Whenever I think about the magic of Christmas, I think about books. There's nothing more magical than a well-written novel that creates a sense of wonder while making children think about the world they live in. Home libraries are important, but I would feel like we are moving in the right direction in this country if people and companies would donate books for class libraries or school libraries.
I envision kind-hearted people who raise money to buy ten to 12 books to be used in an after-school book club run by parents or concerned citizens who want to turn around this country and create caring, giving, happy and thoughtful individuals. Teachers might want to consider enlisting parents to divide up a class into three separate book clubs that meet for 20 minutes to half-hour a week during the school day.
It's simply not true that we can't fit reading into the curriculum. Reading is the foundation of the curriculum that we teach. Reading helps every child develop higher level analytical skills, reading speed, listening and comprehension skills.Running a book club can be an unexplainably satisfying experience. To open up children's imaginations and create a love for reading can be an amazing community service experience that will instill children with a healthy sense of self confidence.
The average reading age for these books is age ten, which makes them excellent choices for children who are eight to ten and need a challenge. They're perfect books for students in Forms One and Two who need a high interest/low reading level book.Here are my favourite chapter books I discovered this year for students eight to 14.
1. The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata–This National Book Award winning novel is both funny and touching. Everything seems to be going wrong for Summer. Her parents have gone on an emergency trip to Japan, and she is stuck with her very conservative grandparents and a brother who is never able to make a friend.
On top of this, Summer can hardly face the world since she had the misfortune of contracting malaria. Everything frightens her. This novel teaches invaluable lessons about family, braver, caring and tolerance while exploring how to deal with bullying and cruelty. Kadohata's books also offer invaluable lessons about writing–especially character development.
2. The Angel Tree by Daphne Benedis-Grab–Every year someone in the small town of Pine River puts up a Christmas tree with notes that include wishes from different people in the town. No one knows who makes those wishes come true. This year the wishes are especially difficult. Lucy's Seeing Eye Dog needs an urgent operation for cancer. Max needs a new home because his house has burned down. Joe doesn't fit in, and his secret wish might be the most difficult for the Wish Giver to grant.
Then comes Cami who has the bright idea of uniting Lucy, Max and Joe in a search to identify the person who organises the Angel Tree. Should these children expose this person who has never wanted to be identified? The Angel Tree is part mystery and part Christmas magic. It's about giving, receiving and respecting people. It's a great holiday read with many lessons.
3. Half A World Way by Cynthia Kadohata–Jaden, a 12-year-old boy adopted from Romania, is sure his parents don't like him. He steals, throws tantrums and hoards food. He knows what is means to feel unwanted, and now his parents are planning a trip to Kazakhstan to adopt a new baby. Jadan is having a major meltdown, and then something happens in an orphanage far away from home: Jadan discovers a child whom he can't ignore.
4. The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathi Appelt–This National Book Award Finalist follows the adventures of two raccoon brothers, Bingo and J'miah, as they try to protect the swamp they live in from a sinister plan to build a shopping mall in the area. Set deep in the bayous of Louisiana, this tall tale is packed with mystery and adventure in an environment that will remind children of T&T.
5. The Winter Horses by Philip Kerr–A child named Kalinka flees for her life across the cold, Ukrainian steppes. She is running from Nazis who want to kill the two wild and rare Przewalski's (sic) horses she has saved from the Germans who are exterminating the horses for being inferior breeds. This is a beautiful historical novel that teaches love, family and tolerance. It has invaluable lessons about prejudice as Kerr shows that not all German people were bad.
Check out amazon.com and Barnes and Noble online for the books mentioned above. Make sure to search for good children's literature from T&T in local book stores. The Island Fiction series published by Macmillans, collections of short stories by Andy Campbell, and Brown Sugar and Spice by Betty Peter fit the bill for Caribbean children's literature that make great choices for book clubs.