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The Benefits of Large Print Books

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Originally published in TEACH Magazine, January/February 2020 Issue

By Tasha Squires

As a librarian, there are certain moments that stick with me. When one of my students unexpectedly gave me a mutinous look, I knew it was the start of one of them.

Bobby had always been an affable student, but one day when I asked him to return the book he had been reading, he gave me the look. At first, I didn’t understand. It was a small ask after all. The book was brand new, one I hadn’t catalogued or even stamped with the school’s name yet. It was not ready to be loaned out.

It turns out, I had inadvertently stumbled upon something special. Bobby, like all the 8th grade students in our school that year, was reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I’d just received several copies of the title in large print and had asked Bobby to switch from reading his regular print to the larger text. I was curious to see if he would notice any difference between the two formats. Bobby obliged and spent the rest of the period quietly reading, but when the bell rang and it was time to return the book—that’s when he gave me the look.

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Tasha Squires is the School Librarian at O’Neill Middle School in Downers Grove, IL.

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Tasha Squires
Tasha Squires
Tasha Squires is the School Librarian at O’Neill Middle School in Downers Grove, IL.

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