Eighty-two pages into Penny Kittle’s Write Beside Them, I’m smitten. This book will join the ranks of my go-to books, alongside Daniels and Steineke’s Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles and Barry Gilmore’s Speaking Volumes.
Imagine my excitement when Penny Kittle herself agreed to enter our book club discussion. Wow. Having the author “write beside” us can only enrich our experience. In an e-mail to Kittle asking her to join our group, I noted that I often gauge the value of a text (especially a nonfiction one) by the amount of marking up I do. Sticky notes, margin scribbles, underlining, highlighting, asterisks and arrows decorate nearly every one of the eighty-two pages I read thus far as the picture shows.
It’s not too late to join us. You can check out the reading schedule on the wiki we’ve created, add your name to the book club members list, and join the discussion.
3 Comments
June 9, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Wow! That’s so exciting! You think of everything.
June 9, 2008 at 9:10 pm
@Dana: I’m pretty thrilled. I was actually inspired by Karl Fisch: two teachers at his school did an online collaboration this year of Dan Pink’s A Whole New Mind with Pink joining them. Imagine my surprise when Kittle agreed to join us! I’m tickled and honored.
July 27, 2008 at 5:29 pm
[...] thus far. If you want to know a little more about it, I recommend checking out huffenglish and JustRead!, both of whom recommend the book highly (plus they’re just great bloggers, [...]