The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Book Whisperer (Donalyn Miller) gave a plenary talk at our The 6th Annual Extensive Reading Seminar in Matsumoto, Japan in early June 2013. It was a helpful and inspirational talk, and I immediately bought the audio version of her book. In the middle of listening while running around my park, I found the material so helpful that I also picked up the iBooks version of the text for further review.

To sum up briefly, Miller succeeds at fostering in her students a love for reading and learning. And she is able to do this in one of the most test-driven states in the US, Texas. I was reminded that the testing system does not benefit teachers, and it does not really benefit students. It benefits the test making companies with millions and millions of dollars. In Texas ranching terms, the tests are herds and herds of cash cattle.

But Miller does not focus on tests. She focuses on inspiring students to read. And what do you know? They do well on tests, and they come away from their experience in her class as book and story lovers.

Miller reminds me of what I need to be for my students — a reader! Of course, I read a lot. But to help inspire my students, I need to be able to recommend to them books that they can read. As we just got a ton of new books in our library for our EFL students, Miller’s book challenged me to read these books for my students. This will be one way for me to give good recommendations to my students and help them read more.

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A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life by Donald Miller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Donald Miller’s most famous book is “Blue Like Jazz,” which I have not read. But I heard about it from an article on the Daily Beast. In that article, I learned that Miller has a huge following and that he’s from Portland Oregon, my neck of the woods. I was born in Oregon and grew up in the Pacific Northwest. I also heard that he was applying the principles of “story grammar” to edit his life and help others do the same. That’s why I decided to read “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.”

This is a book on spirituality, and I’d say that Miller is a “post-modernish” Christian. References to God are sparse, and often they come in the form of questions rather than answers. But I found that appealing, and I’d say that people from any religious or non-religious background could benefit from and even enjoy this book.

I was impressed and moved by Miller’s efforts to edit his life and make it a more interesting story. Perhaps interesting is not the word. It’s more like he’s answering this kind of question. How can I make a better, richer, more romantic, and more epical story of my life? That’s a good question, and after reading the book, I really want to answer it for myself, too.

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What are the characteristics of a good story? What is it about a good story that hooks us? That is, what is the grammar (structure) of a good story that compels us to follow it, read it, or watch it past our bed time or train stop? What elements of story help create a flow experience where we get lost in story?

How can we use and research story grammar in language arts? If the elements of story grammar are present in spoken, sung, performed, or written texts, will that help learners acquire language more efficiently than when story grammar elements are absent?

If growing readers learn of story grammar, can it help them more easily experience deeper flow when they read? Can second language researchers experiment with story grammar to see if readers remember more, enjoy more, or experience more flow when texts employ story grammar?

The following questions may help us better find the elements of story grammar in stories.

1. Who is the main character (the protagonist)?
2. What is the main character’s goal or quest?
3. What trouble or conflict impacts the main character’s goal or quest?
4. How does that trouble change the main character on the inside?

There are many good books that deal with story grammar. Here are two. The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall and Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence by Lisa Cron.