Read Books You Love

As Matthew hands me The Bookshop Dog, for Read-Aloud one day, I smile and say, yet again, "This is one of my absolute favorite books." Someone is sure to remind me that "you always say that Mrs. Lunsford." It's true, I admit, I do have hundreds of favorite books by favorite authors I have identified over the years. The connections we make with particular books are what make our enthusiasm for favorite books genuine.

A favorite book is one that:

• Conjures up memories of a person, place, or event that helped shape our lives;
• May delight us by painting a picture of a thought or feeling left unexpressed until another put the idea on paper;
• Inspires us by depicting characters with very similar or very different life experiences;
• We look forward to reading again and again.

	As I proceed to read The Bookshop Dog, my students quickly fall under the spell of Cynthia Rylant's story about a woman who loved her dog so much that she could hardly bear to be away from her. After reading the last page, I display the dust jacket which shows Cynthia Rylant with "the real" Martha Jane as well as a picture of my yellow Labrador retriever, Jordan.

Share the Works of One Favorite Author
My students quickly learn that Cynthia Rylant is one of my favorite authors. I explain that I like her writing style or the way she puts her thoughts into words. In telling my students what I like about Cynthia Rylant's books, they can begin to develop their own preferences based on the different authors whose works we share for Read-Aloud. The following sentences are a sampling of the kinds of sentences I am sure to point out to my students to illustrate one author's distinct writing style that invites readers to see hear, taste, smell, and feel her characters' experiences:

Sentences I love from Cynthia Rylant's Books:

The Cookie Store Cat: "They tell him he is sweeter than any cookie they have ever baked. They tell him he is prettier than marzipan. They brag that he is a gumdrop gem (3-4)."

When I Was Young in the Mountains: "When I was young in the mountains, Grandfather came home in the evening covered with the black dust of a coal mine. Only his lips were clean, and he used them to kiss the top of my head (1)."

The Relatives Came: "Then it was hugging time. Talk about hugging! Those relatives just passed us all around their car, pulling us against their wrinkled Virginia clothes, crying sometimes. They hugged us for hours (10)."

Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea: "The shelter man brought Mr. Putter the old yellow cat. Its bones creaked, its fur was thinning, and it seemed a little deaf. Mr. Putter creaked, his hair was thinning, and he was a little deaf, too (17)."

Tulip Sees America: "The skies in Nebraska. They are everything. They are vast and dark and low and ominous. And a little tiny Beetle feels even tinier, driving beneath them. It feels a little afraid (11)."