My Life as a Book

3.5 stars rounded up because I absolutely love that the message that, just because a kid is tagged with the 'reluctant reader' label, doesn't mean he doesn't read, or learn, or isn't intelligent, or doesn't have mad skills in other areas.

I especially appreciate that Jake, I mean Derek, was allowed to *listen* to books sometimes. Yes, I know, there's a lot of learning about language, stories, etc. that goes along with the printed text. But the kinds of questions that went with the summer reading books were certainly answerable by listening to the story.

I opine that graphic novels, audiobooks, and non-fiction should all count, along with novels. Don't do what this kids' parents did, and turn everything into a "Learning Experience" and show more bribe the kid with chocolate chips, etc.

Now, about the impulse control issues and the high energy... is there a way to channel that?

And I love Jake's vocabulary illustrations!
I recommend this book to all MG students, not just the ones Janet seems to think need a book a step up from Wimpy Kid.
However, I am not a reluctant reader, and I don't feel the need to continue the series. show less

Pretty simple. If you like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, then you'll enjoy this book too. It's not as picture reliant or intensive as the Diary series. Instead it has doodles and scribbles of various words or actions within the margins. This is a good intermediate step for someone trying to ween a reader off of the Diary series or for someone desperate for more like it. I like that the doodles help develop the book's vocabulary. Very clever and a quick read.

Tashjian, J. (2010) My Life as a Book. New York: Christy Ottaviano Books.

211 pages.

Appetizer: Derek's mom, dad and teacher are always trying to force him to read and to make vocabulary lists (although, he prefers to create images using stick-figures to represent the words. These decorate the margins of My Life as a Book.) He is less than excited about this. He's okay with reading, he just likes to read comic books and collections of Calvin and Hobbes (Sidenote--the book is dedicated to Calvin and Hobbes author Bill Watterson, how nice of a touch is that?). Why won't adults just understand that?

When Derek discovers an old newspaper article about the death of a teenage girl on Martha's Vineyard in the attic, he can't help but be curious show more as to why his parents have kept it. Especially after his mom refuses to talk about it. All Derek wants to do is have an adventure over the summer, but his best friend, Matt, is set to go to Martha's Vineyard to solve the mystery without him. His mom won't stop bugging Derek about reading his assigned books and she even enrolls him for an educational day camp. How can he have an adventure now?

There's a lot of heart to this story, especially as Derek struggles with the way that he is connected to the dead teenage girl. Plus, when he's stuck at an educational day camp with his class know-it-all, Carly, he is forced to get to know her better and discovers that they just might have interests in common and that his parents just might have some good reasons for wanting Derek to excel at school.

My Life as a Book is the kind of middle grade novel that teachers absolutely love. It speaks to the experience of being a reluctant reader and uses a lot of humor. As Derek learns to appreciate literature, he's guided by various people through the process of visualizing stories, engaging with the characters emotionally and predicting what will happen. *Does a dance* Yay for a book helping to teach kids how to engage with a story!!!!!!!

I'm so excited about the literacy dimensions of this book that, even though I talked about visualization with my undergraduates last week, I created a new class discussion so I could bring up the book with them later today.

The doodles in the margins, (done by the author's own teenage son, I believe), will appeal to kids who love to draw and kids who had previously taken a chance on reading for enjoyment and gotten hooked on The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.

I'd previously read Tashjian's young adult novel, The Gospel According to Larry and actually found myself enjoying this book a bit more. I think it was my teacher perspective that made the difference.

The one aspect of the story that had me going, "hmm," was the fact that Derek is twelve-years-old. He feels much younger, like nine years old, perhaps. Making Greg behave that young actually makes a lot of sense though. Since many reluctant readers will probably refuse to read about characters who are younger than them, by aging Derek to be twelve it means a wider range of kids can try to pick up the book. Plus, even with the pictures of vocabulary words, there is some advanced vocabulary, even with some of the words that aren't defined with pictures.

