn't mean it's not true. The "my reading mentor" stories from prominent children's authors are a nice touch. They might not add to the reader's theory or practice, but they serve as a reminder of how important our work is. The bulk of the book is both passionate and practical. As always, it helps immensely that I agree with most of his basic tenets.
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