Book Nook: Every Child a Super Reader

 I recently had a chance to review Every Child A Super Reader: 7 Strengths for a Lifetime of Independence, Purpose, and Joy . In the book, the authors share their founding framework of the seven strengths–belonging, curiosity, friendship, kindness, confidence, courage and hope–that empower students to become lifelong super readers. It's designed to be a resource for any adult that works with children in grades K-8, whether that's at home, school, or out-of-school programs. 

The book is less about teaching kids how to read and more about encouraging literacy. What that means is that you won't find strategies for how to teach phonics and sight words, but instead you'll find lots of ways to encourage kids' literacy skills with relevant activities that nurture development in literacy and also in skills that help promote self-confidence.

Having dedicated their lives to improve child literacy at a global level, the authors recognize their 7 Strengths framework is needed more than ever in a post-pandemic world. Children are reportedly severely behind in reading, with multiple new studies citing that “about a third of children in the youngest grades are missing reading benchmarks, up significantly from before the pandemic.”

“When we take children’s key strengths and immerse them in an intellectually-invigorating, emotionally-nurturing, literature-rich community, we grow ‘super readers,’ or avid readers who consume texts with passion, understanding, and a critical eye,” Allyn says. “I believe in education as a lifesaving force in children’s lives and in literacy as the heartbeat of all educated people. I want every child in the world to be able to read and write. It’s that important to me. It’s lifesaving to make reading fun, and I've seen it with my own eyes in my work.”

I had a chance to learn more in this interview.

Why did you write this book?

Dr. Ernest Morrell and I wrote this book because we are deeply passionate about the impact and value of literacy on children's lives, not just in how great it is to hear a read aloud or to read on one's own (because we love those things!) but also because a child's literacy is a gateway to human relationships, to connecting with others, to bonding, and to becoming an empathetic person in the world. It's amazing but reading and writing do all these things: by reading about characters and ideas, we put ourselves in the shoes of others; we also find deeper ways to love ourselves and understand our world. In our work with children, we see the impact of literacy access every day. Children not only succeed more easily, they thrive, and they experience joy. We believe every child has the human right to literacy. We wrote this book to show why it matters so much and to help people who care for children at home and school forge those deep bonds.
 
What is the connection between encouraging children to be writers and building strong readers?

I often say that reading is like breathing in and writing is like breathing out. To see a child absorb a beautiful children's book or read a magazine or zip through a series is to know that you are also raising a writer. The growing child's brain is absorbing all that wonderful vocabulary, the power of stories, the arc of narrative, and more. There is no better teacher of writing than the book your child is currently reading.
 
Why are literacy skills beyond phonics so important?

Phonics are an important part of developing strong literacy skills but there are several others that go together: comprehension building, craft awareness, stamina building, fluency building, and identity building all play crucial roles in building lifelong super readers. Because English is not a phonetic language, we have to strengthen the muscles in our children's brains to be able to accomodate to all the ways language challenges us. We have to be able to read critically, thinking and reflecting as we go; we have to be able to read with an eye to craft, seeing the magic in punctuation and grammar; we have to be able to read with stamina and fluency to read powerfully well and fast when needed, and to get through large amounts of content in all the different subject areas. Phonics is a crucial aspect in that we learn literacy skills by coding and decoding sounds and patterns in texts, and so practice of these skills can be exciting and purposeful. But we must remember that literacy skills are in a constellation: because they are so valuable across all aspects of life, they have different parts to them that come to the fore at different times. As a child recently said to me, "Mrs. Allyn, I am a reading superhero!" These skills are multilayered and impact every aspect of our lives, whether we are writing a short text to someone or reading a long chapter book.

Pam Allyn is an award-winning author, educator, and innovator. Her books include Every Child a Super Reader, co-authored with Dr. Ernest Morrell; Your Child’s Writing Life, winner of the Mom’s Choice Award; and What to Read When. She is a renowned public speaker and has created programs that achieve exceptional results in academics and well-being for students aged pre-K through grade 12. Her signature programs include LitCamp, LitLeague, and ReadyGen. Allyn is the founder of many initiatives including LitWorld, championing the power of story worldwide, and Dewey, a family learning community to help caregivers learn, bond, and thrive. Pam is the creator and founder, with her team at LitWorld, of World Read Aloud Day, celebrated in more than 60 countries each year. She was selected for the Laura Bush Fellowship for Women Leaders and Mentors and the Kellogg Foundation Fellowship for Racial Equity and Healing. She has received many honors for her work, including the James Patterson Page Turner Award, the Children’s Village Legacy of Service Award, Scholastic’s Reading Champion Award, the Kent Williamson Leadership Award from the Conference on English Leadership, the Kent Williamson NCTE Award, and the Columbia University Teachers College Distinguished Alumni Award. Find her online at pamallyn.com and deweycommunity.com. Or follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn. 

Dr. Ernest Morrell is a renowned author and researcher whose award-winning work profoundly impacts teachers and students worldwide. He is the Coyle Professor in Literacy Education and Associate Dean of Humanities and Equity at the University of Notre Dame.