What’s Your Chaos Tolerance Level? or When the Read Aloud Works TOO WELL
I read the fantastic nonfiction book Butt or Face? by Kari Lavelle with my second grade classes last week. Well, I tried to. For some of the groups, we just couldn’t make it through due to general pandemonium.
Has this ever happened to you?
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Every school librarian has a different chaos tolerance level when it comes to storytime, and I’ve seen them all. From very strict “There must be silence!” types, all the way to Storytime as Circus, where chaos reigns and no one actually even hears the story.
Personally, I’m more on the quieter end of the spectrum when it comes to students talking to each other during a story. I want everyone to have the chance to hear the book, so I always try to make sure that happens. But I’m all for getting loud when the story calls for it. I’ll do call and response, I’ll do “repeat after me”, I’ll stop short and let students finish a line or rhyme, and I’ll have kids stand up or drum on their knees or any other thing when/if the book calls for. So controlled chaos.
But some books test my chaos-controlling skills, and for a couple classes, Butt or Face? bested me last week. The nice thing is, I can regroup and try again – either with next year’s second graders or a different class. The book is so much fun (and the interactive “voting” element is so strong), that’s what I plan to do.
Is there a book that was so much fun it derailed your storytime?
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About Travis Jonker
Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.
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That is a great question. It’s the ultimate goal of any author, isn’t it? To have a book that burns storytime down. In my experience, I never hit full chaos, but there were books that had them just baffled and floored and engaged like nothing before. Good old PRESS HERE by Herve Tullet was one of those. I actually had a kid come up afterwards and ask, “How does it work?”
Abner and Ian get Right-Side Up. Every kid was dying to be the kid who shook the book. After a few read-aloud, I would select ONE child to be “the kid”, because the competition was ferocious. Usually I chose an incipient ham, who would stand up, jump up and down, make circles, all the while shaking the book.
The old school Jan Thomas books seem to hit well with my crowd–especially Can You Make a Scary Face? or Are you Ready for Some Fun?
Same at our house, just at bedtime. A read-aloud could settle my son right down, and some nights the very same thing wound him all the way up. The one he asked for most was a penguin story I wrote for him, Penny the Penguin, so I only have myself to blame.
When I want a chaotic read aloud I reach for Buzz! Boom! Bang!: The Book of Sounds by Benhamin Gottwalk.
Loud, hilarious, joyous. I perfect wordless read aloud.