Why I Hate Reading Logs (and Natalie Babbitt Agrees with Me)
I have a fifth grader–okay, I used to. She graduated a few weeks ago. That means I’ve been a witness to six years of the current educational practices of northern New England. Specifically, six years of reading logs.
I do not like reading logs.
For the first few years, I just had to fill them out myself, which was not such a big deal. But then she hit third grade, and the rules started to rain down upon us.
She had to fill the logs out herself. She had to write the author’s last name, then first name. Then the full title of the book, even if it was (and it often was) Geronimo Stilton and the Mystifying Midadventure of Mumbling Mansion (with Cheese). She had to write the pages she started on, the page she stopped on, and the number of minutes read.
And there were so many ways to get it wrong. Reading more than two books at once was wrong. Reading a book and stopping halfway through was wrong. Skipping around in a book was wrong. Reading ten minutes Monday and an hour Tuesday was wrong, although reading twenty minutes on Monday and twenty on Tuesday was right.
It drove me nuts. I objected. Frankly, I should have told her teachers we were not filling in the silly logs, but my girl is a rule-follower and doesn’t tolerate civil disobedience well, and the very idea panicked her. (I was a teacher’s pet myself for many years, so I understood what she was feeling.) Doing the logs was anxiety producing, and having your mom call to say you would not be doing them anymore was even worse.
How could it be possible that all of this actually helped anyone develop a love of reading?
Now for a change of subject (bear with me, it’s related):
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Barking With the Big Dogs, a collection of Natalie Babbit’s speeches and essays. It’s marvelous. She raised her children and did most of her writing before the advent of reading logs, but she had quite a bit to say about the way reading and the love of books are taught. So more on this next week….
Read MoreKorean Editions!
Where Do Polar Bears Live? Note the adorable polar bear face on the first character of the title.
Just before Christmas, the Korean editions of my two Let’s Read and Find Out titles arrived on the doorsteps (dropped by Santa’s sleigh, no doubt). Here’s what Where Do Polar Bears Live? and What’s for Lunch? look in their snazzy new Asian editions.
A translated title is always a kind of giddy and bewildering joy. It’s recognizably my book and yet I can’t read a word of it. I can’t even identify my own name. The title of Where Do Polar Bears Live? has transmogrified from a question to an exclamation–why is that? Who knows? It’s kind of fun to feel four years old again and primarily interact with a book through the illustrations.
What’s For Lunch?
My Favorite Sentence
My favorite sentence(s) that I have written this week:
“Our apartment building has four floors. I’m lying when I say that.”
Read MoreThe Ring of Honor
Happy book birthday to Sam, Martina, Theo, and Alexander Hamilton! The third book in the Secrets of the Seven series is out today.
Sam, Martina, and Theo race through New York City, hot on the trail of a ring cast from the bullet that killed Alexander Hamilton. Old enemies and surprising new allies appear, as well as puzzles and traps and brainteasers and plenty of facts about American history. (How many presidents’ last words do you know?)
Are you as good at puzzles as Sam and Marty? Find out here!
Read MoreSarah L. Thomson
A children’s book author publishing award-winning nonfiction, poetry, picture books and novels including…
“Thomson focuses on newfound connection, magic, and suspense to conjure a fast-paced, heartwarming mystery. Thomson’s world is populated by resourceful protagonists, fanciful creatures, and quirky supporting characters.”
—Publishers Weekly