The Joy of Reading

by Donalyn Miller, Teri Lesesne

What reading experiences have entertained you, provoked you, taught you, inspired you, helped you to see your own life more clearly, or connected you with others? As teachers, librarians, school administrators, and caregivers who love reading, we know what it feels like to fall into a book and let the world fall away. We have joyous reading memories, and we know how reading can sustain and inspire us. Now When talking with children about their reading lives at school, are you likely to hear about this transformative reading joy? Or are you more likely to hear about reading logs, book reports, and standardized tests? For too many young readers, reading is joyless. It is something that is required of them, but not something that they choose to do. Here's the It is possible to teach children how to read well without killing their love for reading in the process.
The Joy of Reading is a guide for teachers, librarians, administrators, and families to create the conditions for joyful reading. Donalyn Miller and Teri Lesesne draw from their decades of work with students, teachers, and librarians, providing practices that nurture joy while identifying factors that destroy joy, all with a clear understanding of the realities of today's classrooms and libraries. There's more to life than school and work. There's more to reading than school-based value systems for it. We can aim higher than short-sighted measurements and, instead, become reading encouragers, supporters, and role models for lifelong, joyful reading.

Genres: Nonfiction, Professional Development, Education, Adult, Teaching, Audiobook, Librarianship

256 pages, Paperback

Published April 29, 2022

About the author

Donalyn Miller has worked with a variety of upper elementary and middle school students and currently teaches fifth grade at O.A. Peterson Elementary in Forth Worth, Texas. In her popular book, The Book Whisperer, Donalyn reflects on her journey to become a reading teacher and describes how she inspires and motivates her middle school students to read 40 or more books a year. In her latest book, Reading in the Wild, Donalyn collects responses from 900 adult readers and uses this information to teach lifelong reading habits to her students. Donalyn currently facilitates the community blog, The Nerdy Book Club and co-writes a monthly column for Scholastic’s Principal-to-Principal Newsletter. Her articles about teaching and reading have appeared in publications such as The Reading Teacher, Educational Leadership and The Washington Post.

Reviews

[Donalyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read this book many times, of course. Just rating it so my Goodreads friends will see it.

I wish Teri had lived long enough to see the book publish. I know she would be proud of it!

[Annie Joyce · Rating 2 out of 5]

*update (following day)* I received an overwhelming amount of support in the comments section of Miller’s post, and many told me they reported it as hate speech/and or harassment. As of this afternoon multiple people have confirmed that the post was taken down. I suppose with so much attention being drawn to it, it didn’t jive with the whole illusion of inclusivity that the book supposedly promotes. Thanks to everyone who spoke up!
————————————————————————
*update* Miller shared a screenshot of this review with her Instagram page and participated in shaming me along with her followers- calling me a bigot, saying she ‘feels awful’ for my students, and other hateful remarks. DEFINITELY won’t be buying/supporting any more of her books now, lol!

————————————————————————

Compared to Miller’s other books this one is redundant at best, but the cause for such a low rating from me is due to her parroting leftist narratives every other page. I don’t need another liberal white woman telling me that I need to check my biases tbh. Much prefer her books when she is not bowing to popular politics.

[Colby Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donalyn and Teri have created the book that the world needs.

[Kris Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate Donalyn’s fierce advocacy for school and public libraries. Thank you! ❤️

I always wince a tiny bit when authors suggest school librarians open their doors during summer months. I get it, I really do. Book access is crucial. But it’s time we rethink the one-size-fits-all teacher contract for non-classroom and collaborative roles. If we want school librarians to be available for students and families before school, during lunch, after school, and on breaks, we need to compensate them … or at least think differently about contract hours. Split shift? Four day work week with longer days? Flexibility in naming the 180-184 days? Or better yet, do as Alan November suggests. Hire two librarians per building with overlapping hours.

[Tammy Hahs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donalyn Miller consistently inspires me as a teacher. The only downside to her books is they make me want to force every teacher of young kids read them. All of them.

As she said at the end of this book, “In an ideal world, kids would have a reading enthusiast-an adult who communicated and showed them how joyful reading can be-every year.”

[Jill Culmo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A no-nonsense, practical guide to putting the joy back into reading classrooms.

[Annie Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donalyn Miller’s reading messages to teachers will always get 5 ⭐️’s from me! I read the first half of this book last summer and the second half this summer. She motivates me to continue to bring the joy of reading to my students and always gives me new ideas!

