Open a World of Possible
Reading opens windows onto new worlds and possibilities. Some rights reserved
Open a world of possible: real stories about the joy and power of reading gets to the heart of reading. And it does so in a very concise but sincere way it's now available on the World of Possible website.
Published in 2014 by Scholastic, it is divided into seven themes that provide the framework for the collection of essays.
Once I began to read, I began to exist. - Walter Dean Myers
118 voices, some of them famous authors, some literacy experts, librarians, teachers and poets, all share their reading epiphanies. The essays are succinct, powerful and inspirational.
Richard Robertson, Chairman, President and CEO of Scholastic writes in his forward that for decades, research has proven there is a connection between reading engagement and reading achievement and yet he laments the reluctance to provide children with time for “free reading”.
Lois Bridges, the editor, calls reading a paradox. She says that there is no doubt reading makes us smarter and has a direct impact on our literacy levels. No matter what we read, reading helps us identify with the characters in a book and gives us the courage to be who we want to be.
Katherine Paterson writes about the joys of writing and reading. Jim Trelease at the age of six endured phonic drills for the sake of read-alouds. Colby Sharp, a teacher, became ‘a real reader’ when his fourth grade teacher read Hatchet to the class. Yaya Yuan, a Program Director for LitWorld shares testimonials about the power of reading. Franki Sibberson, a school librarian, asks 4th and 5th graders to write 100 things about themselves as readers. She has reached 31. (See what you can write about yourself.) Margarita Engle, Cuban-American author, says that reading and writing grow out of each other, while David Lee Finkle, a cartoonist, learned to read so he could read comics. He now uses cartoon strips to narrate the story of his reading life.
Each author has something genuine and unique to share, from joy to illumination, transformation, imagination, communication, inspiration and advocacy. Reading is their ultimate commendation.
The added joy here is that Scholastic has made this book available in the public domain, so renew your reading high with this quick motivatational read.
Image: New York Public Library by Justin Brown on Flickr