Why We Teach Literature To Kids
Every human on the planet spends their life learning how to see beyond their own bubble. Some people get pretty good at seeing a broad scope, others don’t branch much beyond the next tier, but there’s happiness to be found in any level of ‘looking beyond’. The goal isn’t just to see, but to find joy.
As a teacher, I love using middle grade novels with my students to help them practice extending beyond their own bubble. I love showing them new worlds and new people and new ideas. My goal has always been to help them become better humans as they learn to see the joy. I want them to see other kids being resilient and finding happiness. I want them to see other kids having challenges but creating positive solutions. I want them to see other kids exploring and reaching and learning, on a quest for truth and contentment. I want to show them new perspectives, and new understandings all with the intent of helping them become just a little more noble, and more compassionate, and more thoughtful. Good literature does all of this for our kids.
Sometimes as teachers we struggle to find ‘new’ traditional stories that ring true with these kinds of themes. It’s hard to sift through the fluffy stories, or the heavy-handed stories, or even the ones just poorly written. Finding good literature for kids is hard. Especially in today’s world.
That’s why I started Chicken Scratch Books. We need strong new traditional middle grade novels for our kids to discover themselves in. We need new traditional novels parents and teachers can trust to present age-appropriate themes with positive outcomes. We need books that kids will love to read and learn from, and see themselves in as they look outward.
At Chicken Scratch Books our only agenda is good literature gatekeepers can trust. Plus, we offer more than books. For each book we publish we create an online Novel Study Course for students that helps them dig deeper into the story with help from the authors themselves. Our courses are a mix of video instruction, online work, and ‘paper and pencil’ assignments geared for middle grade kids. The courses are standards aligned and are equivalent to a six week novel study unit. They work great for individuals, small groups, and even whole classes.
Come check out Chicken Scratch Books. We published our first novel and course March 1, 2021, titled Sophie Murphy Does Not Exist by Tiffany Blanchard. It’s a contemporary story about a girl trying to find the purpose of life with lots of humorous bumps along the way. We have more great stories in multiple genres, plus their companion courses coming soon. We are teachers, writers, parents, and entrepreneurs, and we love good books for kids.
At Chicken Scratch Books, we offer more than good literature.
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