Post: Rereading for kids????
Posted by: judy(almost)5ca on 7/04/09
First, a friend gave me a class set of Hatchet. I reread it
and am even more thrilled with it than the first time I read
it. What a fabulous novel to start off the 5th grade year,
I thought, with all that talk of survival and self-reliance!
Then my bubble was burst when a 4th grade teacher-friend
told me that a book group in her class (which includes
several kids who are coming to me) "did" the book. The
implication was, 'now you can't do it, sorry.' I
immediately started searching for something else.
Now I'm wondering why I did this. I'm rethinking Hatchet.
I know that I've read it, and many other texts, more than
once, and I certainly found great joy every time. Doesn't
everything I know about reading tell me that what's
important is depth and thinking through a text? Why do we
avoid books kids have already read? Is a book used up if
it's read once? What am I doing?
On the other hand, I do love giving kids the gift of a new
reading experience, so....
