How to Read a Book- Part 2

Adler introduces the second chapter of this useful book with the of-course-why-didn't-I-think-of-this but pithy statement that our goal of reading will determine the way in which we read. In that light, he goes on to relay four different levels of reading which will be expanded upon in this book:

1. Elementary Reading. A child (or adult's) first problem is to recognize the individual words on the page and to answer the question, "What does this sentence say?" This is the same process an individual goes through when learning a foreign language. This basic level of understanding lays the foundation for subsequent reading.
   
2. Inspectional Reading. The goal of this type of reading is to get as much as possible out of a section within a short period of time. This is often referred to as skimming or pre-reading and can be as simple as picking up a book and reading the table of contents or flipping through its pages.
   
3. Analytical Reading. This thorough thinking-about-the-material reading engages the reader with questions. The reader works at making book her own or as Francis Bacon said "some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested." Adler writes, "Reading a book analytically is chewing and digesting it." This is what I'm doing as I write this blog to all of you!
   
4. Syntopical Reading. In this type of reading the reader not only compares what he is reading to other books but may also come up with a new analysis of the subject. Needless to say, this is the toughest type of reading and since Adler doesn't deal with it for another 250 pages—you'll have to wait to find out more about this—or buy How to Read a Book yourself!!

Alabama Moon

Conventional wisdom among children's writers is that the protagonist of your novel should be older than your intended reader's age. That's at least one rule that Alabama Moon successfully breaks. Right from the beginning of this poignant, survival/adventure story, 10-year-old Moon faces the death of his father from whom he has learned everything he "needs" to survive in the Alabama forest. Moon discovers that although his Vietnam veteran father may have chosen to live alone with his wife and son, a life of loneliness is not what he wants to choose for himself.

This is author Watt Key's first novel and he generously uses memories from his own childhood growing up in the swamps and forests of Alabama. The interview on his website is eye-opening for both young adult readers as well as for writers who want to learn how to mine their own life experiences. With the strong survival theme, this book will appeal to middle school boys, but I believe girls (who often read books with boys as the main character) will also appreciate it.

I believe Key did an excellent job of weaving the themes of death, friendship, and family, into this well-written book. Parents should be advised that there is rough language—which is true to the character of a child raised in a forest by an angry father—but some readers may find that objectionable. (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2006)

How to Read a Book

I am in the process of reading How to Read a Book
which was first published in 1940 with a second, updated edition published in 1972. I hope to share snippets of what appears to be an excellent resource for language arts teachers, homeschool parents, and high school students who are preparing for college (although the latter category might flip through the table of contents and read selectively what interests them).

One of the first points that the author, Mortimer Adler, makes is that reading needs to be active. He compares reading to the game of baseball: the reader, like the baseball player, must work at "catching" every type of written communication. A reader will be successful to the extent that he receives what the writer has communicated.

What happens when the reader doesn't "catch" the ball and doesn't understand what he has read? He must go back and work at understanding the passage. Adler believes that this work is vital to the process of growing as an active, analytical learner. He says:

• "The act of reading, in short, includes all of the same skills that are involved in the art of unaided discovery; keenness of observation, readily available memory, range of imagination, and of course, an intellect trained in analysis and reflection. The reason for this is that reading in this sense is discovery, too- although with help instead of without it" (p. 14).
  

To show how important this task of discovery is, Adler writes:

• "If you ask a living teacher a question, he will probably answer you. If you are puzzled by what he says, you can save yourself the trouble of thinking by asking him what he means. If, however, you ask a book a question, you must answer it yourself. In this respect a book is like nature or the world. When you question it, it answers you only to the extent that you do the work of thinking and analysis yourself" (p. 15).
  

Adler concludes the first chapter with the goal of this book: "…to know how to make books teach us well." Stick with me and I'll share more tidbits from this well thought through book. Click here to read an overview of How to Read a Book.

