I
loved Donalyn Miller’s first book The
Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child, so
when I heard she had a new book coming out, I knew I had to buy it. Let me tell
you, Reading in the Wild: The Book
Whisper’s Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits did not disappoint. Miller
is a truly inspirational educator with innovative ideas and the evidence to
back up their efficacy.

I read dozens and dozens of book every year—some for
kids, some for educators, some for adults interested in science—but I very
rarely blog about them. What makes Reading
in the Wild so special? It’s one of
the few books written by a reading teacher that adequately addresses the power
of nonfiction, especially for a specific subset of children.

In
recent years, the education community has begun to recognize that many young readers
prefer nonfiction to fiction. These analytically-thinking kids love learning about
the world and everything in it.

Largely
thorugh Miller’s work, some educators have also begun to understand their own “book gap” when it comes to nonfiction.
For whatever reason, they are not particularly drawn to nonfiction. And that
means they have to work hard and purposefully to serve  children who would rather
read true stories or ravenously consume fascinating facts.