Choosing a “good” book
Whoever heard of anyone asking for a recommendation for a “terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad” book? (Thanks to Judith Viorst for her superb picture book with this title.) Students and teachers always ask me for the name of a “good” book. I wish it were that easy.
“Easy” is the individual who is a confident enough reader that s/he will try almost anything even if the book is not a preferred author or genre. For most folks recommendations are offered only after a dialogue narrows the considerations by topic, length, difficulty, etc. I find these opportunities always challenging, sometimes frustrating, and downright uplifting when, on rare occasions, students return to let me know that a book was a perfect fit.
To this end, I read as many books as I can fit into my on-going commitments. Sometimes they get all jumbled up and my lasting impressions don’t do justice to what the author deserves.
Over the holiday I read Revolution is not a Dinner Party Ying Chang Compestine, an eye-opener if you are not familiar with the Peoples’ Revolution in China. This is a fictionalized account based on the author’s experience of the devastating effect of the Communist ideology on Chinese culture.
I also read Toby Wheeler, Eighth-Grade Benchwarmer by Thatcher Heldring. I’m not much of an athlete and I don’t “speak” fluent basketball but this was still a great story about a kid who plays a lot of ball at the rec and decides to take up the challenge to be part of the school team even if it means he is the “twelfth man,” the benchwarmer.
Don’t Call me Ishmael by Michael Gerard Bauer is for every kid whose name has made them the focus of unwanted, unkind, and down-right bullying attention. how exactly do you ignore, turn-the-other-cheek, get even with the clowns who make your life miserable? You hope you find the perfect friend, the one who is not afraid of anything. Be sure that you know at least a little bit about Herman Melville’s book Moby Dick so that the references don’t leave you wondering.
Last, I want to mention The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio by the late Lloyd Alexander. This book was published in August of 2007 and the author died the same year. I wish the book cover were more inspiring because the story is a wonderful blend of Arabian Nights glamour, mystique, and blood-shed with a fabulous array of characters. There is the hero Carlo Chuchio whose name means donkey and who in his search for treasure, does have the knack for making unfortunate decisions. There is the rib-tickling side-kick Baksheesh whose smooth-talking gets his master out of trouble and himself out of work. There is the beautiful and capable damsel Shira who joins Carlo in his adventure in order to to complete her own quest. And, of course, there are the villains who do unspeakable things and add just the right amount of heart-stopping moments.
My hope has always been that students will share their favorite titles and thoughts on what they have read on this blog. Until I come up with another format I’ll keep extending the invitation. Please share…how do you choose a good book or help others to choose? What “good books” have you read lately?
