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Life of a Reader: Chapter and Versus
LIFE OF A READER
Chapter and Versus
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by Judy Newman
Scholastic Book Clubs president Judy Newman
When I was a kid, it was definitely not okay to say the word “suck” out loud or in any kind of writing for school (or at home for that matter). It was considered a curse word, one letter away from the really bad one.
These days, I see the word used freely in schools, in books that librarians and teachers and parents recommend and feature on library shelves, and on authors’ and educators’ public social media.
When I hear someone say “verse” as opposed to “versus”—as in Brown “verse” Board of Education or New England Patriots “verse” New York Giants—I wonder if a similar acceptability shift happened. Even though it sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me, is it now considered okay to say “verse” instead of “versus”?
I consider myself a big thinker. My day job as President and Reader in Chief of Scholastic Book Clubs is to work with lots of smart and talented people at Scholastic to develop strategies for getting 800,000 classroom teachers across the country and their students connected to brand-new and favorite books. We want to help inspire all kids to see themselves as readers.
But I also sweat the small stuff, particularly when it comes to word usage and grammar.
I was born what we would now call a “word person.” In addition to not using the word “suck” in school, we didn’t really have “word persons” back in the day.
We didn’t refer to someone as a “people person” or an “animal person” or an “instant-coffee person.” You just liked people, or animals, or Sanka—or you did not.
I didn’t have many hobbies, but I read and loved words and word games and puzzles and quiz shows.
I used my precious TV allowance to watch word-based game shows such as College Bowl and Password.
I started playing Scrabble as a kid on a flat playing board. It was exciting when the turntable was introduced so you could rotate the board and see the letters upright no matter where you were sitting. I got one for my 11th birthday.
With my babysitting money, I bought stacks of Dell crossword puzzle and word-search books.
Years later, when I first came to New York, it was a special thrill to be employed by Dell Publishing’s then-Director of Publicity, Isabel Geffner, to work in the publicity department—just one floor away from the staff who created and marketed my beloved Dell crossword puzzles!
In addition to hiring me to work so close to the “puzzle people,” Isabel sharpened my writing. She edited my work on press releases and The Dell Dateline, our weekly newsletter for booksellers. Isabel insisted on excellent copyediting and grammar. Forty years after she first explained to me when to use “between” versus “among,” it is a real thrill to report that Isabel, who is now the Advancement Director of Book Harvest, and I are reconnected and working on an incredible early childhood literacy partnership project.
Later, I graduated to the New York Times crossword puzzle, which I still depend on solving to feel as if I’ve had a successful day.
Growing up in Newton, Massachusetts, I looked forward to our Friday spelling bees at the John Ward School and being on a class debate team at Weeks
Junior High. I had to defend eminent domain. At the time, I was outraged both by the concept of eminent domain and by the fact that I had to defend something I didn’t think I believed in. In any event, I learned a whole new set of words to support my reluctant argument: appropriate, just compensation, inverse condemnation.
All these childhood experiences were language-rich for me, featuring deep fountains of words. They enhanced the vocabulary I had been absorbing since birth, all day long at home and at each meal; during story time and bedtime; and from the books and magazines and music in our home. Those experiences—coupled with being surrounded by my immediate and extended family and family friends, all of whom used extensive vocabularies to communicate with me and each other—meant I had a word-rich childhood.
Not all children start life with such word wealth. As publishers and writers and educators and parents, we have to work together to fix that: to level the playing field for all children and eliminate the word gap.
If children start life with a word deficit, it’s hard to catch up. Without words, children cannot make sense of the world they live in or express themselves and make their ideas understood. There’s a massive word gap between children of different socioeconomic backgrounds.
This past summer at the International Literacy Association Conference in Austin, Texas, I— along with 20 teachers—attended a wonderful, word-filled dinner celebrating Peter H. Reynolds and his new book, The Word Collector.
Near the end of the dinner, Peter asked all of us seated around the long dinner table to each write our favorite word on a placard and share it with the group. That night, the word I chose to share was “collaborate.” To me, that’s what we—publishers and authors and educators—are all doing every day: collaborating to help all children find books to read and connect with. To discover books they see themselves reflected in. To embrace books that open new worlds. The singleminded goal of our collaboration is to have all children see themselves as readers.
Peter dedicated The Word Collector to Dick Robinson, Scholastic’s Chairman, President, and CEO—and the son of Scholastic’s founder, Robbie Robinson. Dick has inspired all of us who work at Scholastic to dedicate ourselves to partnering with teachers and educators and book creators and publishers to make sure all children have access to great books so they can learn to love to read and make sense of the world they live in.
As we head toward Scholastic’s 100th anniversary in 2020, we want to make sure as many children as possible have access to The Word Collector. It is a rare and timeless and accessible picture book that has universal appeal to kids … and future “word persons” of all ages. •
Judy Newman is President and Reader-in-Chief of Scholastic Book Clubs. For more information, visit judynewmanatscholastic.com.
