Book That Has Had an Impact on Me Professionally

One book - out of many that I will write about later - that has had an impact on me is Steven L. Layne's Igniting A Passion For Reading.

This book is full of lists, charts, and ideas. One list is called the Someday Book List on page 79. This list is part of a whole section on "Shopping" which was on a Twitter Chat last night as well. The great thing about reading professional books is that you're always ready to contribute to the conversation not to mention getting great ideas for your library/school.

Before "shopping" for a book, the author discusses how she previews a book (p 77-8):

Title
Author/Illustrator
Dedication
Front Jacket Flap
Cover
CIP Page
Back Jacket
Chapter Titles
Interior Graphics

I love this section and I would add my own "flip to the middle of the book" preview. I can tell a lot about a book and whether I will like it from the pace of the reading.

Layne's book features a "Books to Consider" list and where those ideas come from like:

From Shopping
From Book Chats
From Recommendations
From Read Arounds

Every time I flip through this book I find another idea that I have either forgotten about or have never tried.

Here's another chart from the book:

Self-Assessment Chart

Kids love being asked questions about themselves and they will fill out this self-assessment in a flash. 

If you don't where to start to self-assess, this book has the answers! It has at times made me realize what I am not doing!

There is no one thing that makes this book a career-turning one - it's just real and practical. One anecdote the author describes is as a 6th grade teacher some parents came in for a conference and berated their son for basically not being perfect and making straight As.The author says he buys books when he's upset and he immediately went to Barnes and Noble to buy books for the boy. He describes the conference that all teachers have experienced in one way or another - so it feels like you are speaking to a teacher friend and mentor who has the same ideas about teaching reading that you do.