Books are love letters (or apologies) passed between us, adding a layer of conversation beyond our spoken words.

Exposing students to lots of books and positive reading experiences while building a network of other readers who support each other provides students with tools that last beyond the classroom setting.

Although I enjoy digging through the library to help students find books, my aim is to help them develop self-confidence in choosing books for themselves.

Readers enjoy talking about books almost as much as they like reading.

If you don't read, I don't know how to communicate with you...I can never express who I am in my own words as powerfully as my books can.

Students will read if we give them the books, the time, and the enthusiastic encouragement to do so. If we make them wait for the one unit a year in which they are allowed to choose their own books and become readers, they may never read at all. To keep our students reading, we have to let them.

The purpose of schools should not be to prepare students for more school. We should be seeking to have fully engaged students now