SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About Us
    • What We Believe
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Announcements
    • Upcoming Presentations
    • Contact The Classroom Bookshelf
  • Book Lists
    • Awards
    • Best of Lists
    • Summer Reading
  • Fiction
    • Novels
    • Fiction Picture Books
    • Fiction Chapter Books
    • Fantasy
    • Comics & Graphic Novels
    • Historical Fiction
    • Traditional Literature
  • Nonfiction
    • Biography & Memoirs
    • Nonfiction Picture Books
    • Nonfiction Chapter Books
    • Fictionalized Biography
  • Poetry
    • Poetry Picture Books
  • Picture Books
    • Fiction Picture Books
    • Nonfiction Picture Books
    • Poetry Picture Books
  • Classroom & Curricular Ideas

August 28, 2017 by Katie Cunningham

A Letter to All the Children of America

August 28, 2017 by Katie Cunningham   2 comments

IMG_3303For the past few years, we have launched our new blog season with a post that serves as a reflection on the current cultural context we are living in as teachers, librarians, and literature lovers. The past two years we wrote about what we believe matters most when selecting books and building classroom libraries. We have also written about teaching for change and social justice. This year, we decided to frame our thinking in the form of a letter to the children of America. We hope that you read our letter and think about the letter you would write to the children of America or the children in your classroom to express your greatest hopes for how books will impact their lives this year. Many of you will have already sent your new students a letter to introduce yourself, to share what you did over the summer, and to welcome students to your class. Think about or write a letter to them that expresses your hopes for their literacy lives this year. How do you hope books will impact your students? How do you hope books will help make our world more understanding and compassionate?

We hope that over the course of this school year, our entries will help you to rethink the ways in which you use books to prompt inquiry, investigate the world, consider multiple perspectives, and strive for social justice in your classroom and beyond.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

At The Classroom Bookshelf, we believe books change lives.

 

To all the children in America,

As you start a new school year undoubtedly full of your own hopes and dreams, we want to share with you our sincerest hopes for how books will impact you this year. First, we want to say that we see you. We hear you. We welcome you. You are valued. Your reading choices matter to us.  Your ideas deserve to be heard. Whether you like to bury yourself in a book or you are still searching for the book that grabs hold of you, know that you belong and the world of books is for everyone.

This year, we hope that you try something new in your reading life. Try a new genre. New series. New author. A book told from a different point of view or way of life than you’re used to. Pick up a book that you think will surprise you. Seek recommendations. Talk to your classmates, teachers, and librarians to find our what they are reading. It takes confidence to try something new and we know that one of our jobs is to help you become even more confident in your reading choices and in your belief in yourself. Maybe you can participate in National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Gene Luen Yang’s “Reading without Walls” Challenge, and encourage those around you to do the same.

This year, we hope that you find books that feel like you are looking in the mirror. That make you say, “Yes, this story is my story.” We equally hope that you find books that feel like you are looking out the window into someone else’s world. We have so much to learn from the life experiences of others. Most of all, we hope that you find books that start out as windows but that become mirrors. Stand in front of a window and notice how when the light is just right a window becomes a mirror. Know that books can create that same effect. You can also think about books as sliding glass doors that encourage us to walk through them. When you walk through a door, you open up a world of possibility. You walk alongside characters that challenge what you knew and could imagine before. Books can be those doors. Carry these metaphors with you into your reading life. Then, tell other people about it (Bishop, 1990).

This year, stop and notice the ways that books make you feel. When we meet characters that are different from us and we grow to love them, our hearts grow in the process. The more we all read about the life experiences, both fictional and real, that challenge our own ways of thinking, the world becomes more compassionate and understanding. Stop and notice when books make you laugh out loud. Stop and notice when you find yourself welling up with emotion. Be brave in allowing yourself to feel these things.

This year, use books to learn more about the world around you. Have a burning question? Something you have been wondering about? Want to know how to make something? Curious about how or why? There’s a book out there that can help you know more. In a world where “alternative facts” are masquerading as verifiable facts, and powerful people are calling verifiable facts “fake news,” question what you think you know. Be curious. Look for sources that may give different facts and then discuss with others what those facts make you think. Your curiosity is one of your greatest strengths.

This year, we hope that you share your ideas about books with the people in your life, especially people that may disagree with you. Use the stories you encounter in books, both fiction and nonfiction as a springboard to debate and discuss the ideas that matter to you and those that confuse you. When we talk about our reading with others, our reading experience deepens and broadens. By putting our own ideas in words for others to consider, we refine and reformulate them. By hearing others’ responses to our thoughts, we expand our ideas and gain new ones.

This year, challenge those around you to keep their minds and hearts open. In the wake of outward displays of hate in Charlottesville, Virginia this summer, we must all be wide-awake to social injustices in all of their forms. If your school or your teacher chooses books where all of the characters always come from the same cultural backgrounds–speak up. If your teacher or your classmates gloss over uncomfortable conversations about character’s choices or beliefs–speak up. If you find yourself wondering whether your story counts in the world of literature–speak up. You will be the generation that helps America embrace discomfort as an opportunity to grow and continue learning.

Your friends at The Classroom Bookshelf,

Katie, Grace, Erika, and Mary Ann

Sims Bishop, R. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives, 1(3), ix–xi.

Filed under: Announcements

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Katie Cunningham

Katie is a Professor of Literacy and English Education at Manhattanville College. There she is also the Director of the Advanced Certificate Program in Social and Emotional Learning and Whole Child Education. Her work focuses on children’s literature, joyful literacy methods, and literacy leadership. Katie is the author of Story: Still the Heart of Literacy Learning and co-author of Literacy Leadership in Changing Schools. Her book Start with Joy: Designing Literacy Learning for Student Happiness will be released September 2019. She is passionate about the power of stories to transform lives.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

April 2022

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Katie Cunningham

April 2022

Teaching Ideas for Youth Climate Activism: The Tantrum That Saved the World

by Katie Cunningham

March 2022

The Crisis in Ukraine: How War Changed Rondo

by Katie Cunningham

March 2022

Teaching through Art and Verse - Ideas for Marilyn Nelson's Augusta Savage: The Shape of a Sculptor's Life

by Katie Cunningham

February 2022

#KidsLoveNonfiction

by Katie Cunningham

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Sydney Taylor Blog Tour: THE TOWER OF LIFE by Chana Stiefel and Susan Gal

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Who’s In Rabbit’s House by Verna Aardema, ill. Leo and Diane Dillon

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Kiss Number 8 | Review

by Johanna

Heavy Medal

What’s Coming in 2023, A Feedback Poll, and Goodbye for Now…

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

I Spy Something Awkward, a guest post by James Ponti

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

13 Books for Tweens

In Search of a Read-Aloud? Don't Miss These

20 Books for Fans of Unicorns, Dragons, and Other Fantastical Creatures

"The Next Great Paulie Fink" | A Conversation with Ali Benjamin

Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards Voting Is Open

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Doreen Bergman says

    September 1, 2017 at 3:59 pm

    We are so glad that your blog is back after the summer break and this post is so incredibly well done! Not only do books change lives, but this blog does too by empowering teachers and librarians! Thank you and I hope “The Letter to All the Children in America” is shared widely and often!

    • Katie Cunningham says

      September 8, 2017 at 8:50 am

      Thank you, Doreen, for your kind message. We continue to strive to make an impact. Please share this post and others widely.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023