Donalyn Miller Quotes

• Students will read if we give them the books, the time, and the enthusiastic encouragement to do so. If we make them wait for the one unit a year in which they are allowed to choose their own books and become readers, they may never read at all. To keep our students reading, we have to let them.

  Donalyn Miller

  Encouragement, Book, Reading

  Donalyn Miller (2010). “The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child”, p.177, John Wiley & Sons

  23 Copy quote

• Reading changes your life. Reading unlocks worlds unknown or forgotten, taking travelers around the world and through time. Reading helps you escape the confines of school and pursue your own education. Through characters - the saints and the sinners, real or imagined - reading shows you how to be a better human being.

  Donalyn Miller

  Real, Reading, School

  Donalyn Miller (2010). “The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child”, p.18, John Wiley & Sons

  22 Copy quote

• Exposing students to lots of books and positive reading experiences while building a network of other readers who support each other provides students with tools that last beyond the classroom setting.

  Donalyn Miller

  Book, Reading, Support

  Donalyn Miller (2013). “Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits”, p.101, John Wiley & Sons

  17 Copy quote

• I try to teach my students that books are a mirror, reflecting their own lives, and a window, giving them a peek into someone else's.

  Donalyn Miller

  Book, Mirrors, Giving

  11 Copy quote

• I never tell students they cannot read a book they pick up, but I do guide them toward books that I think would be a good fit for them. I think of myself as a reading mentor-a reader who can help them find books they might like.

  Donalyn Miller

  Book, Reading, Thinking

  Donalyn Miller (2013). “Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits”, p.102, John Wiley & Sons

  4 Copy quote

• Readers enjoy talking about books almost as much as they like reading.

  Donalyn Miller

  Book, Reading, Talking

  Donalyn Miller (2013). “Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits”, p.24, John Wiley & Sons

  10 Copy quote

• If we value all readers, we must value all reading.

  Donalyn Miller

  Reading, Reader, Ifs

  Donalyn Miller, Susan Kelley (2013). “Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits”, p.171, John Wiley & Sons

  4 Copy quote

• I realized that every lesson, conference, response, and assignment I taught must lead students away from me and toward their autonomy as literate people.

  Donalyn Miller

  People, Lessons, Taught

  Donalyn Miller (2010). “The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child”, p.16, John Wiley & Sons

  11 Copy quote

• Students need to make their own choices about reading material and writing topics.

  Donalyn Miller

  Reading, Writing, Choices

  Donalyn Miller (2013). “Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits”, p.26, John Wiley & Sons

  6 Copy quote

• By believing that only some of our students will ever develop a love of books and reading, we ignore those who do not fall into books and reading on their own. We renege on our responsibility to teach students how to become self-actualized readers. We are selling our students short by believing that reading is a talent and that lifelong reading behaviors cannot be taught.

  Donalyn Miller

  Believe, Book, Fall

  Donalyn Miller (2013). “Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits”, p.21, John Wiley & Sons

  8 Copy quote

• A classroom atmosphere that promotes reading does not come from the furniture and its placement as much as it comes from the teacher's expectation that students will read.

  Donalyn Miller

  Teacher, Reading, Expectations

  4 Copy quote

• I am a reader, a flashlight-under-the-covers, carries-a-book-everywhere-I-go​, don't-look-at-my-Amazon-bill. I choose purses based on whether I can cram a paperback into them, and my books are the first items I pack into a suitcase. I am the person who family and friends call when they need a book recommendation or cannot remember who wrote Heidi. My identity as a person is so entwined with my love of reading and books that I cannot separate the two.

  Donalyn Miller

  Book, Reading, Two

  8 Copy quote

• The purpose of schools should not be to prepare students for more school. We should be seeking to have fully engaged students now

  Donalyn Miller

  School, Purpose, Students

  6 Copy quote

• Our children shouldn't have to wait for adulthood to become wild readers. For many, it will be too late.

  Donalyn Miller

  Children, Waiting, Too Late

  Donalyn Miller (2013). “Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits”, p.30, John Wiley & Sons

  4 Copy quote

• Although I enjoy digging through the library to help students find books, my aim is to help them develop self-confidence in choosing books for themselves.

  Donalyn Miller

  Book, Self Confidence, Library

  Donalyn Miller, Susan Kelley (2013). “Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits”, p.73, John Wiley & Sons

  7 Copy quote

• When we meet and I discover that we have read and loved the same books, we are instant friends.

  Donalyn Miller

  Book, Instant

  Donalyn Miller (2010). “The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child”, p.172, John Wiley & Sons

  4 Copy quote

• Books are love letters (or apologies) passed between us, adding a layer of conversation beyond our spoken words.

  Donalyn Miller

  Book, Apology, Layers

  Donalyn Miller (2010). “The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child”, p.9, John Wiley & Sons

  7 Copy quote

• Failure is not an option, so why talk about it?

  Donalyn Miller

  Failure Is Not An Option

  5 Copy quote

• If you don't read, I don't know how to communicate with you...I can never express who I am in my own words as powerfully as my books can.

  Donalyn Miller

  Teacher, Book, Who I Am

  4 Copy quote

• Failing to graduate a populace that values reading has long-term consequences for everyone.

  Donalyn Miller

  Reading, Long, Graduates

  Donalyn Miller (2013). “Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits”, p.20, John Wiley & Sons

  4 Copy quote

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