The Book Fort
Instructional Ideas for Immediate Implementation
Welcome to The Book Fort: Special Jolabokaflod Issue!
Issue 40: Jolabokaflod
I have always enjoyed receiving books for Christmas from my favorite aunt as a child and started this tradition with my nieces and nephews as a result. Last winter, I was inspired by a colleague to learn more about Iceland's Jolabokaflod, or the Yule Book Flood.
In Iceland, many residents give each other books for Christmas. The emerging cultural tradition is now for everyone to spend Christmas Eve reading. Yes, reading. Imagine how this would feel in your household, when things can be frantic and stressful, when kids are wide awake and presents still need to be wrapped. Read about how Guinevere de la Mare, founder of the Silent Book Club chose to change her own gift giving traditions based on Jolabokaflod.
So, for the last Book Fort of the year, I thought I would try to inspire you to create your own Jolabokaflod by flooding you with recommended texts for all ages. I am thrilled to share with you books that students, teachers, friends, and family love. I hope you enjoy and spread this love to your students as they return to the classroom this new year. Let's make 2019 the year we all read more than we ever have before! It will pay dividends beyond what we will ever truly expect or know, more than scores on tests.
Young Adult
This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
The 57 Bus by Dashka Slayer
My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
Must Reads
On Canaan's Side by Sebastian Berry
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Almost Everything: Notes on Hope by Anne Lamott
There, There by Tommy Orange
Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot
Drowning in Fire by Craid S. Womack
Try Something Different
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Adventure Time by Ryan North
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Food for Thought
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
Evicted: Poverty & Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
The Go-Giver: A Little Story about a Powerful Business Idea by Bob Burg & John David Mann
Books That Will Tug at Your Heartstrings
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
Boy Erased by Garrard Conley
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Visit the Index for all topics and tools featured or click directly on back issues below.
Volume 1: 2017-2018
Issue 1 Issue 2 Issue 3 Issue 4 Issue 5 Issue 6 Issue 7 Issue 8 Issue 9 Issue 10 Issue 11
Issue 12 Issue 13 Issue 14 Issue 15 Issue 16 Issue 17 Issue 18 Issue 19 Issue 20 Issue 21
Issue 22 Issue 23 Issue 24 Issue 25 Issue 26 Issue 27 Issue 28 Issue 29 Issue 30 Issue 31
Issue 32 Issue 33 Issue 34 Issue 35
Volume 2: 2018-2019
Kristie Hofelich Ennis, NBCT
Email: kennis@murraystate.edu
Location: Dublin, OH, United States
Facebook: facebook.com/kristie.hofelich
Twitter: @KristieHEnnis