Adult Summer Reading Lists

I read with interest all of the comments on Franki's post about summer reading lists yesterday. Then I looked back at our series last week on the summer reading of our favorite literacy leaders. Here's what I found out about how adult readers make their summer reading "lists." We choose the books we read because

• they are our book club book
• they are another by our favorite author
• we saw them on display in the book store
• they are part of our favorite genre or our "own little reading club" (Katie Wood Ray's term)
• a friend recommended them
• to stay current
• for a project
• we bought them at a conference
• we have lots of airport/airplane time

Just to restate the obvious:

1. Adult readers definitely create summer reading lists. But we create them for ourselves and for our own purposes.

2. Even our youngest students learn to choose books that are just right for them. My fourth graders chose books this past school year for every reason on the above list except the conference one. (I had a student who thought very carefully about what book he would take when his family went to India.)

3. Summer reading lists are not the problem. A list as a mandate rather than a suggestion is the problem.

Summer Reading Lists

I have been reading with interest the many posts on Summer Reading lists (for example, here and here and here) and am worried about where we, as a group, are going with this thinking. My biggest problem with summer reading lists is the fact that we, as adults, think that we are better equipped to choose books for kids than they are equipped to choose books for themselves. No one likes a summer reading list that is mandated and by creating one, no matter how good it may be, you are taking choice away from a reader.

I think summer reading is a lifelong habit we want to instill in kids. Summer reading is often the best reading. But kids are not going to become readers if they see reading as an assignment and don't have the opportunity to read the books they choose.

My daughter who will be a senior in high school, was thrilled to have the summer to read the TWILIGHT series. She is holding off on her summer reading list until August and fitting in as much of her summer as possible with the books that she's had on her "to read" list for a while. She is reading like crazy and loving it. Isn't that what we want?

Recommending books that are good for kids and giving our opinions is far different from creating lists of books by grade level or grade range. Creating lists for parents and teachers is far different from creating reviews for kids so that they can DECIDE what they want to read. Creating our own summer reading lists because we don't like the ones out there, only says that we like the idea of summer reading lists if they are lists that WE create. Where is the child as reader in these conversations?