Writing 140 Words a Night About a 90-Word Book

I read that with the pen still in my hand.

I was not realising. I was on a second page.

Monday had been reasonable: read with expression, enjoyed the cat. By Wednesday I was analysing his handling of the “sh” sound. On Thursday I commented on the illustrator’s use of orange. On Friday I ran out of box and carried on onto a Post-it, then a second Post-it, under a heading.

The answer in the thread came from a self-described Year 1 teaching assistant. Some parents read every night and write a small paragraph, she said, others once a week, and teachers understand how hard it is to find the time. She changes books daily and all she really needs to know is: “Is the book finished? Were there any difficulties?”

So on Monday I wrote: Finished. No difficulties. It looked like a ransom note from a very calm kidnapper. I lasted two nights.

What broke me was the research. Mr Baugh at Willingham Primary School calls a reading record one of the best presents he ever received, and uses his to recommend books to pupils who ask what to read next. Nick Campbell has published his own record from Goodrich Primary in 1992, with adult notes in brackets. He gave Huckleberry Finn short shrift: small print, 43 chapters, “It was kind of american.” He praised Little House on the Prairie, partly because there were only 26 chapters, and has since added, in brackets: “I’m so lying.”

A reading record, in other words, could be literature. That night our youngest read a twelve-page book about a cat who wants a hat, and I reviewed it on four Post-its, with a paragraph on the hat.

The record came back on Thursday. Under the fourth Post-it, in green pen, someone had written one line. “Is the book finished?”