Do Nothing But Read Day

Back in April I got a little obsessed with ‘official reading celebrations’:  National Library Week, Poetry Month, Drop Everything and Read Day, Support Teen Literature Day.  There’s something about having a sanctioned celebration around books that is so appealing, probably just because I get an excuse to go to the library!
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A few years ago, Amanda Leyon-Lesage, a young, hip librarian in Madison, Wisconsin,  inadvertently started her own book celebration by commenting on Facebook that she wished she could take a whole day off and do nothing but read.  It struck a cord in cyberspace and she started getting replies from people everywhere who agreed and were ready to set a date.  So she did.  The first “Do Nothing But Read Day” or DNBRD (not the catchiest acronym) took place on December 20, 2009.  

On her blog the following March, Amanda wrote, “when I started Do Nothing But Read Day, I intended for it to be a fun, casual thing that would maybe involve ten people. I thought, ‘If ten people sign up, I’ll be psyched!’ I was more than psyched because it became HUGE. My tiny idea turned into a blog, which turned into a radio program, which turned into a website.”  She goes on to explain how her tiny idea changed and expanded her life in more ways than she could have imagined.

Last year, Amanda scheduled two days for exclusive reading, one in the summer and winter.  This year, lucky for us next DNBRD is scheduled for August 6 - next weekend!  
Legere est amare is on DNBRD’s official crest, check it out on the website, it was designed by Brandon Werner, and means ‘to read is to love’.  

Amanda’s last post on Facebook was a little mysterious.  On April 25th she wrote, “DNBRD is changing a little bit this year: it's more of an effort to read everyday than one full day devoted to reading. I'm going to change the character of the posts on the site to reflect this. But feel free to organize your own DNBRDs!! :D
interesting....I’m staying tuned to see what pops up on August 7th.

With the exception of being sick, which doesn’t really count because most of the time is spent sleeping, the last time I remember spending a day reading was when my family rented a cottage on the coast of Maine when I was about 11.  My brother and I slept up in the coziest loft, right under the eaves of the roof on old metal camp beds.  I remember balancing my stack of books while I climbed up a teeny tiny set of stairs and piling them next to my bed.  One morning we woke up to one of those gray, drizzly days when you can’t believe how cold it can be in Maine in August.  My parents wisely decided that spending the day reading would be, by far, the best course of action.  I remember going back up to bed and not having a single, solitary care in the world except what was going to happen on the next page.

I know a do-nothing-but-read-day is not anywhere on my current calendar but now that it has been retrieved from my memory, I can, at least, add it to my list of long term goals.  Thanks Amanda!

Too Cool?

Slow Down and Read!