More Greenville Gems

Jo Hackl, the coordinator of the SCBWI/Emrys conference in Greenville, SC, has generously made her handouts available to whoever can use them. These materials would be very helpful if you are a new writer or considering writing for children. I can send the following to you (as attachments) if you are interested:

• Attending a Conference for Children's Writers and Illustrators
  
• Story Ideas
  
• Starting a Critique Group
  
• Submission Research
  
• Query and Cover Letters
  
• Sample Cover Letter to an Editor
  
• Sample Cover Letter to an Agent
  

E-mail me at cbaldwin6@carolina.rr.com and I'll forward them to you.

Word Play

I wish I could take credit for the following, but a friend e-mailed it to me today and I thought it was too good not to pass along. Hope many of you can use these in your classrooms:

• Ratio of an igloo's circumference to its diameter = Eskimo Pi

• 2000 pounds of Chinese soup = Won ton

• 1 millionth of a mouthwash = 1 microscope

• Time between slipping on a peel and smacking the pavement = 1 bananosecond

• Weight an evangelist carries with God = 1 billigram

• Time it takes to sail 220 yards at 1 nautical mile per hour = Knotfurlong

• 16.5 feet in the Twilight Zone = 1 Rod Serling

• Half of a large intestine = 1 semicolon

• 1,000,000 aches = 1 megahurtz

• Basic unit of laryngitis = 1 hoarsepower

• Shortest distance between two jokes = A straight line

• 453.6 graham crackers = 1 pound cake

• 1 million- microphones = 1 megaphone

=======================================
Oh, how we love words. These are some... strange definitions. Read them
slowly... some may take a second or two to sink in.

• EYEDROPPER: A clumsy ophthalmologist.

• HEROES: What a guy in a boat does.

• LEFT BANK: What the robber did when his bag was full of money.

• MISTY: How golfers create divots.

• PARADOX: Two physicians.

• PARASITES: What you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

• PHARMACIST: A helper on the farm.

• POLARIZE: What penguins see with.

• PRIMATE: Removing your spouse from the couch in front of the TV.

• RELIEF: What trees do in the spring.

• RUBBERNECK: What you do to relax your wife.

• SELFISH: What the owner of a seafood store does.

And our (the anonymous writer's) favorite:

• SUDAFED: Litigation brought against a government official.

Things that make a writer excited- part 2

This has been a fantastic day! I just received word that my proposal, "Learn from the Masters: How Creating a Fictional Character Enhances Reading Instruction" was accepted for the 2008 IRA convention in Atlanta, next May. This is quite an honor, particularly for a new author like me. On top of that, my article "Show, Don't Tell: Classroom Activities for Image Driven Writing" was accepted for a forthcoming issues of Middle Ground. As if that wasn't enough, my editor told me that my blog (the one you guys are helping to make popular) was rated 42 out of 150 useful, educational, and inspirational blogs for writers.

I'd include a video of myself jumping up and down in celebration (a la' my first attempt at Zumba yesterday) but I'll spare you that unnecessary visual litter!

Things that make a writer excited

My new brochure just arrived and it looks superb! If any of you are looking to have brochures printed, I'd highly recommend Willy Walt Printing services. They were fast, economical, and very professional. How fun!

Gems from Greenville

For those of you who were unable to attend the SCBWI/Emrys conference this past weekend in Greenville, I thought I would share some highlights. It is impossible to recreate the jam-packed Saturday, but here are a few gems:

• From Melinda Long, author of How I Became a Pirate and Pirates Don't Change Diapers: Use your childhood memories. Keep a running list of memories for possible story ideas.
  
• From Stephanie Greene, author of Queen Sophie Hartley and many, many other books: The beginning of your book is the writer's promise to the reader. (Will there be excitement? Humor? Pathos?) The opening is the point at which the character's life is changing.
  
• From Eleanora Tate, author of Celeste's Harlem Renaissance, Thank You Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and tons of other books. When editing, pull out "weedy" words.
  
