So we started a new read aloud today--Ribsy, by Beverly Cleary. Boy, I can't even begin to tell you what a good read aloud does for a student.
For one, it hasn't been made into a movie yet (see Tuesday Rant for further information) and so my students don't know what to expect. Second, it doesn't have a single television, cartoon, iPad/iTouch, or Nintendo DS reference--woo hoo for the imagination!. And last of all--this may be the greatest argument for a good ol' fashioned book--it doesn't have a snarky, sarcastic narrator and dialogue that I have to stop and explain to the kids. Don't get me wrong--Junie B. Jones, Judy Moody, Amber Brown--they're a kick to read, but in whole group setting, things can get a little dicey. You end up explaining a lot of the quick-witted dialogue to younger students.
So this book, Ribsy, it's a joy to read aloud. The main character, a dog thinks like a person but can't communicate with his owners. The kids really find the humor in that. The story is somewhat predictable, so it's fun to watch students gasp and nod when they realize what will happen now that Ribsy is roaming a mall parking lot without his leash--he's doomed. They smirk and whisper, "Yep, I totally saw that coming," to one another.
I know the temptation is there to read all the newest, most popular, or attention-grabbing books out there, but it's really nice to sit down and read an oldie once in a while. Beverly Cleary wrote Ramona Quimby, Age 8, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, and Dear Mr. Henshaw, to name a few. She's awesome. Her stories are timeless--sibling rivalries, animal characters dealing with the pains of adolescence, elementary school dramas. My mother read the stories as a child and could share in my excitement as I read them throughout the primary grades. In fact, the copy I'm currently reading to my class is an old, tatty copy that my mom shoved into my purse the last time I came over for a family dinner.
Sure, the book is old, the illustrations are few and far between, and some of the 1964 references (i.e. the milkman delivering milk to the Huggins family) might need a little explaining, but the story is wonderful. It will definitely be on my second grade read aloud list for a long time.
