Reading Diary Entries That Teachers Have Actually Received

The reading diary travels between school and home in a child's book bag. Its intended purpose is to record reading and facilitate communication between parents and teacher. In practice, it facilitates something broader.

'Read 3 pages. Asked why the bear was sad. I said because his honey was gone. She said that wasn't sad, that was hungry. I didn't argue.'

'Has been reading the same 4 pages of Biff and Chip for 11 days now. I'm not sure who to tell.'

'Read well! Very tired. Both of us.'

'Jake refused to read tonight. Said he'd already read it at school. I have no way to verify this.'

'She read the whole book backwards. I don't know if this counts but it was impressive.'

'He read every word correctly but cannot tell me what happened in any of them. His expression was that of a man reading terms and conditions.'

'Didn't want to stop. First time I've written that.'

'Pointed at every picture for 12 minutes and told me about a spider he once saw. Technically reading-adjacent.'

'She corrected my pronunciation of 'anemone'. I'm 38.'

'He said and I quote: I already know what happens so what's the point. I found this philosophically troubling.'

'Read well. Asked what infinity means. We were late for school.'

'She insisted on reading to the cat. The cat left after four pages. She followed it.'

'Excellent reading! (I was in the car.' The book was in the house.)'

'He read with great expression and feeling, which surprised me because the text was 'The dog sat on the mat'.'

'We read the same page six times because she wanted to do the voices differently each time. I have no notes. I'm very tired. She was wonderful.'