Good Books For Teachers

1) They Say I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, Russel Durst

They Say/I Say (Birkenstein, Durst, Graff) is a composition book that offers many tips on persuasive academic writing. "Writing well means engaging the voices of others and letting them in turn engage us." In argumentative writing the main goal is to summarize another's view and set up one's one argument. In this book the authors move beyond the standard agree/disagree writing framework. "Effective persuasive writers do more than make well-supported claims ("I say"); they also map those claims relative to the claims of others ("they say")." This "model can improve not just student writing, but student reading comprehension as well."

Good writing means mastering some specific verbal "basic moves." They Say I Say provides templates. "Templates do not dictate the content of what you say…{they} only suggest a way of formatting how you say it." The templates show students how to make these moves in their own writing. Some tips, such as: "It is generally advisable to begin a text by citing others rather than plunging directly into one's own views," – might be common sense or intuitive to seasoned writers, but the authors restate them in an engaging way that makes them user friendly for anyone.

By taking a difficult subject – persuasive arguments - and making the How To's clearer and easier to understand, the authors succeed in offering pragmatic tips. "In other words, listening closely to others and summarizing what they have to say can help writers generate their own ideas." This is a very useful teaching book whose advice "cuts across different disciplines and genres of writing, including creative writing." (FZ)

2) Surprisingly, many students have not read Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Along with being a first-rate adventure, this is an excellent character study. You can really show that the action is dictated by what motivates the characters.

3) A Separate Peace by John Knowles is another great character book for high school students.

4) The "Best" series is now out. (Best Short Stories of 2010, Best Essays, sports writing etc.) These are always useful. Check out the introductions.

Our Difficult Sunlight by Georgia Popoff and Quraysh Ali Lansana is, as the subtitle reads, "A guide to Poetry, Literacy and Social Justice in Classroom and Community."

The book provides many strategies for using reading and poetry in the classroom. It also offers many valuable insights about how to engage young people in writing, creating, sharing and interpreting poetry. All of which will also improve students' reading comprehension and writing skills. The authors' believe "the value of writing and reading go far beyond life's practicalities," and that "poetry is an effective and under-utilized tool for developing competent literacy." The authors feel our society has become "satisfied with mediocrity when it comes to communication and expression." Our "consumer,"orientated and "fast-food mentality of immediate gratification" (hello text-talk, habitually abbreviated language) are proving to be huge flaws in our education system and society.

The book is meant to be a resource guide for teachers, offering very specific advice as well as comprehensive lesson plans. Too many people "feel inept in relating to and understanding poetry." Poetry is creative and "creative writing is not linear." There are no right or wrong interpretations but many people (students/teachers??) get caught up in the "need to be right," have the correct interpretation. If students do not have an open minded teacher and deviate from the "accepted or perceived meaning" of a poem, they may feel "too dumb to "get" poetry" and this is a foolish belief, there are no singular answers/interpretations.

From novel ways to teach poetry "as a video game" to "6 Word Memoir Self Portrait" exercises, the authors' aim is to support teachers and help them appreciate the value of poetry as a means to better teach students how to glean meaning and inference (their own) from poetry. And to enjoy it instead of being frustrated by it.

Our Difficult Sunlight is recommended for use in K-12 classrooms - covering a lot of ground and students. (fz)

Many parents, reading and writing teachers struggle to find the right book for their children. The seemingly endless choices make it more of a challenge than one might think. From Caldecott and Newberry winners to Captain Underpants and Harry Potter, there is a big selection out there. Nancy Pearl's Book Crush is a great resource book that is like your own personal librarian or book shopper. The author of Book Lust and More Book Lust (good books for adults), Pearl brings her chatty, informal expertise into the arena of infant to teen readers.

The book is divided into 3 broad age categories – younger readers, middle-grade readers and teens - with each part divided further into sections that reflect different genres, subjects, categories and themes. With more than 1,000 recommendations, this is a book filled with solutions and ideas. Have a middle school kid who likes orphans or the supernatural – no problem. Teen looking for historical fiction or GLBTQ reading– you're covered. Looking for a bedtime story and not sure Go the F#*k to Sleep is appropriate? Pearl offers alternatives.

This is a fun book filled with ideas for stimulating younger readers. Pearl is a book champion not a book reviewer, this distinction gives her the freedom to read and recommend only what she likes. Her next book is tentatively titled Wander Lust, a collection of favorite travel-related books. (FZ)

OPERATION MINCEMEAT by Ben Macintyre

It's hard to imagine anyone, especially a teacher of writing, who would not like this true WW II story describing how a few eccentric and brilliant British intelligent people concocted a scheme -- involving a dead body -- that fooled the Germans at a crucial time in the war. It's especially exciting and interesting because the writing is so powerful.

