Give a story to twenty kids, and you might get twenty different takeaways. Some will catch the details you didn’t even notice. Others will pull out meaning that wasn’t intentionally placed, but rings true all the same. Sharon M. Draper writes for everyone and fiercely advocates for students’ right to read for themselves.
Sharon knows the capacity of a book to transport and transform kids; she was the kid who maxed out her library card every Saturday at the Cleveland Public Library. She then became the teacher who read aloud to even the most skeptical students, and the writer whose bestselling novel, Out of My Mind, which was adapted into a film for Disney+ and remains requisite reading for many middle schoolers year after year. A two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner, Sharon is the author of Stella by Starlight, Blended, Tears of a Tiger, and many, many more.
“And I think that’s what reading is… It’s a personal interpretation of the story, and it may not be the same as somebody else's. That’s the whole idea of a good teacher. There should be different interpretations, and sometimes a student will come up with something that I never thought of.” —Sharon M. Draper
In this episode, Sharon discusses what it means to trust readers, how her students helped guide her first book, and seeing her stories banned in classrooms. We also talk about church music, spiked lemonade, and how she ended up with a special library card that gave her access to the library's adult section, even as a child.
Tune in for an episode that taps into the magic of a stellar teacher and tells the story of how she sprinkled that magic on her wide array of middle-grade books!
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When we asked Sharon to come up with a reading challenge, she was reluctant to give us a list of must-reads. Maybe that’s not surprising, given her past frustrations with inflexible required reading lists. In true teacher fashion, she flipped the assignment and gave us a lesson plan. Learn more about Sharon’s assignment for teachers below!
Listen to the full episode, "Good Luck, They’re Yours: Sharon Draper on Giving Students Room to Read," on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Like what you hear? Please leave a 5-star review, subscribe, and share with someone who will enjoy it!
Whatever you do, keep reading!