A Book Review, Tangents, A Moment, and Eventually, A Point

I'm pretty lucky. 5th graders are beyond awesome to work with. They're becoming more aware of themselves, of others, and their place in world. We have a pretty tight classroom community. So when I first saw Eric Kahn Gale's The Bully Book, it wasn't a title I immediately reached for.

After hearing Betsy Bird say that it was a fresh take on a cliched genre, I picked up a copy. It's compelling from the first chapter. Which, is all I need to begin reading it aloud to my students. I love experiencing a book for the first time along with the kids. The text moves back and forth from Eric's journal to excerpts from a mysterious "Book." The book itself has a very cool 1/2 dust jacket and when you take it off, instead of seeing The Bully Book, the cover just reads "The Book."

It's been an interesting reception in class. While most of the students beg for more, a small contingency of my girls are absolutely reviling it. As they should be, it's completely awful. The premise is that somebody created a guide for how to make yourself popular by selecting a classmate and rallying the rest of the class to torment the target. The journal entries are from the target's point of view.

I look to the read aloud for a very specific purpose. I'm either sharing excerpts to model different text structures or writing features. I try to find a few books each year to read in their entirety. Those are my self-indulgent picks. There are plenty of books that I would love to read but being a guy, I just couldn't pull off. The books I complete have to be ones I can sell as a reader. And, I'm only taking it all the way if I have 95% buy in from the class.

So, back to this small group who is completely hating The Bully Book. Remember, they only know it as The Book, so their distaste for the events is the exact reaction we would hope for. But, they're entering the territory where it's great to have a different opinion from the authorit-y. Even after a conversation about what it means to be compelling, they weren't on board. I tried to use my experience with The One and Only Ivan as an example of how you can not like a book but still appreciate its importance. Still, not on board. Meanwhile, I've got 15 kids running in from recess so they don't miss a word.

I share tons of author interviews, read them reviews, and find as much behind the scenes information about a book's path to being published as I can. The idea is that they not only see a book in terms of the writing process, but that they're getting an insider's view. Basically, I'm trying to mimic how I used to approach baseball when I was a kid. The more you knew about a player or the team, the more you were respected by the other baseball kids. I want that climate to surround reading.

I spent an incredible weekend with the folks at Scholastic as a part of their Teacher Advisor program. Scholastic Book Club's tagline: Read Every Day, Lead a Better Life was at the heart of every interaction. Get great books into the hands of all kids. Help them build a bookshelf. Enable students to define themselves as a reader. These ideas shine through every member of their organization.

During every meeting, we heard how much Scholastic values teachers. Henry Cole, one of the finest illustrators and storytellers of our day, delivered an unforgettable speech. There were dinners and a Broadway show. We were sent home with bags full of the year's best books. But, one of the most memorable moments was a small one.

A few of the 4th and 5th grade teachers were meeting with Gaia and Margaret, the editors of the Arrow magazine. I can't remember the context, but I mentioned, "I'm reading The Bully Book with my students because..." When Gaia cut in with, "...it will make them better people?"

On Monday morning, before I read aloud, I put up the picture of the three of us (I made sure to get a picture). There I am with the people that put together the books that will make their way into millions of classrooms. These are important people and they're people that my group of girls can definitely see themselves in.

Needless to say, the atmosphere in the room when I pick up the book has been drastically different these past two days. Not only are they not scowling or doodling. When I look up from the text, they're following along intently.