March 25, 2018 at 3:22 PM

Here are the books I’ve read and especially admired in recent months, August 2017-March 2018.

• Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance, memoir
• Remember Me Like This by Bret Anthony Johnston, fiction
• The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande, memoir
• Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig, fiction
• Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, fiction
• Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life by Dani Shapiro, nonfiction
• Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, fiction
• Digital Portfolios in the Classroom by Matt Renwick, professional
• We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates, essays
• Reimagining Writing Assessment: From Scales to Stories by Maja Wilson, professional
• Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose by Joe Biden, memoir
• An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice by Khizr Khan, memoir
• Creating Citizens: Teaching Civic and Current Events in the History Classroom, Grades 6-9, by Sara Cooper, professional
• Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, fiction
• You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie, memoir
• How I Shed My Skin: Unlearning the Racist Lessons of a Southern Childhood by Jim Grimsley, memoir
• All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, YA fiction
• Turtles All The Way Down by John Green, YA fiction
• The French Chef in America: Julia Child’s Second Act by Alex Prud’homme, biography
• Good to Great Teaching: Focusing on the Literacy Work That Matters by Mary Howard, professional
• La Rose by Louise Erdrich, fiction
• Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo, fiction
• Disrupting Poverty: Five Powerful Classroom Practices by Kathleen Budge and William Parrett, professional
• Stories from WEBB: The Ideas, Passions and Convictions of a Principal and His School Family by Todd Nesloney, professional stories
• When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink, nonfiction
• (Embarrassment) and the Emotional Underlife of Learning by Thomas Newkirk, professional
• A House of My Own: Stories from My Life by Sandra Cisneros, autobiographical essays, memoir stories
• Happiness is a Choice You Make: Lessons from a Year Among the Oldest Old by John Leland, collection of life lessons
• An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, fiction

My number one fiction book on the list is Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, which won the National Book Award for fiction in November 2017. It’s a stunning narrative—gorgeously written, eloquent, and heartbreaking. Set in present day Mississippi, the main characters struggle mightily with the extraordinary and ordinary familial and social-emotional dynamics of living lives grievously impacted by race, poverty, and violence. Ward‘s writing has been compared to William Faulkner and Toni Morrison; she is that good and that profound. This book will leave its mark on you! The book was also selected as one of the “10 Best Books of 2017”. See the New York Times Book Review and check out the accompanying discussion questions. As well, Sing, Unburied, Sing became the first pick for the launch of the PBS News Hour-New York Times Book Club, “Now Read This.” 

For nonfiction, it’s an easy choice for me. I have been impacted forever by We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates, a compelling, unflinching book of essays that expanded my view of race in America and altered my beliefs. Coates has often been compared to activist and writer James Baldwin, using his voice and pen to enlighten the public conscience on understanding what it means to be black in America—with all its accompanying racism, fear, horror, hopelessness and stereotypes that prevail.  Until I read We Were Eight Years in Power I had not thought much about how the presidency of Barack Obama unleashed the hot racism simmering just below the surface in America or how we have yet to honestly reckon with, and consider reparations for our country’s shameful history of slavery. For more on Coates’ book, life, and views see reviews at The New York Times and The Guardian. Coates is must-reading; you won’t agree with all he says, but you will most likely be provoked to think more deeply about our history and experience a heightened awareness for what it means to be black in America today.

Commentary: Allowing students (and ourselves) to focus on one genre

I spend a lot of time in bookstores, and I’m a goner when I see a memoir that looks interesting. I tend to buy it. I believe I’ve confessed in an earlier commentary that, joyfully and without guilt, I spend money on books, especially in independent bookstores, in an effort to do my part to keep these unique literature bastions in business.  Connecting that human need for excess-for-what-we-love to our teaching, I recommend we let students determine, with our guidance, what genres they love best and want to feature in our jointly-organized classroom libraries and not worry so much—at least for a few months---if a student seems to only be reading one particular type of book. 

It’s okay, I believe, to have students over-focus on a favorite genre, whether it’s graphic novels, fantasy, sports books, books in a series, or even comics. Get them reading; give them sustained time to read; check in on them and confer to ensure they are understanding what they read; let them stay in love with their preferred genre for months if it’s giving them pleasure and they continue to read.

Ten of the books on my reading list above are memoir or true-life stories, which along with fiction have long been a favorite genre. I seek out excellent memoirs because I love being able to peer into other people’s lives—for the stories they have to tell, for insights into my own life, for getting to know another human being, to understand the human condition better, and to become more empathetic to others. I adored every memoir on this reading list; each one is outstanding.

For middle and high school students, I recommend reading aloud and/or having small group reading and discussions and/or whole class reading and discussions of the memoir An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice by Khizr Khan.  In plain spoken, honest and emotional language, Khan shares his gripping, inspiring story of growing up poor in Pakistan and how, through years of struggle and hard work, he became an American citizen, a highly accomplished lawyer, and a bereaved father whose son was one of the first Muslims to die in the Iraq war. Kahn’s reverence for our Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and American values—and his soaring spirit-- are a model for us all.

Use Khan’s book to encourage students to tell their own true short stories—and that of their families—in a format that suits them and honors their backgrounds and cultures. Their writing might take the form of a vignette, a poem, a combination of prose and poem--such as Sherman Alexie effectively employs in You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me--or short essays and stories--such as Sandra Cisneros writes in her deeply affecting A House of My Own: Stories from My Life.

In my newest book, Literacy Essentials: Engagement, Excellence, and Equity (Stenhouse, 2018), for the first time in any book I’ve written for educators, I include personal and professional Stories as a special feature throughout the book.  Some are memoir snippets; one is a poem; most are short stories. My purpose is and was to show my human side and how personal and professional stories greatly influence all aspects of my life. History and all life, after all, are about his-story, her-story, and our stories. Stories are what connect us, bond us, and make us human.  Making those stories integral to literacy and learning is a gratifying necessity.