[Melissapalmer404 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donalyn Miller is my reading guru. Teri Lesense is a close second. Pairing them together on a book about how to get students to love reading is a hit! This book talks about the need for joy in reading and how that joy will help students become lifelong readers. I loved it. I received an advanced copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

[Bethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. Outstanding professional development book, flows and feels like you are sitting around the breakfast table chatting about reading with your 2 favorite reading gurus. Excellent format, color coded chapters, pleasing graphics, and of course, plenty of book recommendations. Great back matter, resources, and a plethora of research notes. The afterword is a loving, heartfelt ode to Dr. Lesesne and her friendship with Donalyn Miller. I’ve had the honor to hear both of them speak multiple times, as well as personal chats. Their voices ring clear throughout the book, guiding us all to become more joyful readers and to help others find joy in reading as well.

[Katie Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all educators and administrators! While the research is not new, it does provide great reminders of what is most important in getting kids to read and love reading, especially during these times of covid learning loss, stress of standardized testing, and just the overall divisiveness in our country. Student choice, diverse books, and joyful reading communities are a must!

[Tena Edlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes. Yes. Yes. Awesome book that reaffirms my commitment to creating readers, not just students who can score well on a reading test. It also solidified the direction I want to head with my dissertation. Thank you for citing so many resources within the text, authors. I know this book was a collaboration, but my first thought was, “The Book Whisperer Does It Again!”

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good. I wish teachers would read this and take the lessons to heart.

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Remember the firemen are rarely necessary. The public itself stopped reading of its own accord.” Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451.
❤️
The Joy of Reading is a guide for educators, teachers, librarians, administrators and parents/students on how to create an environment where ALL students find the joy in reading. Filled with facts, data, quotes, book recommendations and so much more, @donalynm @professornana put their hearts on the pages to show/remind us all what teaching reading should be all about.
📚
Reading Donalyn’s books always fill my cup and remind me of my why. If you haven’t read The Book Whisperer, Reading in the Wild or Game Changer—run, don’t walk to read these now. These books (including this new one) are my inspiration, fuel me and push me to be better every time I read them. A librarian’s Bible, if you will. Read woke, read diversely, read with purpose and share that love of reading and books with others. Another 5 ⭐️ nonfiction book filled with great book recs, quotes and ways to bring the joy of reading back into your life and those of the students around us.

[Krista Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

So thankful this book is in the world! I was just what I needed. I'm already looking forward to rereading and sharing with my reading community.

[Edy Gies · Rating 2 out of 5]

I absolutely adored The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child so when I saw this book while I was in a bit of reading funk I trusted that Miller could get me out of it. While I did appreciate her passion for helping students and encouragement to read with students, I didn't appreciate her suggestions on some of the topics. For example, she states that students must not be subjected to antiquated, possibly harmful, books like Little House on the Prarie or books by Roald Dahl but that it's wrong for teachers to prohibit students from getting books with graphic references to sexually explicit content because they are about LGTBQIA+ topics. She like many others suggests we should read books by people who are not like us but never books with antiquated ideas or morals she disagrees with. I find this stance particularly nauseating and hypocritical. I wish I could say I liked it more but for those reasons I can't say I would strongly recommend this book.

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a teacher I love the mentality so much of helping students find the Joy of Reading and I felt there was some genuinely good stuff in here that has helped me as a teacher. I scored it down just because I feel it occasionally got repetitive. I also listened to this on audiobook and sometimes, meaning no offense, the voice got a little grating in the changing intonation, but that is just a personal preference thing and not meant to be mean spirited in any way.

Lastly, I did have one smaller problem, although I personally am not coming from a political standpoint. I loved the mention of needing more inclusive books in our recommendations and I agree, but I disagree on the point that if a book is too white or written by a dead white guy that we don't recommend it. I felt the audiobook voice had a level of bitterness to it when it mentioned any book we should remove and that saddened me. Other than that, I loved the book and found some good things I want to use!

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The combination of Miller and Lesesne's expertise provides the backbone for another book that centers the importance of reading developmentally, for mental health, for enjoyment and connection to school that isn't about testing and quizzes, and lifelong connections to the joy of reading. It's narrated by Miller as Lesesne died before the full book was finished but I can imagine that if they both read it it would be the best kind of book therapy but professional help for any teacher and librarian to continue to center reading on discussion, connection, and community.

They use statistics, cited research, anecdotes, personal experiences, and a swath of other tools in their toolbox to provide the foundation for change (if needed) or a place to start for new teachers and librarians. It's important and helpful and reinforces everything I know and believe.

[Molly Grimmius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having followed many ideas, concepts and books of Donalyn Miller in my personal teaching, I enjoyed reading another book she wrote jointly with her friend and colleague all about the joy of reading. It was nothing new in concepts but more just another affirmation of what I believe in reading and how to create joyful readers. A great read at the end of the school year. It was also filled with great questions, ideas, book recommendations and book story wins, which I Love… the last story she shared in the afterward was just perfect.


