As a reading teacher, I always talk about how classroom teachers need to have quality books in their rooms available to put into little one’s heads and hands.
The book flood is a concept in which so many books are brought into space that there are more than enough for students to find a book that speaks to them. You will hear many professional authors talk about this concept: Richard Allington, Penny Kittle, Kelly Gallagher, Donalyn Miller. Just like a swimmer needs a pool to learn how to swim, readers need books to learn to read.
There are several options to make a book flood happen in your classroom.
1.Personal debt – not the best option but Amazon and the local bookstore will love you.
2. Garage sales
3. Thrift shops
4. Library – for check out and for book sales
5. Grants
I wrote a small grant a couple years ago to purchase a class set of books that were based on children’s author Lester Laminack’s favorite books. He had shared a list of his favorite books (at the moment) at a Professional educational partnership event at Valparaiso University in 2010. The books were purchased to demonstrate the link between reading and writing, mentor texts, and great read-aloud stories to be enjoyed.
The ten books were
The Barn Owls and The Harmonica by Tony Johnston
The Other Side and Our Gracie Aunt by Jacqueline Woodson
Koala Lou and Wilfred Gordan MacDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
What You Know First and All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLaughlin
In November and Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant
After the books arrived we held a professional development session for some specific ideas of how to use this book set. All the activities could be used with any of the books in the collection.
- Author studies for the 5 authors
- General word study activities
- General read aloud guidelines
- Writing activities
- Suggested questions
- Some specific activities that went with each book
It was a great experience and I had hoped to continue the process with other authors.
The books were loved and read over and over again!
Tammy L. Breitweiser 
Ha! Personal debt is always my strategy. Sometimes I feel like I work only to be able to kind of afford to buy books! Several of the books you highlight here are new to me, but given how much I love others on the list, I need to find the ones I haven’t read yet. I sense a library trip in my near future!!
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Libraries are good!
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Thank you for spreading the book love and for generously listing the books Lester recommended! I am familiar with some, but not others. Will definitely need to check them out! Thanks for the slice!
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Love the idea of a book flood. I also like that the students could choose some books and do a variety of different literacy activities with them. It really makes my students appreciate the books even more when they look at them through reader or writer eyes.
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Book floods are my life and personal debt my m.o. I was glad you shared the list- as others have said based on the ones there that I know and love I will have to search out the others. It is always amazing to see how much you can get out of one book (or better yet, a book flood).
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This. Is. Awesome. Lester is one of my all-time personal folks, and I’m smiling over here, picturing his presentation of these titles. Thank you so much for sharing this great idea.
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I love Lester! I heard him read Saturdays and Teacakes and All the Places to Love…he is amazing! Thanks for reading and reminding me!
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