The Old Woman Who Loved to Read

Title: The Old Woman Who Loved to Read

Author: John Winch

Illustrator: John Winch

Publisher & Publication Date: Holiday House, 1997

Genre: Picture book, Traditional literature

Age Range: K-2

Summary: The story is about an old lady that moved to the country so she can read in the peace and quiet, because she loved to read. Once she moved she found out that it was just as difficult to make time to read in the country. She had many inside and outside chores to do, therefore her time she had to read was limited. Finally, at the end of the story she finishes all her chores and is able to sit down and read.

Response: I thought this was a lovely picture book. The story was simple, but had an important theme of never giving up on something you want to do. Always make time for enjoyable things in life. The title reminded me of the story of the old lady that lived in a shoe. I think this would be a great book to use for a lower level classroom, that is full of young minds that are ready to read. The double-page spreads were amazing. I think they were painted. The note at the end of the book said that John Winch is known for his paintings, and the spreads looked like paintings to me. I remember when I was younger and I wanted to read all the time, but I always had to clean my room or help my mom with something. I loved to read just like the lady in the story, so I really related to the character. This book made me happy. I was happy that it was about wanting so badly to read, and it made me happy to see that the old lady finally got the chance to read.

Teaching Ideas: If you have a literature month in your classroom then use this book to introduce the idea of making time to read. The books shows how busy the old lady was, yet she still made time to read. This book can be used to show how important it is to make the time for things you enjoy, just because you have so many chores or other obligations doesn't mean you can make time for something you really enjoy. After you read this story to your class have them make a book about something they enjoy doing, but never have much time for because of the chores they have to do.