Literary Ladies Making Reading Fun
A brief look at Jeanne Chall, the science of reading, plus 6 book recommendations from talented female authors from around the world.
Hello again beautiful humans! How is your spring coming along? In my corner of Texas it has already been warm enough to swim, quickly followed by days cold enough to wear a knit hat. Confusing. Conflicting. Consternating. A friend visiting from my homestate of Washington once asked me what to pack for her March trip to visit and I told her to bring her swimsuit and her puffy coat.
Then throw daylight savings time in with Spring Break and we all officially don’t know what is going on anymore.
March is National Reading Month, and I have been writing a series of posts about reading readiness including this one (my most popular newsletter to date!) about when your child should start reading and another one where I introduce the idea of reading as a puzzle and offer an expanded Lit Tip section to share ideas for cultivating readiness at home, check them out if you missed them!
This week I have sixteen different things I want to talk about, and I have to winnow it down to a reasonable one or two. How to choose?
Inspired by last week’s International Women’s Day, celebrated March 8th, and the fact that this month is also Women’s History Month, I want to introduce a woman I discovered rabbit-holing down the internet while researching the reading wars - a fascinating topic I hope to unpack next week. (See, so many things I want to talk about!)
Meet Jeanne Chall, a reading researcher, writer, and literacy advocate who spent her entire career focused on researching best practices for literacy. Born in 1921 in Poland, her family immigrated to NYC when she was 7 years old. She founded and led the Harvard Reading Lab from 1967 through her retirement in 1991 and during her years as a teacher and researcher she penned over 25 books and research articles on the topic of learning to read, including Learning to Read: The Great Debate, which pushed against the whole-word or look-say approach that was commonly accepted at the time.
Throughout her life, she was asked in as a consultant for national reading programs and presidential reading campaigns. She served on boards, gave lectures, and never stopped teaching. She gave feedback to groundbreaking shows like Sesame Street (love) and Between the Lions (vague memories of this and TBH it looks scary), recognizing early on that media can be used for educational purposes.
What I like most about Jeanne Chall, after reading about her, is that she seemed open to changing her mind if the evidence supported a different theory. She didn’t want people to make crucial educational decisions based on feelings or anecdotal evidence, but instead backed by what the research pointed to, and she was willing to question herself and her results. In fact, despite the evidence of her findings, she warned people against leaning too hard into a phonics-based curriculum. She knew balance was key to creating engaged readers, and learning to read is varied and nuanced. She saw that children needed both the tools (phonics) and good material (engaging and challenging content) to build a foundational love of reading.
For further reading about Dr. Chall I enjoyed this tribute collection of essays written by people who worked closely with her throughout her lifetime.
Later this month I’ll open up the can of worms on the “reading wars” and we can talk and learn about the history and current debate around reading curriculum and the purpose of phonemes. For now, let us celebrate smart women who celebrate smart children! Cheers.
RESOURCES:
https://guides.library.harvard.edu/JeanneChall/about
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/hgse100/story/literacy-pioneer
https://guides.library.harvard.edu/JeanneChall
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Chall
FROM THE STAX
Here are some great titles written by women from all around the globe! If you purchase any of these titles using the links below I may get a small commission at no extra charge for you, so thanks for your support!
SWEEP by Louise Greig (Scotland) Illustrated by Julia Sarda (Barcelona)
Ed is great unless he is in a bad mood. An allegorical tale, where the words tell one story and the pictures reveal another - this book is a lesson on managing big feelings for both the big and small humans. I can particularly relate to Ed’s bad mood keeping him in a bad mood until things get entirely out of control.
NO! SAID RABBIT by Marjoke Henrichs (UK, born in the Netherlands)
Rabbit says no to all the things, but clever mother bunny (and life itself) prove too tempting to refuse. If you’ve ever felt your child is saying no for the sake of saying no, you will certainly enjoy this book. It will also let your children see a yes (even if your mouth says no) can lead to some pretty fun times.
IF WINTER COMES, TELL IT I’M NOT HERE by Simona Ciraolo (Sardinia)
A young boy who loves summer has his heart shattered by the prospect of it ending, only to experience fall and winter and find beauty in the dread he imagined. I am in love with these illustrations, both dreamy and vibrant, that help tell a seasonal story. I yearn for the height of summer and the dead of winter because of how magical they both seem after reading this book. Plus the book helps us learn that it is sometimes the fear of the unknown and not the unknown itself that is the true monster.
THE SEVEN PRINCESSES by Smiljana Coh (Croatia)
All seven princesses are the best of friends even though they enjoy very different things. Until one day, they have a fight to end all fights and decide to reside in solitude. What will reunite the princesses and restore joy to the kingdom? A clever story about independence and friendship, and the fine balance required to get along. Check for this title at your local library as bookshop.org only has this title authored by Ms. Coh, which must also be delightful, but I haven’t read it yet.
THE TRAIN HOME by Dan-Ah Kim (Brooklyn, born in South Korea)
Nari’s crowded city can sometimes feel a little extra. She imagines hopping on the city train and exploring different places she could call home like a vibrant jungle, or under the sea, or even outer space. It is through this imagining that Nari is reminded what it is about home that she truly cherishes. As you can tell from the cover, this book is full of dreamy and beautiful art that transports you to another world.
CHIRRI & CHIRRA by Kaya Doi (Japan) translated by Yuki Kaneko
Two girls adventure about their town on their bicycles in a breathtakingly beautiful and simple series. It was probably two years ago that my sister-in-law and mom extraordinaire (Hi S, love you!) dropped this book in my lap and I haven’t stopped thinking of it since that day. It is on my wish list every year because they are the kind of book one simply wants to own so they can revisit the magic whenever they like. I was reminded of it a few weeks back when
mentioned a similarly named (Guri and Gura) but wholly different duo also hailing from Japan in this wonderful post.If you don’t already follow
go do it right now! She has great book recommendations and wise words for all of us trying to do right by reading.I can’t stop thinking about what I learned from this incredible comic which I discovered thanks to
fruitful Friday links roundup. Another substack worth following!Y’all thanks so much for being here, giving me your hearts (both clicking the button and sharing your time), and sharing your stories.
Have any fun international titles by women to add to the list? Our family loves checking out your suggestions. Is your valuable input the topic of an upcoming newsletter?! Stay tuned.
See you next week and happy reading y’all!
We adore the whole Chirri & Chirra series! 🚲💛
Thanks for the link to SoNovelicious; that was so kind of you!