Besides, there are no good books to read. Let me tell you about some. It was true that I knew about many high quality books for young adults, but just talking about them didn't persuade my students to go out and read them. It was obvious that many of my students had not been routinely exposed to good books, and that became my purpose in reading aloud. The only problem was finding the right books to read.
Selection is crucial to the success of a program of reading aloud.
For the past four years it has been the right choice as my first book to read to the class. It's the choice of the next book that is worrisome. The Witches is so well received by the majority of my students that it is a hard act to follow. The first year I began reading aloud, I relied on Trelease's short summaries to help me choose other books. When I read his synopsis of Lois Duncan's Killing Mr. Griffin, which is about some high school students who seek revenge on their heartless English teacher and unintentionally cause his death, I felt pretty certain that I had come across a winner.