You Gotta Be the Book by Jeffrey Wilhelm, 3 stars

I had high hopes for this book because I had heard good things, and I have to say it's a good book. But I think the first edition might have been better. Timing is everything, and the first edition, written just over 10 years ago came out at a time when there weren't many teacher resources at the secondary level about a teacher's journey with teaching reading. Jeffery Wilhelm writes about his experiences in the classroom as he grows from a novice to an experienced teacher. One trouble is that in this second edition, it has been several years since he has been a teacher in the classroom, so he is using dated examples. On the plus side, he has added perspectives as a parent of adolescents and as a college professor. These are interesting, but I think they take away from the focus of the book. I have to admit I didn't read the whole thing. However, I did make it to page 70 without really knowing what Be the Book actually means or how or why to have students do this.