Here is a wonderful and thourough description of what a 'Living Book' is.--
What Is A Living Book?
I was asked to explain in detail what a living book is. So here is what I’ve come up with for an answer to that question.
A living book is a “real book”. So first to explain what a living book is, I can say it is NOT a textbook. A living book is a real book, it is a regular book.
A living book can be for adults or children. Mostly what I am concerned with when I blog and when I refer to living books are children’s books and I am speaking about homeschooling my children using living books. However every child (even a schooled child) would benefit from reading a living book to themselves or being read aloud to by a parent or someone else, with a living book.
A living book is usually written by just one author. The author writes of the topic as it is their passion. The writer is not part of a committee (like textbook writers). Imagine the difference between someone hiring a writer and giving them an assignment to write a book on X topic versus a writer being passionate about a topic and then writing a book about that topic. Or a writer could decide to write on a topic but they did so much research that they became emotionally engaged in the process and by the time the book was finished they were passionate about that topic.
I am sure at times you’ve read a book on a subject and while the writing was good and the data was addressed there just was no passion there. Or have you read a book and found your mind wandering—those are not living books.
Sometimes writer chooses to write of the topic because they like the subject matter first and foremost, rather than looking to write about something. Sometimes the author is not even a writer by trade, they may be a specialist in that field then they write a book on it to summarize what they know or to help ignite a spark of curiosity or seeking to make a reader passionate about the topic. One example would be Jacques Cousteau. Imagine the difference if a person’s life passion and work is all about one topic then they wrote a book about it, and wrote it well, that makes a fantastic living book.
Good storytellers who write works of fiction can write living books. Yes, living books can be fictional content; too, they are not just non-fiction topics.
A living book is interesting. A living book draws the reader in and compels us to sit and read it. When reading a living book we are happy to be reading and we are not bored. We are engaged and our mind does not drift. The book captivates us and as we read we make connections, emotional or factual and/or we are entertained. Depending on the topic and type of book we may feel emotionally connected to the characters or the topic. As we read we begin to care about the character or the subject. If the book contains non-fiction facts or other references such as geographical or cultural information, we are so engaged in the book that we instantly absorb that information, and we retain it after we finish the book.
The experience of reading a living book is very different from reading a book that obviously was written to fill our heads with facts or to try to force the reader to learn or memorize facts A, B, and C. It is very different still from writing that you have to force your eyes to move from one word to another and to force yourself to complete that paragraph or that page. With living books we don’t want to stop reading, we just flow and read and sometimes we even lose track of time, or are so absorbed in the book that we feel we are inside the story and we forget about the real world right around us. Also children often beg parents to keep reading a book, to not stop just because the chapter ended or because it is now beyond the normal bedtime. Children who read independently may push off other plans in favor of staying glued to that book to read on and on for longer than originally intended.
When finished reading a living book, we are often sad to see the book end. We may want to re-read the book. We may want to keep the book rather than resell it or give it away. If it is a library book, we may love it so much we want to buy our own copy. And some of us may think, “I should save this book for my grandchildren to read”.
A living book feels like a friend.
We want others to read the living book, too, and we tell our friends about the book. Sometimes we fell compelled to discuss the book, and wish we knew someone who read it so that we could discuss it (which to me is the point of what book clubs are but sometimes the book clubs fail to use books that fall short and we are strained to finish the book and discussing it feels forced).
Sometimes we feel sad that some people may never read that book and may never have that wonderful experience, or they may not ever know about that topic, or feel a passion for that topic. We may feel that others are really missing out on something great by not ever reading that living book which we’ve just read.
Also, the book usually has made us curious to learn more about that topic. We are interested in the topic enough to want to read more on the topic, or to travel to that place to see it ourselves, or to do that thing that was done in the book.
If the work was fiction, we hope a sequel was written, and if so, we worry if the sequel will let us down, and wonder if, although we wanted a sequel, if the story would have been better off let alone to be in just the one volume.
A living book leaves us with the feeling that a door has been opened. A living book usually makes us feel changed in some way, by having read that book and knowing that emotion or being exposed to that information, or by forming a new opinion we feel changed in a good way, we are lifted up and more enlightened.
And a living book definitely is high quality writing.
Here is a list of some of the reccommended read-alouds for kindergarden and first grade that we are using. We have not read all of these yet but I am looking forward to them....
A living book is a “real book”. So first to explain what a living book is, I can say it is NOT a textbook. A living book is a real book, it is a regular book.
A living book can be for adults or children. Mostly what I am concerned with when I blog and when I refer to living books are children’s books and I am speaking about homeschooling my children using living books. However every child (even a schooled child) would benefit from reading a living book to themselves or being read aloud to by a parent or someone else, with a living book.
A living book is usually written by just one author. The author writes of the topic as it is their passion. The writer is not part of a committee (like textbook writers). Imagine the difference between someone hiring a writer and giving them an assignment to write a book on X topic versus a writer being passionate about a topic and then writing a book about that topic. Or a writer could decide to write on a topic but they did so much research that they became emotionally engaged in the process and by the time the book was finished they were passionate about that topic.
I am sure at times you’ve read a book on a subject and while the writing was good and the data was addressed there just was no passion there. Or have you read a book and found your mind wandering—those are not living books.
