Read A Book

Sue Alexander, author of such highly regarded children's books as "Lila on the Landing," "There's More ... Much More" and "Nadia the Willful," is the mother of three grown children and the grandmother of two. She lives in Canoga Park, Calif., with her husband, Joel.She shares these recollections on the Children's Book Council web site, www.cbcbooks. org."As I was growing up in Chicago, it never occurred to me that someday I would write books for anyone to read. Strange as it may sound, not until I was 12 did I realize that books were written by people, even though I had started reading before I went to school.

Talking about books has made talking about life, and its trouble spots, a little easier for pupils and adults at Maryvale Preparatory School.Through the school's Mother-Daughter Book Club, middle-schoolers, their mothers and teachers have found that opening a book has often meant opening their minds as well, leading to discussions they might not have had -- on such issues as violence, body image, sibling rivalry, isolation, and friendships gone sour.Started...

For children with dyslexia or other learning disabilities, reading can be a difficult, tedious struggle.But a thrilling yarn by a professional storyteller might awaken an excitement about books and a desire to read in those struggling with the written word.That's the hope of educators at the Valley Academy, a Towson private school for children with learning disabilities. In an effort to inspire its students to become avid readers, the school, with a grant from the Margaret Alexander Edwards Trust, invited storytellers this year to share their legends and folklore.

Harry Potter, the 11-year-old student wizard, is dazzling the publishing industry with book sales that are more enchanting every day."Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" -- the first two of a projected seven-book series for children -- have sold roughly 7 million copies to American and British readers and been translated into 28 languages.Now it appears British author J.K. Rowling has cast another spell with book No. 3, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban."

At the turn of the century, boys' books were full of daring and adventure, while girls' books offered models of mothering and housekeeping. Thank goodness, times have changed.Nonetheless, boys and girls do tend to read somewhat different books, beginning in middle school, when peer-group pressure becomes so important. Most girls remain quite willing to read a book whose central character is a boy, perhaps because they read well enough to project themselves into another character. Boys, alas, become increasingly unwilling to read any book that has a girl as the central character.

I read a book. It's called "The Bear," by Raymond Briggs. I like this book because it has very exciting details and I also like how the author drew and colored the pictures."

When children get together, it is usually not to discuss books.Lisa Woznicki, assistant branch manager at Baltimore County's Cockeysville branch library, knew this -- and wanted to find a fun way for children to read a book and get together to talk about it.She found her answer when she took her 7-year-old daughter to a book discussion for children at the White Marsh Barnes & Noble bookstore. On June 25, about 20 children -- ages 8 to 11 -- attended the inaugural meeting of the Junior Book Club at the Cockeysville library.

The cognitive psychologists, neurolinguists and Ph.Ds have all weighed in. They've pulled out brain research, analyzed teaching methods and scrutinized textbooks. Now it's time to hear from the real experts.Meet Mrs. DeMoyer's third-grade class at West Annapolis Elementary.They don't know what the word "phonics" means. And they've never heard of "whole language." But they know how to read. They test far above the state average. And they're decidedly pro-book. As such, their opinions add key insight to the reams of scientific evidence about what makes good readers by the pivotal age of 9."

Here are some read-aloud don'ts for grown-ups:Reading stories you don't enjoy yourself. Your dislike will show in the reading, and that defeats your purpose.Feeling you have to tie every book to classwork. Don't confine the broad spectrum of literature to the narrow limits of the curriculum.Reading above your child's emotional level.Selecting a book your child has already heard or seen on television. Once a novel's plot is known, much of their interest is lost. You can, however, read a book ahead of its appearance on television or at the movies.

"I read a book called 'An Amish Christmas,' by Richard Ammon. I like this book not because it is about Christmas but because it is about Amish people. The book tells all about how Amish people celebrate Christmas for two whole days. It explains Amish customs. For example, the men all sit on one side of the dinner table and the women all sit on the other side. The illustrations by Pamela Patrick are beautiful."- Kerry C. Lancaster,Jarrettsville Elementary"The book 'Where the Sidewalk Ends' by Shel Silverstein is a great book.

