Synopsis
"There is a correlation between the richness of the reading environment in which readers live and
the richness of their talk about what they've read."
"In any group of children we find that if they begin by sharing their most obvious observations they soon accumulate a body of understanding that reveals the heart of a text and its meaning(s) for them all."
Talking about a book helps a child find the heart of a story, make sense of a string of facts, and understand complicated ideas. Aidan Chambers proposes an approach for discussing books so children learn to talk well about what they've read. Indeed, not only talk well, but listen well. And not just about books, but about other things. For the "Tell me" approach ultimately helps children learn to clarify ideas for themselves and to communicate with others. It is, in short, a basic step in applying knowledge and articulating meaning.
Tell Me offers practical information about booktalking in the classroom, explaining some of the processes and outlining the ground rules developed by teachers and others who work with children and books. From their experience he has formulated a Framework, "a repertoire of questions that assist readers in speaking out their reading."
Tell Me is companion to The Reading Environment.
The New Advocate
...effectively combines theoretical and practical concerns. In this volume Chambers begins by exploring why readers talk about books and what kinds of ideas they talk about. He argues that children in any grade can be insightful literary critics given the right circumstances and support. The primary contribution of the second book is a clear framework for conducting formal literary discussions with children. The framework, which Chambers calls "Tell me," is based on reader response theory.