Just Right Books!

Why a Just Right Book?

Teachers are working intensely on matching books with students during the first months of school. Lessons have focused on choosing Just Right books, shopping in classroom libraries for Just Right books, and building stamina while reading Just Right books. Why?

The easiest answer is that a Just Right book builds reading muscles and helps readers grow to read long and strong. But there is more to it…

Marie Clay says, “I define reading as a message-getting, problem-solving activity which increases in power and flexibility the more it is practiced. My definition states that within the directional constraints of the printer’s cue, language and visual perception responses are purposefully directed by the reader in some integrated way to the problem of extracting meaning from cues in a text, in sequence, so that the reader brings a maximum of understanding to the author’s message.” (Clay, 1991, p. 6)

So…what does that mean? It means that readers use 3 sources of information while reading. We integrate the meaning, language structures and visual/print cues of the text in order to process and understand the message of the text we are reading. Beginning or struggling readers are often unbalanced and over-rely on one source or ignore one altogether.

Reading requires practice in just-right books so that the reader can develop the process involved in integrating the 3 sources of information. This process can be observed when a reader reads smoothly and with expression. The voice is not robotic but combines words into phrases that sound like a talking voice. The reader should laugh at the funny parts and react when the story reveals a surprise. The reader may also quickly correct errors or reread to make it sound better.

Reading books that are too hard will force the student to stutter and stumble on unknown words, lose the meaning, and over-rely on sounding out the words, letter by letter. This interferes with the developing reading process and may actually break it down by creating bad habits that are difficult to correct.

Books that are not too easy and not too hard are Just Right. These books build strong reading habits that will lead to a life-long love of reading.