Books Every Teacher, Homeschooler, and Parent Should Read

Step back in time with me.  It’s 1995 and three days before the new school year is going to start. I land my first teaching job in an inner-city school as a third-grade teacher.  It just so happens to be the exact school I attended as a third grader.  I’m brimming with excitement, anticipation, and fear.  I’ve been collecting children’s books for years and now I get to enjoy them with the kids.

Three days later, my first group of 32 kids arrives and to say I’m overwhelmed is a gross understatement.  Turns out that 4 years of college does NOT prepare you to be in the classroom.  I could tell you lots of stories about that first year.  When the school year ended, I knew one thing for sure.

I did a great disservice to my students when it came to helping them grow as readers. That summer, I enrolled in graduate school and started working on a degree to learn everything I could about teaching reading.  Twenty years later and I’m still on that quest.

There are so many books that have had a profound impact on how I teach reading, function as a reader, and select books.  I thought it was time to share that list with you!

Below you will find best books about reading for teachers, parents, and homeschoolers.  I’ve tried to identify the target audience of each book to help you with your selections.  Affiliate links are included.

BOOKS ABOUT READING AND BOOKS

The very first book that I was assigned to read in graduate school is one that I still return to often. Mosaic of Thought by Keene and Zimmermann helps us analyze our own thinking that we do as we work on comprehending text.  As proficient readers, we don’t realize all the inner workings that go on when navigating text to determine the meaning.  Mosaic of Thought looks closely at the strategies we use as readers such as visualizing, making connections, and inferring.

Great For: Teachers and Homeschoolers

Once you have a good understanding of the ideas in Mosaic of Thought, check out Strategies that Workby Harvey and Goudvis.  In this book, those comprehension strategy ideas are put into practice with actual lessons you can use with kids.

Great For: Teachers and Homeschoolers

RELATED POST: Modeling Comprehension Strategies

If you are looking for a good place to start in general though, I would recommend one of the next two titles. Reading aloud is the backbone in all that we do.  So, these are two must reads.

Jim Trelease’s Read-Aloud Handbook is a classic.  It lays a great foundation of the importance of reading aloud to kids of all ages.  Plus, there is a treasury of books to enjoy with kids at the end of the text.

Great For: Parents, Teachers and Homeschoolers

Mem Fox is the author of many delightful children’s books.  She also penned the very easy to read book, Reading Magic.  It may be read in one long sitting, but it packs a read-aloud motivation punch.

Great For: Parents, Teachers and Homeschoolers

Now that we know how powerful and awesome reading aloud is in our children’s lives, how do we decide which books to read?  The Read-Aloud Handbook by Trelease has some great ideas.  And, I really like these next two ideas too.

Honey for a Child’s Heartby Gladys Hunt is a “sweet” read.  I couldn’t put it down and the book recommendations are excellent.

Great For: Parents, Teachers and Homeschoolers

I’ve just started reading, Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Timeby Martin, after listening to an interview on The Read Aloud Revival podcast (one of my very favorite podcasts.)  Though I’m not finished with it yet, I’m loving it so far.

Great For: Parents, Teachers and Homeschoolers

RELATED POST: 60+ BOOK LISTS FOR KIDS

I have a special interest in vocabulary and a pivotal book in my thinking about how children acquire language was Bringing Words to Life by Beck, McKeown, Kucan.  We can classify words into three tiers.  Tier 1 words are picked up very easily (point and say words).  Tier 3 words are very content specific words such as photosynthesis and metamorphosis.  Tier 2 words are those words that readers will see in multiple texts, words with multiple meanings, and words that add a richness to our understanding of the text.  Throw out memorizing lists of vocabulary words and copying definitions from a dictionary.  Grab this book and learn a richer way to acquire vocabulary.

Great For: Teachers and Homeschoolers

Since we are on the topic of words, let’s talk about working with words.  As a poor speller in school, I really wish I would have been taught with the ideas in Words Their Way by Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, and Johnston.  The dense book contains word study ideas for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction.

Great For: Teachers and Homeschoolers

I’ll admit that I’ve been a bit reluctant about integrating technology into reading instruction.  I’ve always had a fear that we would replace reading-aloud and human interaction when talking about books with a computer or tv screen.  BUT, after reading Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a  World of Screens by Guernsey and Levine, my thinking has shifted.  Technology DOES have a place in our reading world.  We just need to be smart about how, when, and where we use the resources.

Great For: Parents, Teachers and Homeschoolers

RELATED POST: Best Technology Resources for Developing Literacy Skills

I could go on and on about the books that have impacted my life as a reading teacher, parent, and now homeschooler.  I hope you will find a book that sparks a desire in you to pick it up and grow to help the children that you work and live with each day.  Twenty years from now, think of all the great books you will have shared with kids.

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