Friday, June 25, 2010

Sustained Silent Reading

SSR (Sustained Silent Reading)
We always loved this acronym for the quiet time / reading period at Ben & Sam's grade school.

It's always nice to reread an old favorite, especially on a summer afternoon like today, when I pulled out The Witch Family by Eleanor Estes, the story of two brave creative girls whose drawings can shape reality (in manner of Harold and the Purple Crayon). I first read this book back in 2nd or 3rd grade and have never been without a copy, though I don't recall the last time I actually sat down and reread it from front to back (it doesn't take long).

A few memorable features have stuck with me over the years:

1. the butterfly poem
(currently featured on my Fortnightly Literary Blog):

"Non. That means no.
Oui. That means yes.
And papillion. That means butterfly.
Oui, non, Papillon -- a very pretty rhyme"
(127)

2. the way Amy, who loves written correspondence, signs all of her letters: "I love you and you love me, Amy"

3. the Spelling Bee: an amazingly literate bumblebee named Malachi who can communicate by spelling aloud (often in puns; always in all - caps). E.g., BEEHOLD! BEEGIN! BEE STILL!

For a few fun titles, good for SSR
READ THE LATEST POST ON MY BOOK BLOG:
"BEEHOLD! BEEGIN! BEE STILL!"
KITTI'S BOOK LIST
www.kittislist.blogspot.com

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