Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope.
—Kofi Annan
Books Offer Hope
My daughter Stephanie is living the exact life she wants. This is not the life that many of us would choose, but that doesn’t really matter. Stephanie gets to live her own life.
She doesn’t maintain a job, which makes paying rent difficult but gives her an abundance of time. She struggles with knowing what to do with her days. She will often say, “Nothing’s happening. I just sleep and watch YouTube.”
“Do you go to the library?” I ask.
“Not anymore,” she says, shrugging. “I lost some books and never paid the fines. I do love to read, though.”
This is an understatement. For her whole life, Stephanie has devoured books. When we met her at age four, we discovered her passion for memorizing nursery rhymes. She was a quick study and loved the attention she received when she recited a ditty.
Stephanie had a hard start in her early years. At just 18 months old, she rode public transportation—alone—for two hours to arrive at a preschool for two-, three-, and four-year-old children with anger issues. Her days were lengthy. She often self-soothed with songs and with books. She passed the evening ride home—another two hours—with books. When we adopted her, the bus driver gave her a stuffed animal to cuddle and a gentle encouragement to keep reading.
Emotional regulation has always been tricky for Stephanie. The trauma she experienced at a young age made it difficult for her to find a positive emotional set point. She was often agitated, annoyed, and aggressive. We discovered that books helped her maintain regulated emotions.
She had piles of books around the house and overflowing bookshelves in her bedroom. Stephanie was an avid reader and loved to be surrounded by books. She checked out massive stacks from our local library and carefully made sure to return them before the due date.
When she was arrested for the first time at age 12 and sentenced to residential treatment, she continued to turn to books to help her sort out things and remain regulated. Books were a constant source of comfort.
She could use some comfort in her life today. So, I called the public library to find out about paying the lost-material fines. It was a hefty amount. It gave me pause to consider whether paying the fines would enable her or empower her. There is a very fine line between these two extremes.
And then I thought about the power of books. The words of Kofi Annan, a co-recipient of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize, tumbled through my mind—”Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope.”
Learning to love books changes lives. The more we can help connect students to books, the more hope there will be in the world. This issue is a collection inspired by a love of books—plus more, as always.
Shine on,
Ruth Ayres
Editor in Chief
Stella Villalba shares picture books to celebrate and affirm students’ identities.
Jen Court considers whether creating class books is a valuable use of time for today’s young students. As she teases out this question, she realizes class books are a relevant and essential instructional strategy.
Join over 200 colleagues already signed up for Coach-to-Coach, a supportive and inspiring network just for instructional coaches. Meet virtually once a month to keep your professional goals fresh and stay accountable for your next steps as a coach. This free community is inspired by Choice Literacy articles each month and led by Ruth Ayres. The next meeting is Monday, October 21.

New members-only content is added each week to the Choice Literacy website. If you’re not yet a member, click here to explore membership options.
Christy Rush-Levine invites students into a story walk. While many of our school activities require students to sit still and be quiet, story walks with wordless books are a simple way to invite students to move and talk, with powerful outcomes.
Books, like gardens, need to be tended to regularly for the whole library to thrive. Gigi McAllister gives tips for anyone in the weeding process for their school or classroom library.
Choice Numeracy | Mandy Robek uses picture books to help her students build their identities as mathematicians. Mandy shares the process and a booklist.
New members-only content is added each week to the Choice Literacy website. If you’re not yet a member, click here to explore membership options.
Gwen Blumberg shares the struggle that since the pandemic fewer people are showing up for professional learning meetings. She helps us flip the potential negativity by encouraging us to look for small wins. Small wins are a simple way to bring joy to your work and the work of others—and that is in fact a very BIG thing.
Mary Brower confronts the reality that often coaches have more ideas than they can possibly act on. She offers a filter to organize and vet ideas.
Matt Renwick shares about a project in the school library that builds students’ empowerment, influence, and agency. Matt gives resources and advice for you to try this in your school, too.
Quote It:
The best stories are the ones that stick with us long after we’ve read the last page.
―Jason Reynolds
That’s all for this week!