32- "The Littles" Frenzy

I have been trying to get my students more interested in reading. Some of them are excellent readers, but very few of them read for fun at home. The majority of my students never read anything outside of what is required of them at school. Student literacy is directly correlated with home literacy, and sadly, not many of my students come from families who read. Several students have parents who are illiterate.
As a dedicated lover of literature, one of my goals for this year is to help every one of my students find a book that they enjoy reading. As a class, we have been reading John Peterson’s The Littles, a novel about a family of tiny people who live in the walls of a human family’s house. We’re just about to finish reading the novel and all of the kids are upset because they are enjoying the story so much. I am so pleased (and relieved) that they like the story.
Today, during library time, a miracle happened. One of my students discovered that The Littles is the first in a series of novels. Word spread fast, and one by one, my students started checking out book from the series. Now, nine kids, four of whom never expressed an interest in reading, have checked out books from the library. They have been begging me to give them extra time to read!
I feel that we have reached a huge milestone in my classroom and are one step closer to my literacy goal. The interest those children have in reading is a reason to celebrate. I feel so proud of them. Days like today remind me that my students all have the potential for a bright future.