Macintyre shapes huge quantities of information into a highly readable book. He creates places and people quickly and thoroughly.

You might ask your students to read several short stories by a single writer. Recommend writers who are both enjoyable and instructive. Here some authors I recommend every summer. By each is the name of a story that my students really like.

• The Sound of Thunder, by Ray Bradbury
• The Dew Breaker, by Edwidge Dandicat
• A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner
• Charles, by Shirley Jackson
• The Treasure of Lemon Brown, by Walter Dean Myers
• Shooting an Elephant, by George Orwell
• A Perfect Day for Banana Fish, by J.D. Salinger
• Gaston, by William Saroyan
• Guess Who's for the Dinner, by Roddy Doyle

Books For You

How To's:

Word Playgrounds, by John O'Connor ("Reading, Writing and Performing Poetry in the Classroom")

*Poetry:

Poetry 180 (Contemporary poems selected by Billy Collins)

*Serious Fiction:

*Detective Fiction:

*Non-Fiction:

*Teacher Stuff:

April 2011

Here are a few stories in which the narrator plays an especially significant role. You might want to read some of these aloud to the class and then discuss what the narrator means to the story.

• Tell-Tale Heart, by Edgar Allen Poe
• A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner
• Bartleby the Scrivener, by Herman Melville
• Esme with Love and Squalor, by J. D. Salinger
• Haircut, by Ring Lardner
• Maria Conception, by Katherine Anne Porter
• The Boarding House, by James Joyce
• The Open Window, by Saki
• A Kind of Murder, by Hugh Pentacost
• Marigolds, by Eugenia Collier
• Honor, by Betty Dahlin
• Gaston, by William Saroyan
• The Death Trap, by Paul Gallico
• Indian Camp, by Hemingway
• Miss Brill, by Katherine Mansfield
• The Bear Came Over the Mountain, by Alice Munro (movie version is Away From Her)
• Cheating at Canasta, by William Trevor

Reading Like a Writer
In Reading Like a Writer, Francine Prose shares how she enhanced her own writing ability through careful, deliberate, slow reading. "Like most, maybe all, writers,I learned to write by writing and, by example, from books." This is a good reminder of the simple tenet for the rewards of reading. While Prose concedes that talent can't be taught, she maintains that good reading can help prime the pump.

Chapters offer lessons in the fundamentals of writing (words, sentences, paragraphs), as well as the craft of writing (narration, character, dialogue, details, gesture). Prose uses an (over)abundance of excerpts and examples to illustrate her points. She concedes that, "reading this way requires a certain amount of stamina, concentration, and patience." Prose's writing is witty and her insights into her own teaching experiences are thoughtful.

Prose ends with a list of "Books to Be Read Immediately." While this a good start for a list, there are some notable, newer names missing (Steinbeck, Morrison, Updike). She urges the reader to use reading as a way to learn to write. Her approach is straightforward and refreshing. In a world filled with MFA programs, pedagogical discussions and summer writing workshops (which all serve their own purpose), Prose focuses her concentration on studying the text itself, rather than context or theory. Her basic premise is the best way to learn to write is to read – first for enjoyment and later for craft. (FZ)

Here are some favorite books by famous authors. For more lists go to: Top Ten Books.

Top Ten list for Stephen King:

• The Golden Argosy, by Van H. Cartmell & Charles Grayson, editors
• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
• The Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie
• McTeague, by Frank Norris
• Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
• Bleak House, by Charles Dickens
• 1984, by George Orwell
• The Raj Quartet, by Paul Scott
• Light in August, by William Faulkner
• Blood Merdian, by Cormac McCarthy

Top Ten list for Sandra Cisneros:

• The Time of the Doves, by Merce Rodoreda
• The Ten Thousand Things, by Maria Dermout
• Stones for Ibarra, by Harriet Doerr
• The Burning Plain and Other Stories, by Juan Rulfo
• Good Morning Midnight, by Jean Rhys
• La Flor De Lis, by Elena Poniatowska
• Borderlands, by Gloria Anzaldua
• The Book of Embraces, by Eduardo Galeano
• Dream Tigers, by Jorge Luis Borges
• Maud Martha, by Gwendolyn Brooks

Crime Fiction
Lately I have been reading Michael Connelly. The last book was Black Echo. I think Connelly deserves to be called one of the greatest living crime writers. Great characters. Gruesome crimes. Grim humor. Many plausible outcomes. I never feel cheated or tricked. If I were to use this with a class -- and there's a good chance I will -- I'll talk about his dialogue, his descriptions; and his knowledge of the subject.
Who are your favorite crime writers? (RSB)

ENGLISH JOURNAL,
Green English, January 2011. A good source.

