Posts Tagged reading

5 Ways to Remember What You Read: And Do You Need to “Remember” At All?

By on April 22, 2024   /   Articles, books, Cross-Curricular, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, Homeschool Resource   /   2 Comments

I wish I had a photographic memory. But I don’t. In order to remember something, I typically need to write about it. And as a children’s author, I want to remember the books that I read.

Through the years, I’ve tried several methods to chronicle the books I read. These techniques include the following:

A Reader Response Journal

This is where I note my immediate responses to a book. My writing is sloppy and comes out in a gush. In classrooms, teachers say they enjoy using this method as a way for students to learn how to become close readers. Readers organically engage with texts, and this feels very intimate. Additionally, you don’t have to write about an entire book, you can simply respond to particular passages or chapters.

For me, one of my flaws is that I tend to sometimes write  responses on my phone, sometimes in a journal and sometimes as a Word document and they are not collected in one place. But this is separate issue—more about my tendency to shirk from instituting routines/systems. How to organize everything could be its own separate post.

Craft Journal

This is very similar to a reader response journal in that you’re quickly responding to text, but the goals are different. In this sort of journal, I actively search the text for answers to a particular craft question. My reading itself becomes more strategic and less about pleasure. I might read for voice. Or to see how a particular author handles tertiary characters or how she folds in setting. The list goes on and on.

GoodReads

Sometimes I will post a quick review on GoodReads. Ha! I just fibbed. I’m not capable of writing something speedily that will be posted on a social media platform (even on X formerly known as Twitter). I’m not as active on GoodReads as I hoped to be. It seems like a smart way of chronicling books as well as boosting fellow authors. As an author, I really appreciate it when readers post their reviews on GoodReads as well as on retailer websites. However, I think that my ego gets in the way, and I want my review to be clever and it can stop me from posting here. I need to tame my ego!

Book Groups

In the past (pre-motherhood), I have been part of book groups. I love that these groups create community. I’m all in for circle time. As an author I have visited some book groups. I would like to get active in a book group again (but I also worry about time/commitment).

Reels/TikTok

Not me. At least yet. Now that TikTok will likely be banned, I suspect that the action will be on Reels.

How do you chronicle your reading? What works for you? And do you even need to chronicle the books you read? Is it enough to just enjoy them? Ponder them? Love them?

Hillary Homzie is the author of the Ellie May chapter book series (Charlesbridge, 2018), Apple Pie Promises (Sky Pony/Swirl, 2018), Pumpkin Spice Secrets (Sky Pony/Swirl, 2017), Queen of Likes (Simon & Schuster MIX 2016), The Hot List (Simon & Schuster MIX 2011) and Things Are Gonna Be Ugly (Simon & Schuster, 2009) as well as the Alien Clones From Outer Space (Simon & Schuster Aladdin 2002) chapter book series. She’s also a contributor to the Kate the Chemist middle grade series (Philomel Books/Penguin Random House). And her nonfiction picture book, If You Were a Princess: True Stories of Brave Leaders From Around the World is a look at historical and current princesses from many diverse lands who have made their mark (Simon & Schuster, August 2022). During the year, Hillary teaches at Sonoma State University. In the summer, she teaches in the graduate program in children’s literature, writing and illustration at Hollins University. She also is an instructor for the Children’s Book Academy.

She can be found at hillaryhomzie.com and on Instagram, her Facebook page as well as on Twitter

Back to Top

The Power of the Reread

By on December 4, 2023   /   Articles  

In 2011 when my twins were still in high school, our local school held its annual Academic Awards/National Honor Society Initiation/Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony event. It was a weeknight during one of the busiest weeks of the year. 

Since there were no local sports heroes were being inducted into the Hall of Fame, my usual strategy would have been to stay home and skip the event. But, as my kids were part of the academic festivities that evening, I went with the plan of sliding out the back door right after their names were announced.

For some reason, though, I decided to stay for the Hall of Fame induction ceremony to listen to the inductee’s speeches. In the end, what a great decision that was! 

One of the inductees that year, Dr. Rachel Schmidt-Brown, Clay Center Community High School Class of 1981, gave an acceptance speech that was pure gold. Dr. Schmidt is a professor of Spanish at the University of Calgary and a world-renowned DON QUIXOTE scholar.

She has spent an entire academic career studying and researching one great work of classic literature. Dr. Schmidt spoke about finding and following your passion in life. Good stuff. But, what stuck to my ribs was when she mentioned how she sits down every five years and rereads DON QUIXOTE.

I just about jumped out of my seat. Do you mean a person who spends every day of her illustrious career studying one book, written 400 years ago in Spanish, and reads it for FUN every five years? 