Sometimes writer chooses to write of the topic because they like the subject matter first and foremost, rather than looking to write about something. Sometimes the author is not even a writer by trade, they may be a specialist in that field then they write a book on it to summarize what they know or to help ignite a spark of curiosity or seeking to make a reader passionate about the topic. One example would be Jacques Cousteau. Imagine the difference if a person’s life passion and work is all about one topic then they wrote a book about it, and wrote it well, that makes a fantastic living book.
Good storytellers who write works of fiction can write living books. Yes, living books can be fictional content; too, they are not just non-fiction topics.
A living book is interesting. A living book draws the reader in and compels us to sit and read it. When reading a living book we are happy to be reading and we are not bored. We are engaged and our mind does not drift. The book captivates us and as we read we make connections, emotional or factual and/or we are entertained. Depending on the topic and type of book we may feel emotionally connected to the characters or the topic. As we read we begin to care about the character or the subject. If the book contains non-fiction facts or other references such as geographical or cultural information, we are so engaged in the book that we instantly absorb that information, and we retain it after we finish the book.
The experience of reading a living book is very different from reading a book that obviously was written to fill our heads with facts or to try to force the reader to learn or memorize facts A, B, and C. It is very different still from writing that you have to force your eyes to move from one word to another and to force yourself to complete that paragraph or that page. With living books we don’t want to stop reading, we just flow and read and sometimes we even lose track of time, or are so absorbed in the book that we feel we are inside the story and we forget about the real world right around us. Also children often beg parents to keep reading a book, to not stop just because the chapter ended or because it is now beyond the normal bedtime. Children who read independently may push off other plans in favor of staying glued to that book to read on and on for longer than originally intended.
When finished reading a living book, we are often sad to see the book end. We may want to re-read the book. We may want to keep the book rather than resell it or give it away. If it is a library book, we may love it so much we want to buy our own copy. And some of us may think, “I should save this book for my grandchildren to read”.
A living book feels like a friend.
We want others to read the living book, too, and we tell our friends about the book. Sometimes we fell compelled to discuss the book, and wish we knew someone who read it so that we could discuss it (which to me is the point of what book clubs are but sometimes the book clubs fail to use books that fall short and we are strained to finish the book and discussing it feels forced).
Sometimes we feel sad that some people may never read that book and may never have that wonderful experience, or they may not ever know about that topic, or feel a passion for that topic. We may feel that others are really missing out on something great by not ever reading that living book which we’ve just read.
Also, the book usually has made us curious to learn more about that topic. We are interested in the topic enough to want to read more on the topic, or to travel to that place to see it ourselves, or to do that thing that was done in the book.
If the work was fiction, we hope a sequel was written, and if so, we worry if the sequel will let us down, and wonder if, although we wanted a sequel, if the story would have been better off let alone to be in just the one volume.
A living book leaves us with the feeling that a door has been opened. A living book usually makes us feel changed in some way, by having read that book and knowing that emotion or being exposed to that information, or by forming a new opinion we feel changed in a good way, we are lifted up and more enlightened.
And a living book definitely is high quality writing.
Here is a list of some of the reccommended read-alouds for kindergarden and first grade that we are using. We have not read all of these yet but I am looking forward to them....
Mary on Horseback
My Father's Dragon
The Boxcar Children
The House at Pooh Corner
The Story of Dr. Dolittle
In Grandma's Attic
Five True Dog Stories
Dolphin Adventure
The Little House in the Big Woods
Charlotte's Web
The Wheel on the School
The Year of Miss Agnes
Understood Betsy
Gooney Bird Green
Beezus and Ramona
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Least of All
Here's a Penny
No Children, No Pets
James Herriot's Treasury for Children
Mary on Horseback
Twenty and Ten
A Grain of Rice
The Light at Tern Rock
Richard Scarry's Please and Thank You Book
The Llama Who Had No Pajama
The Story About Ping
The Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose
Dolphin Treasure
Henry Huggins
Homer Price
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Mountain Born
Detectives in Togas
Little Pear
Owls in the Family
The Case of the Gasping Ghost
It Could Always Be Worse
My Father's Dragon
The Boxcar Children
The House at Pooh Corner
The Story of Dr. Dolittle
In Grandma's Attic
Five True Dog Stories
Dolphin Adventure
The Little House in the Big Woods
Charlotte's Web
The Wheel on the School
The Year of Miss Agnes
Understood Betsy
Gooney Bird Green
Beezus and Ramona
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Least of All
Here's a Penny
No Children, No Pets
James Herriot's Treasury for Children
Mary on Horseback
Twenty and Ten
A Grain of Rice
The Light at Tern Rock
Richard Scarry's Please and Thank You Book
The Llama Who Had No Pajama
The Story About Ping
The Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose
Dolphin Treasure
Henry Huggins
Homer Price
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Mountain Born
Detectives in Togas
Little Pear
Owls in the Family
The Case of the Gasping Ghost
It Could Always Be Worse
Also I can recommend the Narnia Books and The Wizard of Oz. I believe they are on next year's list.
So if you have kindergardner or first grader I encourage you to pick out a few of the chapter books and try reading a chapter a night at bedtime. You may find like we have that your children ask for 'just one more chapter' and hopefully they will find books can be wonderful and fun. This is also an excellent way to make memories with your child and spend good wholesome family time together.
