ABSTRACT
Most of us have had experiences with books that have changed us in some way: a human interest article about a family adopting a child with special needs, a professional piece about how writing poetry with inmates reduced recidivism by 100 percent, or a poem about baby teeth in a tiny box as reminders of children now grown. Great books are central to teaching children to read closely, making it easier to simultaneously communicate the joy of reading and align instruction to standards. The Feeling Good lesson begins with the teacher selecting a book that he or she loves, one that is a favorite for sharing with children. The teacher tells the children about how reading the particular book always makes him or her feel “really good,” and then tells them a bit about why the book elicits these feelings.
