PEN OA WORLD OF POSSIBLE Real Stories About the Joy and Power of Reading Edited by Lois Bridges Foreword by Richard Robinson New York • Toronto • London • Auckland • Sydney Mexico City • New Delhi • Hong Kong • Buenos Aires DEDICATION For all children, and for all who love and inspire them— a world of possible awaits in the pages of a book. And for our beloved friend, Walter Dean Myers (1937–2014), who related reading to life itself: “Once I began to read, I began to exist.” b Credit for Charles M. Blow (p. 40): From The New York Times, January 23 © 2014 The New York Times. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content without written permission is prohibited. Credit for Frank Bruni (p. 218): From The New York Times, May 13 © 2014 The New York Times. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content without written permission is prohibited. Scholastic grants teachers permission to photocopy the reproducible pages from this book for classroom use. No other part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. Cover Designer: Charles Kreloff Editor: Lois Bridges Copy/Production Editor: Danny Miller Interior Designer: Sarah Morrow Compilation © 2014 Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. Printed in the U.S.A. ISBN: 978-0-545-77774-2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 23 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 CONTENTS Acknowledgments ........... 5 Peter H. Johnston ........... 63 Foreword by Richard Robinson . 6 Kendall Hailey . 66 Jeffrey D. Wilhelm ........... 69 Introduction by Lois Bridges . 8 Anne E. Cunningham......... 72 Joy Glenna Sloan ................ 74 Jim Burke ................... 76 Katherine Paterson ........... 12 Carol Jago ................... 14 Illumination Rudine Sims Bishop........... 15 Naomi Shihab Nye ........... 80 Jim Trelease.................. 16 Georgia Heard................ 81 Colby Sharp.................. 17 Pedro Noguera .............. 82 Helen Oxenbury .............. 18 Marva Allen ................. 84 John Burningham............ 20 Yvonne Siu-Runyan .......... 86 Susan B. Neuman ............. 21 Deborah J. Stipek............ 88 Janet S. Wong............... 22 Alfred W. Tatum ............. 90 Bill McBride ................. 24 Kelly Gallagher .............. 92 Chris Loker.................. 26 Farin Houk .................. 94 Yaya Yuan................... 28 Christopher Lehman ......... 96 Maria Walther ............... 30 Dawn MacKeen .............. 98 Alan Lawrence Sitomer....... 32 Claudia S. Dybdahl & Franki Sibberson ............ 34 Paul C. Ongtooguk ....... 101 Linda Alston ................ 36 Marcelle M. Haddix.......... 104 Anna Sumida............... 106 Transformation Barry Lane ................. 108 Charles M. Blow ............. 40 Michael W. Smith ........... 110 Sonia Manzano .............. 42 Shirley Brice Heath .......... 45 Communion Jimmy Santiago Baca ....... 48 Alma Flor Ada............... 114 Elfrieda (Freddy) H. Hiebert ... 50 Carmen Agra Deedy ......... 117 F. Isabel Campoy ............ 52 Roy Blount, Jr. .............. 120 Phyllis C. Hunter ............. 54 Juan Felipe Herrera .......... 122 JoAnn Trejo ................ 56 Lily Wong Fillmore........... 124 Robert E. Probst............. 58 Marilyn Jager Adams......... 127 Kylene Beers . 60 Timothy Rasinski ........... 130 Meenoo Rami ............... 132 Jan Richardson .............. 196 Ruth Culham ................ 134 Penny Kittle ................. 198 Lester L. Laminack........... 136 Karen L. Mapp.............. 200 Maxie Moua . 138 Nancie Atwell .............. 202 J. Richard Gentry ............ 140 Douglas Fisher ............. 204 Adria F. Klein ................ 142 Jennifer Serravallo ......... 206 Enrique A. Puig.............. 144 Linda B. Gambrell........... 208 Grace Mah .................. 146 Laura Robb ................. 210 Jane Hansen ................ 148 Heidi Mills & Imagination Timothy O’Keefe ......... 212 Walter Dean Myers........... 150 Advocacy Jon Scieszka ................ 152 James Patterson............. 216 Ralph Fletcher............... 153 Frank Bruni ................. 218 Margarita Engle ............. 154 Lucy Calkins ............... 220 Richard L. Allington .......... 156 Robert Needlman, M.D. ...... 222 Marilyn Burns ............... 158 Robert L. Green ............. 224 Kwame Alexander ........... 160 Awele Makeba .............. 227 Pam Muñoz Ryan ........... 162 Sharon M. Draper ............ 164 Pat Mora ................... 230 David Lee Finkle ..............167 Nell K. Duke ................. 232 José M. Cruz ................ 