Bursting Our Own Bubbles: The Importance of Reading Fiction Together

By Andrew Silagi  When I first saw the Barbie movie this summer, I was expecting the film to have a lot of commentary on women in the United States. After watching the film, I remember wrestling with the film and what it says about the role of fiction. Fiction is not like editorials: it is …

“Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” ~Dr. Seuss: Films for Women’s History Month

By Teisha Struik-Kothe  As a celebration of Women’s History Month, each week a Hope College professor or student will recommend their favorite books or films dealing with issues facing women today and throughout history. This week is dedicated to movies and films and is written by Dr. Teisha Struik-Kothe, an Assistant Professor of Instruction. As …

Celebrating Women’s History Month: Children’s Literature

By Alyssa Whitford  As a celebration of Women’s History Month, each week a Hope College professor or student will recommend their favorite books or films dealing with issues facing women today and throughout history. This week is dedicated to children’s literature and is written by Dr. Alyssa Whitford, an associate professor of Education. As a …

Wonder While You Wander: Black Children in the Outdoors

By Jesus Montaño  As a celebration of Black History Month, each week a Hope College professor or student will recommend their favorite books or films dealing with issues facing Black Americans today and throughout history. This week is dedicated to children’s literature and is written by Dr. Jesus Montaño, an associate professor of English. As …

BIG Potential for Small Children with the Little Read Lakeshore Partnership

It is November, which means it is officially Little Read month!  At Ready for School, we are so excited to partner and participate with Little Read Lakeshore during this month-long celebration of reading.  This year’s programming is focused on Matt de la Peña’s book Last Stop on Market Street. Ready for School’s mission is “to …

Themes in Last Stop on Market Street

As I said in the last blog post, multiple themes can help foster discussion of Matt De La Peña’s Last Stop on Market Street, no matter what age range you decide to use the book for.  Some of the themes in the book are happiness or goodness, inequity, beauty, and community.  Happiness/Goodness Happiness and goodness …

Lessons in Last Stop on Market Street

While we have been discussing our middle-read books a lot, it is time to switch gears and discuss our little read book for the year. This year the little read book is The Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña.  Matt de la Peña is a New York Times bestselling author and …

Takeaways from Zita the Space Girl

Even though Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke is a must-read on its own, there are other things, specifically what the reader can take away from it, that help to solidify it as a must-read.  One of the first takeaways is leadership. Throughout the graphic novel, Zita must learn to become a leader and live …

Why Read Zita the Space Girl

Our third middle-grade book for this year’s NEA Big Read Lakeshore 2022 is Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke. Zita the Spacegirl is a graphic novel series and can be considered our more traditional middle-grade heroes’ journey story. The story follows a girl named Zita Danielson. On Earth, Zita is a normal twelve-year-old girl middle …