When I go to the garden to weed, I head straight for the pesky dandelions, the tenacious goutweed, the strong-willed plantains. I know what to pull, and I have no qualms. When I go to the shelves of the library, the weeds are a bit trickier. Some are easy to spot — those books with covers from the 80’s that haven’t checked out in years, the tattered covers that yell “Please, get me out of here!”, the series that you’ve never heard of, and apparently, neither have the kids who browse. Some are harder, like the Mildred Taylor book you read long ago and just know someone would appreciate, or the Mollie Hunter book that now lies on your desk, to take home and devour. This time I’m being ruthless. If it hasn’t checked out in 3 years, it is Off The Island. Some things have surprised me, though. Sweet Valley High, Encyclopedia Brown, and Goosebumps are still on the Island. Mary Kate and Ashley are slipping away without notice, Sleepover Friends are sleeping with the fishes, Gary Paulsen’s Culpepper series is off, accompanied by Peck’s Soup. Nancy Drew is still in charge of the mysteries, and the Hardy Boys are right in there with her. The Babysitters Club is holding on, but the knock-off series from that same era are gone (anyone remember Silver Blades?). As I fill box after box my mind begins to wander. Do authors feel a twinge when I remove every single book of their once-popular series off the shelf? Does the whole shelf of Dianne Wynne-Jones books nearly falling onto my head tell me something? (I kept most of those). I think I need a break–time to go wash the grime of well-loved reading off my hands and get a fresh perspective before I dive back in!
Sarah M. Hunt
I taught school for 17 years and two of my favorite authors were Gary Paulsen and Walter Dean Myers. I used these two authors’ books for my class whole group readings. My students had to read at least 27 books a year, from the state supplied grade level reading list along with the 10 whole group selections. We had classroom contests as well as the media centers Accelerated Readers program awards. These programs seemed to be strong motivates encouraging students to read. At lunch they were reading, waiting for class to start they were reading, waiting for their rides after school they were reading, when completing assignments early in class the student would take out a book and read while waiting for the others to complete the assignment. encouraging reading is an excellent disciplinary plan also.