If you are a teacher, a librarian, a parent- anyone who wants to get kids reading more- then you need to get your hand on Steven Layne’s Igniting a Passion for Reading: Successful Strategies for Building Lifetime Readers. I knew I would like the book as soon as I saw the title, but I had no idea how important it would be. It has earned itself a place of honor on my professional book shelf.
Igniting a Passion for Reading: Successful Strategies for Building Lifetime Readers says so eloquently what I strive for everyday in my classroom- we need to teach our students to read for the love of reading and not for results on a standardized test. We need less test prep and more independent reading. We need teachers who are passionate about books sharing that passion with their students.
Layne focuses on how to teach reading as an art and a love, rather then a set of skills that can be drilled and killed. The book is packed with ways to inspire readers at any grade level, I could not put this down (which is rare for a professional book)! While many of his suggestions were things I already do in my classroom it felt great to be validated. But he also gave me some new, fresh ideas that I have already put into practice in my classes. And throughout the book Layne calls on authors like Jordan Sonnenblick, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Neal Shusterman, and many others to share the teachers and experiences that shaped them as writers. I loved these little glimpses into their lives and even gleaned some more ideas from them.
Igniting a Passion for Reading: Successful Strategies for Building Lifetime Readers is a must-have for any teacher who wants to ignite a passion for pleasure reading in their students.
*Review copy courtesy of the publisher
Filed under: professional books, reviews | Tagged: independent reading, steven layne |
The Reading Zone 
I am SO excited! I haven’t seen this resources and will be going to Barnes & Noble today!
I bought this book as soon as it came out because I’ve heard Steven Layne before and loved him. I could not put it down. I felt validated as well, but also learned many neat things to try. I’ve already had my students set goals with me for the 3rd term and we’ve posted them in the room and are marking them off as we accomplish them. I loved this book and recommended it to all my reading teacher friends! My newest book that I’m loving right now is When Students Can’t Read What Teachers Can Do…so many great ideas!
I’d never heard of Steven Layne before, but I LOVED the title of this book. I ordered it from Amazon and I agree…I can’t put it down! WOW! Thank you so much for the review. This book is a MUST HAVE. I love the “In the trenches” segments and his humor is so welcome. Thank you!!
I devoured this book as my first professional reading of the 2011 summer break, and now I can’t wait to get back to school in August to put into practice new things I learned and tweak some things I was already doing but have since rethought. I would recommend it to any and all teachers of reading K-12 as well as school librarians.