Do you ever get the feeling that kids are just too cool for the library these days?  They’ working so hard to be cutting edge, on top of the next wave, prove they’re in the loop - it’s a lot of work.  Just keeping up with the chatter on facebook and twitter is a full time job.  Then there’s I-tunes, the mall and the movies...no wonder there’s no time to go to the library, and besides who wants to spend all their time with their head in a book? (Besides me, I don’t count)
Bella Grace Tyler of Norwich, C.T.  does AND she’s having fun doing it.  Debra Lau Whelan introduced me to Bella Grace last week in her School Library Journal article, Library Inspires Second Grader to Start 1,000 Books Read-a-Thon.  Fortunately, Bella Grace doesn’t yet realize that she’s not having fun, she actually LOVES going to the library and reading so much that she started her own read-a-thon to see if she could read 1,000 books in a year.  Bella Grace got hooked on reading last summer when The Otis Library ran a reading contest that let kids earn points for every hour they read, Bella couldn’t get enough.  She went to the library almost everyday, blew through her summer reading list and came up with the 1,000 book challenge for herself.  She has read 800 books since June 18, 2010.  
The Otis Library couldn’t ask for a more enthusiastic spokeskid,
“The library has great books for free, super nice librarians who help me, and fun programs where I can read and do arts and crafts. If I have to pick on a scale of one to 10 where 10 is the best, then it's a 10-plus. Every time I go to Otis library it's like Christmas!”  
No, the Bella Grace is not on the payroll, she is an old fashioned kid who has been protected from all the ‘fun’ she’s supposed to be having with technology and modern American culture and allowed to discover what kids (and grown ups) have known for centuries:  reading is enjoyable.  
The students who come into my classroom each September are changing.  They are increasingly hostile about reading, when they first arrive they groan and roll their eyes when it is independent reading time.  I ignore them because I know that my classroom is a detox program for our culture.  At first, it is painful.  They miss the constant flashing lights, the instant feedback and the stream of images telling them how to look and act.  They have trouble focusing on print, sitting still for more than five minutes and getting lost in a story, but in my classroom the choices are limited.  There are books, magazines, paper, pencils, plants, a frog tank, sunny windows and quiet.  I keep reading and they keep reading and slowly the tide begins to turn.  The only reason it works every year is because in my room reading and thinking are cool and books don’t have to compete with glitzy or violent entertainment options.  The kids have the time to discover that reading is fun (especially when you find the right books) and doing your best actually makes you feel pretty good about yourself - and they are not embarrassed to admit it.
Bella Grace and the kids in Norwich are lucky to have the Otis Library, it is a reading resort with a full line up of book clubs, programs, activities and engaging events.  They recently ran a contest to name the new children’s room mascot, a Russian, four toed tortoise.  Eighty kids stopped by the library to vote on the name Toodles.  Now Toodles has a list of her favorite books to share with kids.   This is what John Cotton Dana advocated 100 years ago - meeting the needs of patrons, demonstrating that the library is relevant and allowing readers to find the things that excite them.  
Bella Grace Tyler is a great example of what libraries can offer kids, not more of the same, but a break from the relentless pressure to be connected, entertained and cool (and to spend money doing it).  Sure, these things are fun but if we don’t protect our kids they may never discover that reading is too.     

Oh DEAR!

Most days I’m not too embarrassed to admit what I don’t know.  I like learning, even if I’m learning something that “everyone” knows already.  But when it comes to reading and teaching I’d like to think I have some expertise (I’m well into my 10,000 hours).  That’s why I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t know about “National DEAR Day” (there, I said it).  If you don’t spend your days surrounded by small children you might not know that DEAR stands for Drop Everything and Read.  This concept became very popular in schools in the 1970-80s as a way to motivate kids to read and enjoy books that they selected on their own.  It morphed into ‘sustained silent reading’ for a while and has come in and out of fashion over the years.  Now teachers work on balancing a variety of instruction and materials to help kids with their reading (word study, guided reading, reading conferences, shared reading) but sometimes we forget that reading is FUN - or at least it should be...
“National DEAR Day” was created after Beverly Cleary wrote about Ramona’s 2nd grade experience with DEAR in the book “Ramona, Age 8”.   Cleary received truckloads of letters from children across the country who were excited to make a reading connection with Ramona.  Soon every literary organization under the sun  (The National Education Association (NEA); Parent Teacher Association (PTA); the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), Reading Rockets, and more)  jumped on Ramona’s bandwagon and came up with the idea of creating a national celebration.  I would guess that Harper Collins is hoping to sell some books as well.  The great thing is that “National DEAR Day” is celebrated on Beverly Cleary’s birthday, April 12th...and this year Cleary will celebrate her 95th birthday!  In honor of this year’s event, Cleary will be  judging the 4th annual “Doodle 4 Google” contest - k-12 students submit their google doodle on the theme:  “what i’d like to do someday”.  The winning design will be on google on May 20th (and the winning artist will take home a $15,000 college scholarship).  
So not only did I learn a few things today, I also have two great projects to celebrate with my kids at school...I’m thinking maybe a DEAR pajama day?  or bring your pillow and teddy to the library for a reading party?  How about cards and cupcakes for a Beverly Cleary birthday party?  Who says reading isn’t fun?