strategies for choosing a book

• Read the blurb and/or first chapter of the book
• Check the level to see if it is right.  (Read a few pages and check for comprehension, vocabulary, and style.) 
• Get recommendations from friends and/or teachers
• Read a specific author
• Read a specific genre 
• Search websites (e.g. Scholastic, Public Library) for new/popular books
• Look at the font size
• Choose from lists (best-sellers, award-winners, etc.)
• Look at the cover to catch your attention.  (Don’t go by this alone, though!)
• Try new genres/authors/series to push yourself and grow as a reader
• Consider the length/density of the book.  (Are you on a time schedule?  Do you need to finish by a certain time?)
• Quality of book  (Will it help strengthen me and grow as a reader?  Will it give me enough things to think about and analyze?)

 

powerful readers pay attention to....

• Character traits
• Social issues
• Setting (where, when, mood, how it affect the character)
• Patterns throughout the book
• Character change
• Strong/powerful quotes
• Themes
• Conflicts & how they're resolved
• Author's craft techniques (ex. descriptive language, repetition, foreshadowing, word choice, inner thinking, dialogue)
• Character relationships
• Symbolism & key objects

Book talks!

Strong readers share their love of reading by giving book talks!  This means that you "sell" or "pitch" a book that you loved to other people so that they can read it too!  This will allow you to spread your love of the book and also give you somebody to discuss the book with!  

When you do a book talk, make sure it includes:

• Title and author of book
  
• Why I read the book
• Brief summary (without giving anything away!) - like a blurb
  • ​Characters
    
  • Main conflict/problem/issues in the book
    
• 1-2 reasons why I thought it was a good book
• Who I would recommend the book to (e.g. for people who love romance, who like to challenge their thinking, etc.)