“If you believe — as I do — that understanding literature is not a destination but rather a life-long journey, this book will resonate deeply. Along with practical protocols for supporting young readers on the path to comprehension, the authors offer a model curriculum that ‘whispers what the world is and what it might become.’ Pedagogy by readers for readers.”

Carol Jago, author and past president, National Council of Teachers of English

“What’s not to love? A resource for encouraging students to engage in productive conversations about texts? This highly-readable and practical guide shows you how to make this a reality in your classroom.”

Douglas Fisher & Nancy Frey, authors and professors, San Diego State University

“Love and Literacy gives teachers accessible, practical guidance they may be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. The authors explain how educators can ensure students have the background knowledge they need to understand complex literature without simultaneously depriving them of the opportunity for ‘productive struggle’ – one of the trickiest of all pedagogical balancing acts.”

Natalie Wexler, author The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America's Broken Education System -- and How to Fix It and coauthor of The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades

“One of the most powerful reminders in Love and Literacy is ‘Text is claim: the heart of any writing is the statement it makes.’ Bambrick-Santoyo and Chiger begin by speaking persuasively of the claims that teachers and schools make by simply choosing one text over another, arguing that we must try to be inclusive and wide-ranging in designing our literacy curriculum so that all voices may be heard. They then examine teaching practices, to help us think about how we might encourage readers to examine the claims they find in the texts they read, so that they might become the more responsible citizens our democracy so desperately needs.”

Robert E. Probst, Professor Emeritus of English Education, Georgia State University

“This book is about many things, but centrally it’s about operationalizing the latest cognitive science to promote active and informed teaching, at the point of learner need and struggle, to help learners grow as readers of literature. This text is a gift that will help you to consciously use many powerful tools of guided inquiry to get more done, and to do it with more efficiency, engagement, and joy.”

Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Distinguished Professor of Literacy at Boise State University, Author of PLANNING POWERFUL INSTRUCTION (Corwin Press)

“For teachers who want to get their students to love reading, this book has the solution. Love and Literacy teaches you literacy learning strategies, gives you space to reflect on your practice, and coaches you with written and visual examples. It truly expands and diversifies your thinking about how to approach literacy instruction. If you are preparing secondary English teachers, this book should be on your syllabus.”

Ayanna Taylor, Clinical Assistant Professor of English Education, NYU Steinhardt

“This book is a love story. It’s about the love of literature and literacy to be sure but even more it’s about loving our students as learners. It’s about recognizing their potential and being committed to doing all that we can to help them realize it. But it does more than provide a powerful call about how things could be. It is filled with ideas about how to make it so.”

Michael W. Smith, Professor, Department of Teaching & Learning, College of Education and Human Development, Temple University

“If people ‘fall in love with what they know how to do,’ then educators will fall deeply in love with reading instruction once armed with the strategies in Love and Literacy. I have long been a fan of Paul’s work because of his keen ability to demystify what works in schools by making successful strategies accessible to all of us. Together with literacy expert Steve Chiger, they have managed to pull back the wizard’s curtain of reading instruction and show us that, in fact, we can teach reading to secondary students if we just learn, name, and practice the right moves.”

Jenn David-Lang, Editor, THE MAIN IDEA

“I could not put down this book once I started reading it. This book gives a road map to school leaders and teachers on how to ignite the love of reading for all students. It makes the invisible work of teaching reading into actionable and visible strategies. For too long, it has seemed like a mystery on how to create lifelong readers -- this book provides the answers.”

Celeste Douglas, Community Superintendent, District 18, Brooklyn, New York

“Students come to love the texts they read when they have had a meaningful interaction with significant ideas. The authors of Love and Literacy challenge educators to create those meaningful interactions through an examination of their own core beliefs about pedagogy and literature.”

Allan A. De Fina, Ph.D., Professor of Literacy Education and former Dean of the College of Education, New Jersey City University

“In our best English classrooms, the flywheels of love and literacy seem to spin effortlessly. In this book, the writers break down incrementally the steps educators can take to set those wheels in motion. The aim is clear: that all our children understand themselves and the world more keenly through the diverse literature they study and the rigour with which they study it. And more: that for them, literacy becomes ‘a way of happening, a mouth.’”

Mark Gregory, Regional Director Ark Schools, UK