Students are reading and reading

 Encouraging students to read isn’t rocket science, but it takes a few important ingredients: (1) a strong and committed teacher, (2) kind and curious students, (3) lots of good books.

I’m happy to report that everything is coming together for the Kindle Classroom Project. Students are reading and reading and reading. Thanks, donors!

Here are just a few books that Kathleen‘s students in San Francisco finished today:

Bronxwood, by Coe Booth

Erik’s Review: The book is the best book I have read so far. It is so realistic, and the details are so good that it made me picture everything and have a feeling of how it was happening.

Everything about the book is crazy good. It’s funny, sad, emotional, romantic, and addicting. I would recommend the book to everyone. It’s such a great book; I don’t think anyone would not like it.

American Sniper, by Chris Kyle

Brandon’s Review: I can say that this is one of my favorite books that I have read, mostly because of how in depth Chris Kyle was while writing the book. Reading the book brought out a sort of patriotism because of everything he did for our country. All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book. I would recommend the book to people that like war stories or just want to learn about the U.S. Military.

(Brandon requested this book just a few weeks ago.)

Dope Sick, by Walter Dean Myers

Lazarus’s Review: Dope Sick is one of the best books I have ever read. Me personally, I don’t read books how I’m suppose to, but when I started reading this book, I couldn’t stop. The struggles the main character went through are similar to people I know. The book was about a young African American male who gets himself in a lot of trouble by hanging with the wrong person. One thing I didn’t like about the book was the ending because I felt like the author should have put more into it. Besides the ending, I really enjoyed reading this book. I would recommend young African American males to read this book because it tells you the real deal about life.

Street Life: Poverty, Gangs, and a Ph.D., by Victor Rios

Alex’s Review: This book deserves 5 stars. This is an autobiography/memoir. It talks about Rios’s experience in the streets of Oakland, California. By the age of 13, he already joined a gang. He grew up in a really poor family where he was surrounded by crime and murder in his neighborhood. Later in Rios’s life, he decides to switch his life around, complete college, and help out kids who go through the same things he used to as a kid. He now has helped many people change their lives. Now I’m going to read his second book Punished.

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I’m very pleased with the work that Kathleen and her students are doing. As Kathleen says, reading promotes “a life of the mind.” Also, where reading is, there are stories, and there is joy.

If you’d like to get involved, please consider making a $10 donation so that I can honor the next student’s book request. There is a cute little button on the top right corner of the blog.

Also: If you’d like to leave comments for any or all of the four students, please do so! I’m sure they’d love to hear from you, especially if you’ve read the books they’ve read.