170 Stephanie Harvey ........... 234 Kathy G. Short............... 172 Kimberly N. Parker ........... 236 Regie Routman.............. 174 Pam Allyn................... 238 Teresa Mlawer ............... 176 Rebecca Constantino ....... 240 Charles R. Smith, Jr. ......... 178 ReLeah Cossett Lent ......... 242 Joanne Yatvin ............... 180 Erin Gruwell ................ 244 Sue Pon ................... 246 Inspiration Victoria Carpenter ...... 246 Dorothy S. Strickland ........ 182 Audrey Sakai ............ 247 P. David Pearson............. 184 Wendi Olson ............ 247 Donalyn Miller ............... 186 Marcus Curry............... 249 Patricia A. Edwards .......... 189 Kristina Mundera ............ 252 Gay Su Pinnell & Irene C. Fountas ......... 192 Closing Thoughts ........... 255 Kevin K. Green .............. 195 List of Authors .............. 256 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book exists because of our illustrious contributors; we are deeply grateful to each and every one of you for sharing these seminal and inspiring moments of your reading lives. We thank you for your wisdom, time, and generosity of spirit. To my collaborator, Billy DiMichele, Vice President, Creative Development, you were the heartbeat of the project. Charming Billy, you make all things possible. To Editorial Director Virginia Dooley, heartfelt thanks for supporting the work in multiple ways, and to our Teaching Resources colleagues Lynne Wilson, Adrienne Downey, and Zach Chang, thank you for always providing the help that’s needed at the exact moment of need. Allison Feldman, your gift of time and space enabled the project. Regarding those who helped connect us with contributors, we are especially grateful to Teresa Mlawer and Andrea Pinkney, both of whom offered invaluable guidance and kind assistance. For welcomed inspiration and more connections, thank you Francie Alexander, Pam Allyn, Carol Jago, Judy Koch, ReLeah Cossett Lent, Bobbi Mason, Judy Newman, Ned Rust, and Halimah Van Tuyl. Ellie Berger, thank you for your wise counsel. Trent Hanover, Karen Nachbar, Martha Parlitis, and Mark Seidenfeld, we appreciate your legal support. Ann Sandhurst and Marilyn Small, we are indebted to you for your permissions expertise. For patient and thoroughly professional production and manufacturing help, we are most grateful to our colleagues David Saylor, Meryl Wolfe, Jaime Capifali, Sawatree Green, Adam Mann, Lisa Serra, Elizabeth Krych, and Rachel Hicks. Charles Kreloff, thank you for our luminous cover! To my brilliant design and production team, Danny Miller and Sarah Morrow, thank you for knowing how to create a beautiful and polished book from a collection of more than 100 diverse voices. Your expert and tireless efforts never fail to produce stellar results. I thank my cousin Dawn MacKeen who shares a literacy story that’s mine, in part, as well. And Gary, Aislinn, Erin, and Brennan, thank you for being the loves of my life. Finally, to our Chairman, President, and CEO Richard Robinson, who together with his father, Scholastic founder Maurice R. Robinson, has opened a world of possible for millions of children around the globe: Thank you for seeing, shaping, and supporting the world of possible in this book. —L.B. Open a World of Possible: Real Stories About the Joy and Power of Reading © 2014 Scholastic 5 Foreword b e know that children who read frequently and well in school are W more confident learners, with a broader understanding of the world. They possess the skills that will enable them to be college and career ready and score better on the tests called for by the new standards. Yet, we are reluctant to give children the time to read in school or the freedom to choose the books they want to read. Decades of research show the connection between reading engagement and reading achievement, but we still worry about whether we should devote the time to “free reading.” Perhaps it is counter-intuitive that independent reading—also known as pleasure reading or reading for enjoyment—is the best path for children to improve their skills and become fluent and proficient readers. We may be influenced still by the old-fashioned notion that school must include a certain amount of drudgery or pain in order to be effective, reminding us of the little Puritan readers used in 19th Century one-room schoolhouses which preached that hard work leads to success while pleasure (such as reading for the joy of it) wastes time. But research shows us that choosing the books you want to read (and Giving children time perhaps