Over the past week, we've been discussing book club breakups. I'd bet that most clubs have lived through some variation of this trauma: the member who drops out suddenly or shows up less and less, the group that collapses entirely. The discussion began when reporter Mary Carole McCauley made her first appearance on Read Street and wrote about leaving her club. She had participated for a few years, but when several favorite members moved away, she took a hard look at the demands of a club.

I had thought it was just me. In reading the cover story in the new issue of The Atlantic, however, I learned that I am not alone. There are at least two of us who have forgotten how to read. I do not mean that I have lost the ability to decode letters into words. I mean, rather, that I am finding it increasingly difficult to read deeply, to muster the focus and concentration necessary to wrestle any text longer than a paragraph or more intellectually demanding than a TV listing. You're talking to a fellow whose idea of fun has always been to retire to a quiet corner with a thick newspaper or a thicker book and disappear inside.

Radar seemed to be listening intently as Christian Tager read a book with the title Wolf. "Radar likes my reading," said Christian, 7, after he finished reading the book. "He kisses me when I read to him." Christian, a second-grader at Logan Elementary School in Dundalk, and Radar, a Great Dane, were one of 15 teams participating on a recent afternoon in a reading enrichment program called PAWS -- as in "Pets Are Wonderful Support." Under the eight-week program, 31 Logan second-graders meet after school for one hour to read to a dog and its owner.

The last days of summer break are slowly ticking away, and James Reynolds is scrambling. In between serving customers and running the shop at the Great Cookie in Mondawmin Mall, where he works full time, the 16-year-old City College student is trying to squeeze in reading all 320 pages of a book about genocide in the 1930s Dominican Republic. Studying The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat is not exactly the way he wants to spend his final flash of freedom, Reynolds says with a sigh, but he is determined to get a good start on his senior year when school starts Monday.

Audrey Sapirstein gazed admiringly at the new ring she had just placed on her finger. Standing outside the castle faM-gade of the Towson Library's children's reading area Monday morning, she relished the initial prize she earned through the library's Summer Reading Club. After pre-registering for the program last week, the 9-year-old Mount Washington resident got busy on the first of four tasks she must complete this summer. The first objective included reading a newspaper, reading with a friend or pet and reading about a mystery, which is in line with the theme of this year's program, "Clue into Reading."

Summer reading isn't just for adults. This month, the Enoch Pratt Free Library will announce its summer book, The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963, which is part of its annual effort to encourage school-age children to read throughout the summer. The 1995 book, by Christopher Paul Curtis, won the Newbery Honor Award and a Coretta Scott King Honor Award. It's about an African-American family of five who travel from their home in Flint, Mich., to Birmingham, Ala., in 1963, a pivotal year in civil-rights history.

I'm ready to get away. Aren't you? It appears that many of us deserve a little rest and relaxation. We are working too hard and don't have enough time to play. You know the cliche -- too much work makes ... So let UniSun help you plan your time for fun and relaxation. We've given you some things you might want to think about doing -- taking a trip to one of five destinations, going to local festivals or conferences or making new friends by joining a book club. If you don't want to stay around the area, then get your car in road condition or make airline reservations.

Students at Arundel High School will be hitting the books - and magazines and newspapers - this summer as part of a new initiative designed to promote lifelong reading. Previously, only students in honors or college-level Advanced Placement classes had to complete reading and other assignments during the summer months. This year, however, all of Arundel High's approximately 2,000 students will turn in a reflection on their summer reading as their first assignment in every class. Arundel is the only high school in the county to undertake such an effort.

On the boardwalk of Rehoboth Beach, Baltimore attorney Bill Brooke didn't appear to be breaking any rules as he sat quietly on a bench and read a book. But amid the serenity, interrupted only by the muffled sounds of waves crashing, children squealing and gulls screeching, Brooke was defying convention -- or at least conventional wisdom. It wasn't that he was reading, or how he was reading, it was what he was reading: Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life. That's no beach book.

ABOUT THREE months ago I passed a black box through a Plexiglas security window at the Comcast office on the ground floor of the old Seton Psychiatric Institute. Cut me off cable TV, I told the clerk. I have never looked back. I may even junk my 1986 Montgomery Ward TV set too, but it still plays. I decided that instead of paying $40-plus a month for the services, I could divert that amount toward orchestra seats at musical comedies and plays and, importantly, do more daily reading. For the past 90 days I've had nothing but pleasure as I've plowed through my mysteries, biographies and history.