This morning I wrote about Book Stepladders. Lots of times, when I talk to teachers about student engagement, and connecting the right kid with the right book, people say that they don't have the expertise/knowledge of books, to do this. My thought is, then, that I would like to create some lists of increasingly "harder" (and I'm still not comfortable with that word), so that teachers could help kids move further and further into the big, wide world of books. I was thrilled to get several comments- some from folks I know and some from people I have never heard from before. Franki suggested that she's done/is doing some "If you like..., you might also like..." C.A.T. said to check the Teachers' College Reading and Writing Project website because they do something similar called "Book Ladders." I did check the site, but didn't find this topic.
Several people offered to help put some book ladders together, so I say, "Let's go for it. The more the merrier."
Here are some lists I'm thinking about. These are just beginnings…Feel free to suggest stuff and I will add it, or suggest some new topics.
Junie B. lovers- Junie B. Jones, Moxy Maxwell, Clementine, Amber Brown, Ramona
Captain Underpants lovers- Captain Underpants, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Diary of a Part Time Indian
Dog Lovers: Henry and Mudge, Leanin' Dog, Where the Red Fern Grows
Sports books: Matt Christopher, Dan Gutman, Mike Lupica
Animal Fantasy
Fantasy
Science Fiction
Horse Lovers: Marguerite Henry
Friendship: Pinky and Rex, Betsy, Tacy, Tib
This is just a start. Feel free to post a comment and we'll keep working on this.
3 comments:
How about fantasy/sfi: Time Warp Trio to Billy Hooten Owlboy to Percy Jackson (Lightening Thief).
I like the lists.
Here's a few ideas:
Junie B.-Clementine, Ruby Lu
Male version of Junie B. - Marvin Redpost, Zac Files, Jake Drake, Alvin Ho
Friendship- Ivy and Bean
Dog books - Shiloh, Down Girl and Sit Series (younger kids)
Fantasy - Gregor the Overlander, Atheron , Percy Jackson (series), House of Rowan (series)
These are just a few to add to the list. I think this could be an awesome list with many people adding to it!
I love the lists.
For the Junie B. list, how about Judy Moody? And on that note, what about her brother Stink for the Captain Underpants list? And also the Just! series (Andy Griffiths)? For the Friendship list, you could add Ivy + Bean. And also create a Mystery list. There is a mystery series by James Patterson for middle grade readers - one of my readers cannot put them down!
I'll keep thinking, and I'll ask for some student input tomorrow.
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