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literacy

Teh Hundrid Buks A Chyld Shuld Reed

English newspaper The Telegraph recently excerpted an essay that will appear in the Royal Society of Literature Review of the 100 books all children should read. The essay is by author Michael Morpurgo who, totally coincidentally, includes two of his own books on the list. His basic criterion for a book's inclusion is that the book must be fun or enjoyable to read. based on the premise that children need to learn to enjoy to read. "The motivation must come first, horse before cart. ...If we really want our children to become readers for life, we would do well to remember that horses are much more fun than carts anyway." Among the books for youths, Morpungo recommends The Twits by Roald Dahl and "Junk" by Melvin Burgess, a "tough, clear-eyed story of heroin addiction."

5:30 AM on Wed Jan 30 2008
By Joshua Stein
590 views, 12 comments

Latest by Thanks be to Zeus: "dirty old hags like that always have itchy bellies" - best Dahl line ever more »

literacy

One In Four Americans Didn't Read A Single Book Last Year

According to an AP poll, basically no American reads any books anymore. Well, the "typical person" claimed to have read four books, with half of respondents claiming to have read fewer and half claiming to have read more. God, was The Da Vinci Code too hard, guys? What about the work of Zane, did its hot pink covers not entice you? Or the Bible, or Danielle Steel? You people could not even manage Danielle Steel? More »

10:50 AM on Wed Aug 22 2007
By Emily Gould
4,773 views, 100 comments

literacy

Why Are This Fall's Big Books So Small?

So you know that Fall is supposed to be when publishers release their blockbusters, right? Back to school studiousness plus Christmas shopping equals prime time for book-reading. So what are the bigwigs at Borders ordering a bunch of this fall? We hear they're focusing on two books: Stephen Colbert's I Am America (And So Can You!) and Alan Greenspan's The Age of Turbulence. Exciting! Also: Boring! So what else is hot? More »

3:20 PM on Tue Aug 21 2007
By Emily Gould
3,948 views, 29 comments