Huh. 

Then came her take-home message; Dr. Schmidt explained she reads DON QUIXOTE every five years to get a fresh perspective of the manuscript from where she currently is in her life.  She knows she has changed over the five years; changes in her family, kids, and career. She explained how the story takes a new life; a new meaning with every successive read. What a beautiful concept!

 

 

So that got me thinking. What books or stories do I read over and over again? How does an older and, hopefully, wiser perspective affect me? Below is my list of stories I read over and again with an expanded understanding developing with each read. It’s truly a gift to be able to cultivate a deeper understanding of not only these wonderful stories but of who I am as a person. Reading is indeed a superpower.

Novels

  • The Hogfather by Terry Pratchett 
  • Coraline by Neil Gaiman.
  • How I Became a Ghost by Tim Tingle
  • Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
  • Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt
  • Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
  • Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Short Stories

  • Platte River by Rick Bass
  • To Build a Fire by Jack London
  • The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
  • Big Two-Hearted River by Ernest Hemmingway

Inspirational

  • Lenten Gospel Rotation (Every Lent, I read Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John in a four-year cycle. Always surprised by how my life perspective affects the way I read the Gospels.)

Do you have books or stories you read over and over again? How do time and life influence your reads? Do you pick up a certain detail in a different way? Please leave a comment, I would like to know.

Back to Top

It’s Almost Spring! Bringing Books to Life in the Great Outdoors

By on March 13, 2023   /   Articles  

Whether the children in your lives are eager lovers of literature or more reluctant readers, finding ways to bring books to life with outdoor activities can be a fun way to encourage thoughtful reading practices and to make books even more engaging. Below are a few ideas for how you might create activities to bring the events of a novel to life for the young readers in your life.

 

Nest, by Esther Ehrlich, can be adapted into real-life activities in many ways. Set in the 1970’s, this is the story of a family dealing with mental illness. Despite these heavier tones, there’s still a lot of joy in the story from which to pull inspiration. Young readers could go birdwatching just like the main character Chirp and look up the birds they spot in a field guide. Similarly, Chirp creates a dance routine to the song Help! by the Beatles. Young readers can do this too. It doesn’t need to be anything professional or elaborate but getting up and moving to a song (Beatles or not) provides a lot of physical fun and memorizing a dance routine is a good brain exercise, too! And it’s even more fun if it’s performed outdoors.

 

Book Jacket for Time of the Fireflies

Kimberley Griffiths Little’s novel The Time of the Fireflies also provides more opportunities for readers to engage more fully with the novel.  A picnic dinner to watch fireflies would be ideal for bringing Larissa’s story to life. Other  ideas for bringing her book to life include exploring one’s family history through word of mouth or old pictures and objects or, like Larissa, experience some time travel. Pick a year, help your readers do some research, and then spend an hour or two as though you’ve slipped through time!

 

Winner of the Newberry medal, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly, is another novel rich in the natural world and centered around a loveable, strong female protagonist. Readers of Calpurnia’s story can follow in her footsteps by exploring their yards, neighborhoods, or local parks with a notebook and pencil in hand. Walk slowly and observe with all the senses, taking notes and making sketches of what kinds of flora and fauna are found. A field guide could come in handy for this as well, as some young readers  might want to learn the scientific names of plants and animals they observe. This is a great activity to encourage mindfulness, art skills, and offer a foray into being a naturalist.

 

The First Last Day, by Dorian Cirrone, is also perfect as the weather is warming up. Main character Haleigh finds herself in the midst of a never-ending summer…literally! One activity to bring this novel to life is to encourage young readers to paint memories of their favorite days or to keep a journal of their life through paintings. The passage of time might not freeze as it does for Haleigh, but this is a great way to encourage artistic creativity as well as personal reflection. Other art supplies and mediums can be added or substituted, too.

 

Finally, in my novel, Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe, the main character Cricket goes on a wilderness adventure to try to find her mother. A series of clues leads the way. There are several ways Smack Dab could be brought to life, but one idea is to create a clue-based scavenger hunt for your young readers to solve. This could be as simple as leaving hand-written notes with riddles or descriptions that lead from one location to the next. You can also create more complicated clue trails involving cyphers or clues that relate to poetry or history. Even better if the clues incorporate the outdoors or wilderness! A small prize could be added at the end of the clues or simply solving the scavenger hunt can be the victory. Plus, older kids could orchestrate clues for one another. You can find some activities here.

 

These are a few ideas to get started. Once you start reading with potential outdoor adventures in mind, the sky is the limit. –literally.  Happy reading!

Back to Top