Something to Talk About...

In light of the fact that several of my recents posts have centered around oral language, I think it’s time to create a list of books that most definitely will give kids something to talk about.

This past weekend when I presented an in-depth session at the 21^st Annual Literacy and Learning Institute in Melville, Long Island, I was lucky enough to hear Carmen Agra Deedy deliver the Saturday keynote. Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone quite like her. A storyteller in the best sense of the word—entertaining and yet, at the same time, provocative! So of course I just had to ask folks about her children’s books that were for sale. “Which of these would you recommend I buy?” Well, The Yellow Star won hands down and I can see why.

It’s the legend of King Christian X of Denmark who, as legend has it, is attributed with saving Jews from concentration camps by wearing a yellow star himself and inspiring other citizens to do the same. And while this is a legend, it’s one that remains strong because we so desperately want to be true. Agra Deedy posits: “What if the good and strong people of the world stood shoulder to shoulder, crowding the streets and filling the squares, saying, ‘You cannot do this injustice to our sisters and brothers, or you must do it to us as well.’ What if?” I say this book and its message will certainly give kids something to talk about.

Another book by Carmen Agra Deedy that I purchased was Martina the Beautiful Cockroach. I know…The Yellow Star is so noble and inspirational and this one’s about a cockroach…?  Well, don’t judge a book by its cover or its protagonist. Even a cockroach, as this Cuban folktale will attest, can teach kids about going deeper to find out what a person is really like. (Would your friends pass the Coffee Test?) Martina is fun, witty, and sure to get kids talking. 

My Re-Envisioned Pillars and an Oral Language Development Webcast

As you may already know my new book Comprehension from the Ground Up centers upon re-envisioning the "Five Pillars of Reading" to make them more comprehensive and address our current tendency to focus too early and too much on comprehension strategy instruction. We've tended to equate comprehension with comprehension strategy instruction when there's so much more to it than that as my re-envisioned pillars and book will attest. (I tried to insert a jpeg of my pillars but it didn't work. Sorry.)

I encourage you to check out this most valuable webcast "From Babbling to Books" featuring Todd Risley, Sharon Ramey and Julie Washington who are leading experts in the area of oral language development. (Todd Risley is co-author of the classic Meaningful Differences in the Every Day Experience of Young American Children.) This hour-long webcast explores the importance of oral language and how to develop it from birth through the early school years. Viewers will gain insight into the relationship between oral language and reading success and ways to promote this important reading and comprehension skill.