happyThis is, I hope, the choir raising its voice and preaching the benefits of independent reading inside and outside of school. There are other voices out there, voices we should celebrate and elevate and give a turn at solos (to extend the metaphor). Listen to Katherine Sokolowski on her blog talking about failure: http://readwriteandreflect.blogspot.com. Listen to Mindi Wells Rench reflect daily on her classroom experience as she makes a move from one grade level to another: https://www.facebook.com/mindi.rench?fref=ts. Colby Sharp joins in with a post about #classroombookaday: https://sharpread.wordpress.com. And Donalyn Miller and Colby Sharp's new venture adds a multitude of voices to the choir in the Nerdy Podcast: https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/the-nerdy-bookcast/.
There are so many voices that are being raised. It would be impossible to include them all here. But you should add these to your "choir" if they are not already a part of them. Listen to the voices on the Reader Leader blog from Scholastic: http://www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/readerleader. And BSP aside, I hope you subscribe to the YouTube channel Karin Perry and I are using to share knowledge about literature for children and YA readers with others: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSaYxeoQmxa8ECTkGO7TfOg.
What is so special about this choir is that there are no divas, no demands for solos or specials. All the members of this group are happy to blend their voices with each other, to raise them in song praising a mutual passion: supporting lifelong readers. Finding new voices is rewarding and encouraging. It means the message, the song, is present, is important, is being sung over and over again. Add your voice to theirs.