It's time for another author Q&A. Today, Jim Trelease answers a question about books with popular culture characters.
QUESTION
Our youngest readers are attracted to picture books portraying characters they are familiar with from television and electronic sources such as SpongeBob. Do these types of books have a place in the classroom?
ANSWER
The last time I looked none of the characters on TV needed promotion elsewhere in order to be successful. One of our jobs with children is to broaden their horizons, to introduce them to places and people they haven't met yet. SpongeBob needs no introduction but Corduroy does, especially to the child who comes from a home where the TV blares incessantly but there isn't a book or library card within a mile. One last thought: Children like candy and French fries but we avoid making those the daily choice in school. Good idea. Children will always find the commercial junk in our culture. They must have built-in magnets to junk. Our job is to introduce them to the stuff that is better than junk.
Our youngest readers are attracted to picture books portraying characters they are familiar with from television and electronic sources such as SpongeBob. Do these types of books have a place in the classroom?
ANSWER
The last time I looked none of the characters on TV needed promotion elsewhere in order to be successful. One of our jobs with children is to broaden their horizons, to introduce them to places and people they haven't met yet. SpongeBob needs no introduction but Corduroy does, especially to the child who comes from a home where the TV blares incessantly but there isn't a book or library card within a mile. One last thought: Children like candy and French fries but we avoid making those the daily choice in school. Good idea. Children will always find the commercial junk in our culture. They must have built-in magnets to junk. Our job is to introduce them to the stuff that is better than junk.
SCOTT'S THOUGHTS
Jim's response to this question surprised me a little; it seems a little contradictory to his book. In the book he supports reading - no matter the reading material type. Reading is the most important thing. Here he seems to say that books with pop culture characters should be avoided. But I think the key difference here is the word classroom in the question.
In the classroom teachers should be advocates for quality books, books that will challenge kids to think and imagine. And I agree. We should read books about Corduroy and Skippyjon Jones and Pete the Cat. We can help kids fall in love with the language of Dr. Seuss as well as the characters.
But I think we should also encourage kids to read what connects with them personally. I have read aloud a Spiderman book in my class...and we talked about prediction and inferences and new words. But we don't read those books every day. The importance is balance. Draw kids in through their interests and capture them with new books and ideas.
(I've been rereading The Book Whisperer, too. It's a great companion to this book - focusing on independent reading in elementary/middle school. She is a strong supporter of kids reading materials based on their own choices.)
What are your thoughts? How much, if any, should we use books based on pop culture and TV characters?
In the classroom teachers should be advocates for quality books, books that will challenge kids to think and imagine. And I agree. We should read books about Corduroy and Skippyjon Jones and Pete the Cat. We can help kids fall in love with the language of Dr. Seuss as well as the characters.
But I think we should also encourage kids to read what connects with them personally. I have read aloud a Spiderman book in my class...and we talked about prediction and inferences and new words. But we don't read those books every day. The importance is balance. Draw kids in through their interests and capture them with new books and ideas.
(I've been rereading The Book Whisperer, too. It's a great companion to this book - focusing on independent reading in elementary/middle school. She is a strong supporter of kids reading materials based on their own choices.)
What are your thoughts? How much, if any, should we use books based on pop culture and TV characters?
