First Read Aloud of the New School Year

Every once in a while a book comes along that is just...

RIGHT...right for the first read aloud book of the new school year for my incoming fifth grade ELA class!

Reading Is for Idjits
by W.W. Rowe
illustrations by Charles Filius
Charwood Publications
2016

Humorous events, engaging text, likeable (if not silly) characters, and colorful, delightful illustrations abound in this quick read recommended for ages 6-12. But there's even more to this tale, something teachers treasure... a terrific lesson: Reading well is important!

Martin and Morton are identical twins! They had the same scruffy dark hair. The same beady eyes. The same pointed nose. Which one is which?  

"Smarty Marty" loves to read. "Morton the Moron" hates it. "Reading is for idjits!" he declares. But Morton's faulty reading gets him into BIG trouble. His entire world falls apart!

After a series of humorous disasters, Morton finally learns to read. He even saves the day with his new skill!... Amazon.com.

Teachers always try to impress upon their students the importance of reading, especially reading well. Our learning standards focus on deepening student understanding of text, interacting with text in meaningful ways, and increasing text comprehension, in other words being able to read well. Reading Is for Idjits imparts this message in a fun, engaging way that students won't realize they are being taught such a valuable lesson.

Perfect as a read aloud (the humorous story begs to be shared), this book could be used as the initial text presented to a class and serve as a mentor text for skills such as theme, characterization, and word choice. The strategies of making predictions and connections can be practiced as the story unfolds while the literary skill of mapping a plot line (including conflict) could be introduced to young readers or reinforced with older readers.

I can NOT wait to share this title with my newest students and use it to begin our learning this year!

To read more about this title or similar titles, please visit Charwood Publications.

To purchase your own copy (available in paperback or Kindle) of Reading Is for Idjits, click HERE.

I'm once again linking up with Andrea from This Literacy Life for her Book Talk Thursday linky. Be sure to stop by to discover new titles to share with your students or to add a title or two of your own!