Our middle school librarian points this out to our 6th graders each September. Do not judge a book by its cover! She really tries to change their minds. She shows them a new copy of the highly desirable The Egyptian Game by Z. K. Snider and an old copy that has not been checked out since 2001. We have multiple copies of this book on the shelves (which is a fun read, by the way). Same book with a very old cover and students will not check it out even though she pleads her case each time.
I am learning these are visual students who are very different from many adults today. I am "older" teacher. I tell them about how it took hit movies 9-12 months to make it to my town, we had only 2 T.V. stations that went off after Johnny Carson every night, and only one "rock" radio station that changed over to farm reports from 6 a.m.-4 p.m.. Life had few choices then in some parts of the USA. Our two college age sons keep us current with Ipods, blogs, wikis, and their world which is so different than our college experience. It is not a generation gap but a technology gap.....think about all the technology that has occurred in the last 10-15 years which is their lifetimes. They are so much more visual, easily bored, & not willing to delay gratification. I love this age group but every day I am reminded how "the good old days" are my childhood and how their lives differ in 2007. So what do we do about these book covers and the lesson within? I guess keep talking with them about it.....it is a good analogy about life. Still waters run deep, one can not judge a book by its cover, can you think of any other idioms? Can you think of other ways to encourage reluctant readers? It is all about reading.... ----- Original Message ----- From: "Heather Poland" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "A list for improving literacy with focus on middle grades." <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 8:42 PM Subject: Re: [LIT] Cover Stories I think covers are very important. Students will not read books, no matter how good, if the covers look old or cheesy. I've seen plenty of "old" books that kids did not like. Then, when they were republished with a new cover, tons of kids would read it. I must admit, a nice cover hooks me as well! At the book store, if I see a book that catches my eye with the cover, I will be more likely to pick it up. Oh and I usually do NOT like covers once they have all the movie stuff on them. On 3/19/07, TLP <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Some of my students literally "pick" a book by its > cover for independent reading. Others start with the > cover, may be intrigued and then go onto the back-or > the first few pages before a decision is made. > > Now I must admit my own bias. I don't like many of the > covers on some of my favorite reads. "Hidden Talents" > was one of them. I had picked up the book > before and simply put it back because I assumed it was > for a much younger audience. After seeing it discussed > here, I went back and read it. I promptly purchased 4 > for my own bookshelf. I now have them checked out by > students. It is likely the the publisher was trying to > appeal to a young male audience as the cover > indicated. Alas, I do not fit the bill! What do you > folks think about covers? > > Tena > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > Get your own web address. > Have a HUGE year through Yahoo! Small Business. > http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/domains/?p=BESTDEAL > > _______________________________________________ > The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive > -- - Heather "The world of books is the most remarkable creation of man. Nothing else that he builds ever lasts. Monuments fall; nations perish; civilizations grow old and die out; new races build others. But in the world of books are volumes that have seen this happen again and again and yet live on. Still young, still as fresh as the day they were written, still telling men's hearts of the hearts of men centuries dead." --Clarence Day "While the rhetoric is highly effective, remarkably little good evidence exists that there's any educational substance behind the accountability and testing movement." —Peter Sacks, Standardized Minds "When our children fail competency tests the schools lose funding. When our missiles fail tests, we increase funding. " —Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Presidential Candidate _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.413 / Virus Database: 268.18.14/727 - Release Date: 3/19/2007 _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