There's also a nice touch about companion animals who help people with physical disabilities, and training and fostering them. Derek's mom is a vet, so he gets to meet a companion monkey. And in his words, "I now have a new and exciting mission: talking my mother into letting us raise a monkey" (p. 138).

Dinner Conversation:

Page 1, My Life as a Book

"The teacher places the reading list squarely in front of me. "I'm afraid you'll have to try and fit in three of these books during all that fun."
I like Ms. Williams, but I wouldn't complain if she was kidnapped by crazed bank robbers in need of a getaway car.
The reading list--unfortunately--isn't going away either. I stare at it and wonder what I've gotten myself into. One of the books is about a kid and his dog over summer vacation and all the exciting things they do together and the lessons the boy learns.
I have a dog and--trust me--that stuff only happens in books." (pp. 8-9)

"I still would rather be home, but I suppose there are worse things than doing sports all summer. I tell her I'll look through some camp Web sites and find a good one tonight.
She shakes her head.
"Skateboard camp?" I ask.
"Not this time."
"Rock climbing camp?"
"No."
"Karate camp?"
"No again."
I suddenly fear for my life.
"You have too much time on your hands," she says. "You're going to Learning Camp." (p. 63) show less

Summer has arrived and the narrator, Derek, is pumped. He would exhaust me if he were my son because he gets into all sorts of wild mischief, which annoy his parents but they manage to take it all in stride. However, after he brings a monkey home from his mother's veterinary clinic and lets it run wild in the house with their family dog, they decide to put him into Learning Camp. One theme of the book is his attempt to read, or avoid reading, his summer reading book. He gets a few good tips for reading from his pretty cool camp counselor. Another theme is his search for why there is a mysterious newspaper article in the attic about a college girl's drowning ten years ago across the country in Martha's Vineyard. His mother acts strangely show more when he asks about it, piquing his interest. The voice has a nice breezy quality to it and kids will enjoy his hi jinks. Some good lessons are learned by the end but they aren't presented in a heavy-handed way. Another plus are the line drawings in the margins, which are his depictions of his vocabulary words. These are actually drawn by the author's 15-year-old son and do a fantastic job of conveying the meanings of the words with a few simple lines. show less

Derek is a reluctant reader who really does not want to tackle the assigned summer reading from his teacher, even though his mother bribes him with two chocolate chips per each page read. Instead, he spends his summer intrigued by a story that he discovers in an old newspaper in the attic, an incident that involved him when he was two years old. His technique of sketching the definitions of new vocabulary words may inspire other kids to try the same, and it's a nice touch that he recognizes that stories are a part of our lives (thus the title).

Summer arrives and Derek Fallon is looking forward to hitting the UPS truck with water balloons, climbing on the garage roof, and conducting silly investigations. When his parents decide to send him to Learning Camp, Derek’s dreams of fun come to an end. Ever since he’s been labeled a “reluctant reader,” his mom pushes him to read “real” books—something other than his beloved Calvin & Hobbes. Hilarious, witty, and fun twisted into adventures. Great read! I think boys in third or fourth grade would appreciate the humor and I can see incorporating it into the beginning of the school year to connect students nervous to read, or simply uninterested readers to the literacy world in a fun way.

As a Language ARts and Reading teacher, my number one goal has always been to get students who think they don't like to read, to discover they do like to read. Often it is because they have no say in what they read. Other times it is because it is too difficult for them.

Derek is like this, he likes to read but not what others think he should read. He has been given a summer reading assignment. He is doing everything he can to avoid it. He stumbles across an old trunk in the attic with a newspaper article about a girl drowning at Martha's Vineyard. When he asks his mom about it she brushes the topic aside. Derek won't let it go until he finds out the absolute truth. Along the way to the truth he learns some tricks that will help him show more along the path to reading. I loved the way the book was set up and the little tips and tricks in there. I know a lot of reluctant readers who will really enjoy this book. show less