Reading is Power,Let's get the children High On Reading

I’m sure it’s not surprising to hear a teacher say this, but I absolutely love books. Some of my earliest and fondest memories of childhood involve reading: being read to by my parents and teachers, cuddling with a book while the weather was too bad to play outside (or even when it wasn’t!), sharing a book with my sister or a friend. I still enjoy those things today, and feel a little rush of endorphins whenever I step into a library or smell fresh pages as I enter a bookstore. 
When I first started teaching reading two and a half years ago, I began with some questions: Why do we read? Why is reading important?
I was so depressed when I heard my students’ first responses. “Because that’s what we’re supposed to do in school.” “To get a good grade.” “Because we’re told to.” “To pass a test.” Clearly, reading had become a “have to” instead of a “want to”—which isn’t surprising given how hard it is for working families to find time to read together these days (when the parents can themselves read, which isn’t always the case), and the resurgence of boring, often humiliating, drill-(and-time-and-graph!)and-kill methods of reading instruction.
It was clear I had my work cut out for me—we needed some positive, fulfilling experiences with books!
After lots of read alouds (one of my favorite things to do!), Readers Theater, buddy reading, and book clubs, here are some of the better answers we discovered.
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