Diana Fiddler

Booktalk Materials
Abernathy, Alta. 1998. Bud & Me: The True Adventure of the Abernathy Boys. Texas:
Dove Creek, Press.
Gantos, Jack. 2011. Dead end in Norvelt. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.
Paulsen, Gary. 1993. Harris & Me: A Summer Remembered. New York: Bantam
Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

I prepared a book talk for a group of sixth grade boys. The sixth grade reading
teacher had asked me to meet with a group of boys who are able to read on grade level
with proficient reading comprehension skills; these boys did not have an interest in
finding books and reading the books unless an assignment had been made by the
teacher. Booktalking promotes teen collections efficiently, especially when the booktalk
supports a school assignment for outside reading (Gorman and Suellentrop 2009, 173).
I believe the booktalk I presented will create an interest in reading for pleasure as well
as for instructional need. The booktalk was presented in the classroom with boys who
ranged from 11-13 years of age.
I chose three books which would appeal to young boys who are from a rural
background (personal experiences played a role in my book choices). The common
denominator is that they are teenagers thus, booktalks must always consider the
developmental and emotional needs of the teens (Gorman and Suellentrop 2009, 172).
I have had the majority of these boys in class as fifth graders; this gave me some
background knowledge of what would be of interest to them. These boys could easily
relate to Bud & Me: The True Adventure of the Abernathy Boys, Dead end in Norvelt,
and Harris & Me: A Summer to Remember. Each of these books plots revolves around
boys who are adventurous, mischievous, ornery, and goodhearted. If these boys find
an interest in books such as this type, they may find a genre which will meet their
reading need as well as generate an enthusiasm for discovering other books to meet
their reading interest. Two of the books (Dead end in Norvelt and Harris & Me: A
Summer to Remember) are realistic nonfiction. The book, Bud & Me: The True

Adventure of the Abernathy Boys, is a biography. These two different genres will give
the boys two different reading perspectives.
I believe the boys will gain developmental tasks such as independence in
recognizing such skills as foreshadowing, predicting, inferencing, and generalization
skills. Since all three books deal with the adventures of mischievous boys, the boys I
presented the booktalk to will be able to make predictions of certain situations as they
develop within the plot. The inferencing and generalization skills can also be enhanced
throughout the three readings. After reading the first chapters of the books, the boys
will notice that each author has foreshadowed that the main character(s) are about to
embark on some type of life changing experience.
During the booktalk, I chose the scene approach for the focus of my booktalk. I
intentionally chose a scene toward the beginning of each book to grab my audiences
attention. Each of the scenes displayed some type of strength, courage, or a frightening
situation. I chose to use the movie preview model for booktalking. Movie preview.
You see the main character, get a sense of the theme or mood of the work, and often
witness a sneak preview of some of the best scenes or lines (Gorman and Suellentrop
2009, 175). I gave just a small glimpse into a beginning scene from each of the books
to give my readers a small taste of the plot. By choosing this movie preview/scene
method, I was able to whet the students appetites without giving away the entire book.

I chose to use only the books as my props. During the booktalk, I held up each
book. This gave the students a clear view of the book cover. I also noticed that I used
small dramatic gestures as well as facial expressions while discussing specific scenes;

the use of small actions helps to keep my audience engaged with the presentation.
Pantomime. Adding a little bit of movement now and then will make talks more
entertaining for the audience and for you.. (Gorman and Suellentrop 2009, 183).
This approach allowed me to present the books in a short amount of time; which
enabled the teacher to continue with her class lesson with minimal disruption.

Link to My Booktalk Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6DFT86SXho

Bibliography
Abernathy, Alta. 1998. Bud & Me: The True Adventure of the Abernathy Boys. Texas:
Dove Creek, Press.
Gantos, Jack. 2011. Dead end in Norvelt. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.
Gorman, Michele and Tricia Suellentrop. 2009. Connecting Young Adults and
Libraries. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.
Paulsen, Gary. 1993. Harris & Me: A Summer Remembered. New York: Bantam
Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.