The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child

Great insights on building readers!

I love the strategy this teacher created. She rejects the traditional rote way of teaching reading/writing and inspires readers who will build self-esteem and be successful academically. She describes how she arrived at this strategy and offers practical examples to help teachers build a classroom to reach students in this way.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

A Must Read

This book is a must read for everyone that has anything to do with education. The points that are brought up are right on - kids need to have the time and freedom to read what they would like to choose. While A.R. is a good program, I get frustrated by the limitations it puts on students and the books that they are "allowed" to read. If students and teachers stick to these guidelines, then they are missing out on some wonderful stories. There are creative ways, and Ms. Miller shares some, to ensure that students are able to comprehend what they are reading. I have shared this book and the ideas with many educators at our school, and at the district level. I thank you so much for sharing your love of reading with your students and all of us.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A Must Read for Every Reading/ELAR Teacher

I am usually frustrated with most books pertaining to my profession because they are not realistic. The authors seem to write books for a "Leave it to Beaver" classroom. In today's classroom we encounter children from very diverse households which mean we have to be diverse in our method of delivering information. This book is an inspiration to educators to open their minds and allow children to become active participants in their quest to become lifelong learners and readers. I love this book. It is a must read!!!!!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Teach kids to love reading

This is the best book I have ever read about teaching reading to kids. I have followed many of the suggestions in the book and my students are learning so much!
I have been teaching for24 years and because of this book, I am the best reading teacher I have ever been!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Promote daily reading in school! The Book Whisperer is a must for all teachers!

Donalyn Miller is an advocate for middle schoolers so that they get reading time everyday. I loved the example of her class taking their books with them when they waited on line for school pictures to be taken. Why not! This book has refreshed my new year in our Montessori Library. We already were reading for fun, but now I'm going to track the increase in test scores that I bet has been happening in our school, because kids are over the moon excited about choosing a book each week in our library.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The best book about reading instruction I've read!

I picked up this book as part of my summer reading...you know, that list of books you want to read but never have the time to during the school year?! Once I started reading it I had a hard time putting it down! After many years of teaching elementary special education I was transferred to a primary regular education classroom this past year. I had inhereited what at best could be considered a "pitiful" classroom library. I offered those books to students but just couldn't bring myself to mandating that they choose books for a required "book in a bag" book each night. However, as the year progressed I found that my students seemed to get the most interested in their classroom activities during read alouds and their independent reading time each day despoite our classroom library. They brought books from home or actually read the books they got each week from our school library. They wouldn't complain if we missed a math lesson, a science lesson or a social studies lessons but I always heard about it if we missed independent reading. In some ways I felt guilty about not following the curriculum expectations. However, I always felt better when parents would let me know how much more reading their student was reading at home as a result of what we were doing in the classroom or when I saw them start to trade books amongst themselves.

My only rservsation about recommending this book is the fact that it references upper elementary/middle school books and readers. I wish there had been some references in the back of the book for suggestions how to implement a similiar philosophy/style in a primary setting.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

After an interim teaching reading from the textbook, this book h

After an interim teaching reading from the textbook, this book has shown me the type of reading teacher I want to be. Practical and encouraging.

Great book. I wish Ms. Miller could teach my kids. She has fig

Great book. I wish Ms. Miller could teach my kids. She has figured out how to differentiate and accommodate every kid in her class, something administrators in our district claim is impossible. Only complaint: I bought this as a Nook book and wasn't able to read the student's handwritten papers that are included as exhibits.

Excellent

I loved this book. It gave me a lot of great ideams and a whole new way of thinking.

Truly inspiring and definitely a MUST read for teachers!

Awesome book for anyone who believes in the importance of reading!

Highly recommended - It changed my perspective on teaching reading.

I really enjoy reading this book. I teach 4th grade and implemented many of the ideas in this book in my class. I want to foster reading for pure enjoyment.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great book

I teach 6-8th grade English. This is a must read! She has terrific ideas that are practical and easily implemented in the classroom.

Incredible!

This reassures me that what I have been doing for so many years is exactly what is best to create lifelong readers!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Book Whisperer

Wow! This is a must read for all teachers, especially those teaching English and Communication Arts at the secondary level. It reads easily and quickly, but has so many wonderful ideas for helping students enjoy reading. It reaffirms my beliefs in students having choice in what they read, and that they have time to read independently. The focus is on real life reading, not just reading for school, developing life long readers. It is a tremendous book that would be a great book study for communities of learners.

I'm onboard

Another parent recommended this book to me. I didn't expect too much of it, but I was hooked almost immediately. As a former fifth grade teacher and a mother of four, I found the author's experiences all too familiar. I wish every teacher would read this book.

Great Insight on Independent Reading Instruction

I simply loved every word of this book! I can't wait to restructure my reading curriculum to support independent reading because it truly is the most beneficial form of reading.

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