• From Lindsay Davis, junior agent with Writer's House: Make sure that your cover letter shows you are familiar with the agent's work. Look at their website for a client list. They also are attracted to books in which the character has a unique voice and which jump from the page and effect the reader. Make sure that you as the author believe in your character.
  
• From Donna German, publisher of Sylvan Dell Publishing: Read her website totally before submitting. She can always tell if someone has followed submission guidelines or not.
  
• From Mark Johnston, author of I Love to Smell my Daddy's Socks and The Secret Agent: When you write, be aware that some things (like bodies of water, time, fire, color, buildings, clothes) are symbols. There are no right or wrong symbols, but they must ring true in your story. Pick the details that will matter to you; from specifics move to more specifics.
  
• The efficient coordinator of the conference, Jo Hackl, has agreed to make available several resources which she assembled for this conference. E-mail me at cbaldwin6@carolina.rr.com if you are interested in receiving either a sample cover letter or sample letter to an agent. I will let you know as more become available.
  
• Amy Thomas has an excellent handout "Fun Tips for Manuscripts" on her website at: http://www.amynthomas.com/manuscript%20format.html.
• One further clarification from Stephanie Greene (who is also the regional advisor for SCBWI-Carolinas) about picture book length. She notes that the current accepted length for a picture book is between 300-500 words. She states, "Shorter is better in the picture book world."
  

Audio Books

Since I am such a fan of books on CD, I was happy to read local teacher and columnist, Kay McSpadden, tout the merits of audio-books in the Charlotte Observer on August 11. As readers of this blog know, I'm a big advocate of reading books this way—since (unfortunately!) my time seems too limited to be able to sit down and read--as much as I love books. After McSpadden heard Jim Dale, the actor who has read all seven of the Harry Potter books for audio-books read, she wrote:

"…Before they are readers, all children learn by listening, and audio-books such as the ones narrated by Jim Dale can be a gateway to literacy. Granted, Jim Dale is a talented impersonator and mimic who has spent great care making each character's voice in the Harry Potter books distinct, and the Harry Potter books are so compelling that most fans read them more than once. But even an average parent reading a simple bedtime story aloud is giving her child practice in listening, memory, vocabulary, and imagination--skills that lead to fluency in reading later on."

Her column went on to discuss how TV watching has replaced reading and imaginary play—both so necessary to creative childhood development. She quoted a University of Washington study which indicated that, "For every hour per day spent watching videos targeted to them, babies had six to eight fewer words than babies who did not watch the videos."

She went on to say that many students who are considered reluctant readers might be hooked into reading by first listening to a story. Storytelling has been around since time began and well told stories, as McFadden concludes, speak to us all.

And speaking of audio-books…I look forward to telling you all about my latest great read: Peter Pan in Scarlet.

The Higher Power of Lucky

What child doesn't fantasize about running away in order to get the attention that he or she deserves? And what child hasn't worried that their mother/father/guardian/caretaker is considering leaving because of something the child fears he has done wrong? These themes, like the beautiful knots that Lucky's best friend, Lincoln ties, are intertwined throughout this 2007 Newberry Award winning book by Susan Patron. Through the course of this short book, 10-year-old Lucky also comes to grips with her mother's death and her father's abandonment. I found the description of Lucky hiding new thoughts and observations into different "crevices of her brain" to be poignant and true-to-life. Which one of us hasn't been confronted with a new reality without filing it in our mind to "think about later?" This would be a good book to use in a classroom to show how an author shows not tells characters and setting; the picture of this tiny town at the edge of the desert is outstanding.

I would recommend this book for readers 10 and up, although some parents may object to the use of the word "scrotum" on the first page. The word within the context of the story is just another part of adult life that Lucky is learning about. For comments about the book, you might want to read the review written by the New York Times which presents some interesting thoughts on authors and censorship. (Simon and Schuster, 2006)

Books on CD

For those of you who like me, can never find enough time to read, a friend recommended that I label the books which I review here that I have found on CD's. I went back and added that as appropriate and so now you can search for them under "Recorded Books." Hope this helps.