—- should be noted that so definitely don’t agree with all of Donalyn’s moral views and some of the books she promotes would definitely alter from what I think be in the hands of kids so young. However also agree that books are where you have the hard and engaging conversations and to see the world differently but always just a bit more cautious in all of her book recommendations.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preach, ladies.

I decided to read this because I respect Donalyn Miller's expertise and it was the highest rated "teacher" book in my TBR list. I didn't really expect to learn a lot of new information from this book; I expected to just kind of passively listen to it, confirm things I already knew, and move on with my summer reading.

While it's essentially true that I didn't really learn any *new* information, my reading of this book was definitely not passive. I ended up texting myself notes, making a lot of bookmarks, and even reorganizing some of my reading response assignments right away as I was listening. This book definitely came to me at the right time as someone who made a massive shift in grade levels in the last few years and who needed a new perspective on how to get students to read and enjoy reading. This is highly recommended for teachers of students from about 2nd/3rd grade on up, though there is something here for everyone.

[Ekaterina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Donalyn Miller, but alas, I found nothing new or especially useful in this book. Moreover, it was somewhat frustrating to encounter a repeated theme: that we as teachers or schools do not do enough to engage readers in reading. Not ONCE do the authors mention cell phones or social media as a possible hindrance to a child's developing a positive reading identity. ONLY once do the authors mention that parents/caregivers "remain the most important influence on children's development of lifelong reading habits".

I can do everything I can as a teacher to provide students with books of interest (in fact, every year I invest time to get to know them as readers, find out about their interests, and buy books that cater to those) and give them permission to take books home, but I know for a fact that 99% of students never open a book in their home. Most of them admitted they've never been read to, even as little kids. I cannot compete with TikTok or their parents who own 0 books, never model reading around their kids, or even talk to them in the evenings. This is just a reality we have to accept, along with the literacy levels that have been dropping in the last 2 decades.

[Emilee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved, loved, loved this book! I learned a lot about fostering a joy of reading. I am excited to take what I learned and implement it into my kindergarten classroom. And I am looking forward to discussing what I learned with colleagues so we can all do better.

"No single teacher can possibly teach their students everything they need. But we know that being reading encouragers, supporters, and role models makes a real difference for kids. Long after they leave us, the joy of reading will continue to nourish our students. Passing along the joy of reading matters because it lasts." (The Joy of Reading, pg. 186)

[Rachel D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reminded me of why I love reading and why I became a Language Arts teacher. Now that I have finished it, I’m so glad that I read it before the last two months of the school year. I have two months to help my students remember or gain a joy of reading. I’m changing what I had planned for April and May. I am still going to read whole class novels with them, but we are going to try a lot of things from this book. I want my students to be lifelong readers, and I feel like this book helped me realize I need to change my classroom so it is a reading community rather than a Language Arts class.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This text is a great read for teachers who want to rejuvenate excitement and authentic enjoyment of reading within their students. The text has an honest portrayal of what doesn't work while also offering suggestions for how to change. Definitely more geared towards an elementary audience, library media specialists, or schools looking to do a while building initiative - however, there are nuggets of wisdom for all educators to learn from! Overall a thought provoking look at the ways in which we can spark or stifle the joy reading brings based on the tasks we pair with it.

[Lauren Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped me reflect on what practices are most effective in building a joyful and engaged reading community. It gave me ideas to help readers find books, make time for reading, and meaningful engage with reading. This school year I want to focus on building a reading community not only with students but with the adults in the building as well. I will definitely be sharing this book with other educators.

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one! It's a little bit of confirmation bias because I already very much believe everything in this book. I did learn some things I need to do in my classroom regarding reading and reading conferences next year. I also really want to do a better job of creating a reading community in my class.

[Sean Deegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good reminders of what I’m already trying (albeit unsuccessfully) to accomplish in my room. Joy reading time, authentic conversations around reading, modeling reading, grading less when it comes to reading. Need to work on authentic ways to talk about reading with their peers. They are so quiet!!!

[Makayla Hasch · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many important reminders about the importance of joyful reading and why it needs to be a priority in our classrooms.

[Michelle Glatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring, as always. And affirms that I have dedicated my life to a glorious purpose ;)

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Passing along the joy of reading matters because it lasts.”
This book was a reminder that reading matters, books matter, my work matters. All educators should read this book.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it but frustrating at the same time as I think about all the ways that school does not support reading joy!! Makes me think about ways I need to change to encourage the joy of reading!