Newsletter – Cordial – March 17, 2023

No matter what grade I teach, I read this book aloud; and I usually begin on the first day of school. Reading Stone Fox is a great way to show kids a character with character. It inspires my students and me to become the very best versions of ourselves. It teaches us to lean into hard work, and it shows what it looks like to truly love someone. This book helps me to promote the culture I desire for our classroom.

One year, when I was teaching first grade, I announced that it was time for independent reading. One of my students groaned, “Oh man. I don’t like reading time.” There was an audible gasp (from me) because if there’s one thing I want my students to leave my classroom with, it’s a love for reading books.

Before I said a word, I considered the student. He was a beginning reader. The books he could read independently went something like this, “The sun is yellow. I like yellow. The ball is red. I like red . . .” It’s no wonder he didn’t love reading.

I stopped everyone, right then and there. I told them to come over to me—that I had something to share with them. First, I told the young boy who’d made the comment that I understood his frustration. I shared that the only real excitement for beginning readers is the satisfaction of being able to read more and more words as they learn more and more phonics rules. That’s something, but it’s not always enough.

I gathered everyone in close, and I began reading Stone Fox, by John Reynolds Gardiner. The kids were absolutely captivated. We stopped to talk, every now and then, discussing what was happening in the story and their feelings about it. When I said we had to stop, everyone groaned—this time, in disappointment.

The next day, I finished the book with them. By the end, I had seven kids on my lap, and nearly all 25 of us were having a good cry. I explained that when you can read, the best books make you feel things in your heart. They can make you laugh aloud, or gasp in surprise, or even feel afraid. They can teach you things so you feel wise, or determined to make a difference for good, or even just inspired to try something new.

There’s a place in the book when little Willy gets hit in the face by Stone Fox. When I ask my students how they’d respond if they were in a similar situation, they usually say something like, “I’d tell my mom, and I’d get that guy in trouble.” As a parent, I guess I’d want my child to tell me if someone had hit them, but when Willy responded with grace and sincere caring, my students’ eyes are opened to another way of thinking. In the book, Willy’s grace and sincere caring were the difference between winning and losing.

By the way, some people think it’s cruel to read heart-wrenching books with kids. I disagree. We all experience tough times. When kids experience big feelings through quality children’s books, those books can actually help them as they deal with tough times in their own lives.

When I think of all I want for my readers I think of these characters. Like Rudy, little Willy has heart, passion, and grit.