Here are three novels and one short story that beautifully illustrate what character means to story and what story means to character. What happens is a result of who the characters are, how the characters develop is a result of the events they have created.

    
• How does this novel differ from the standard prison story?
    
• Farragut hears the stories of the others in prison with him? Which ones did you find he most moving? Which added the most to his story?
    
• We learn right away that Farragut's (the protagonist) is in prison for killing his brother. We don't learn why until the end. Did the brother deserve to be murdered?
  
• How does the Marcia's character advance the story?
    
• Was Farragut likable at all?
   
• Which scenes were the most vivid?
    
• Did the ending work? For who would it not work?
    
• For some the book feels more than realistic; Cheevers exaggerates. Do you agree? Does this take away any of the power.
    
• John Gardner calls this one of the great novels ever. Do you agree?
   
• How would you use this in writing classes?

The genre of craft books and “How To Write” books can be redundant. There are some good ones but they all seem to cover much of the same ground: the writer’s process, individual tips and methods, examples from literature (good and bad), quotes from authors and books/stories references. Ironically, these books themselves, are the kinds of distractions most writers warn against.

Ron Carlson Writes a Story (by Ron Carlson!) is a short book offering practical advice for creating a story. Carlson essentially gives his notes and insights, as he walks the reader retroactively, through his process when writing the story, “The Governor’s Ball.”
The main gist of the book is advice for combating a writer’s desire to impose his “will” on a story and how to battle the urge to procrastinate. Carlson’s advice can be summed up with: “Don’t think” and “Don’t stop.” His narration and comments are enjoyable/helpful. This is a quick read with some helpful tips. (FZ)

We Should Never Meet is a book of connected short stories by Aimee Phan. The subjects are survivors of the Vietnam War. Some stories take place in Vietnam others in the United States. The writing is spare, tight and powerful. It's hard to find a better example of “less is more.”

Who's Writing This, edited by Daniel Halpern. Halpern asked numerous well-known writers to reflect briefly on the “fictional persona,” the “behind the scenes alter ego” that accompanies creation. Who is really controlling the pen? The result is: Who’s Writing This? Fifty-five Writers on Humor, Courage, Self-loathing, and the Creative Process. (FZ)

April 2010

If you're looking some strong historical fiction, you might want to try DISSOLUTION, DARK FIRE, and REVELATION by J.Sanson.
These mysteries, which take place in the time of Henry VII, have ingenious plots and extraordinary descriptions.  I have never read anything, which gives me such a strong feeling of the past. These books might give you some ideas for your classes or for your own writing. (RSB)

March 2010

For the Love of the Game by Billy Lombardo. Read the review in New City. (FZ)

February 2010

Check out the writing's of Louise Rosenblatt. This article highlights her views on responding to literature.

January 2010

Whale Song is a novella by Jay Amberg, written from the point of view of a sperm whale. It follows his life story, discussing climate change from this ocean-dweller's point of view. The writing is soothing, despite the subject matter - man's self-destructive tendencies. It is also a warning of a future with more war/terrorism because the human race seems unable to grasp “that understanding, embedded in each of our cultures because of who we are as beings, supersedes whatever differences exist. Our languages and customs may vary, but our connection to sea and sky, air and water, does not.” We need to realize “whatever our differences...…we are bound together in this world.”

Amberg reflects on man's “astonishing knack for destruction.” He points out that our “technological destruction is…unnatural.” The human condition demands “that [we] are part of the fabric of life, not separate from it - and certainly not above it.” In many ways modern man has become a careless “Destroyer” and “at what point does the destruction and pollution, the emissions and toxic wastes - the flotsam and jetsam that you insist on flinging overboard - provoke the planet?” We need to remember, “we are all in this together as living creatures, as mammals, as social beings who share a home.”

Amberg is optimistic that man will ultimately, “comprehend that the solutions to our current global problems lie not in more and larger Marvels, but in balance, in letting [ourselves] be touched by the world……in taking action that affirms life.” Modern man must keep in mind the intrinsic value of human connectedness. We need to recognize, “we are, as a species, in life together.” While we have “become the Destroyers” we remain “the world's best and only hope.” His hope is that “the very egocentrism that drives so much of [our] lunacy may now compel [us] to rescue our world.” At the end of the day, “in the face of the current climatic cataclysm, self-interest and altruism become one. The only way to save [ourselves] is to save us all.”

This is a good book for teachers and students. It makes you think and reconsider the environment and man's relationship to it. As the protagonist says at the end: “Now is the time to take action, to take your place as we wheel through our lives and the life of this planet. This is your brief moment. Seize it.”
Grab this book and seize the opportunity for an enjoyable, quick, worthwhile read.