In the Classroom: The Shared Book Experience

I love leading my students in a shared experience with one book.  By "shared book experience" I mean when the whole class studies/reads/discusses/delves into and otherwise spends time with a single book together.  While I understand that there are teachers who make this a misery I think there are others of us who do not.  Done well, the shared book experience can be joyful, enjoyable, and even transcendent.

While I agree with the importance of choice for much of children's school reading...