Lighting the fire of reading: Charley Ryder | My Bookmark

Charley Ryder (he/him) is the managing director of regional operations for Reading Partners. His first memory connected to reading was reporting the “news” of his 6-year-old life. 

“My kindergarten teacher would scribe what we said on a chart paper with our name next to it, as well as images to support meaning (early emojis?). She was teaching us early literacy skills in addition to making us feel like what we had to say was important enough to share and write down! Through the week, we could go back and reread the ‘news’ about our fellow classmates.”

Once Charley’s literacy skills were strong enough for him to read longer texts, he picked up what would become one of his favorite chapter books. Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl was his favorite story for a while because while Dahl has other, more famous titles, Charley always loved an underdog.  

“This book transported me to a time and place different from my own, and imparted a few life lessons that perhaps ring even more true now as an adult: ‘Most of the really exciting things we do in our lives scare us to death. They wouldn’t be exciting if they didn’t.’”

Another one of his favorite quotes from the book is “I was glad my father was an eye-smiler. It meant he never gave me a fake smile because it’s impossible to make your eyes twinkle if you aren’t feeling twinkly yourself. A mouth-smile is different. You can fake a mouth-smile any time you want, simply by moving your lips. I’ve also learned that a real mouth-smile always has an eye-smile to go with it. So watch out, I say, when someone smiles at you but his eyes stay the same. It’s sure to be a phony.”

As a kid and today, when Charley’s reading a good book, he feels like he’s able to experience life alongside the characters. If he’s reading a scary book, he feels scared, too. If he’s reading a witty memoir, he feels amused and perhaps nostalgic. “That’s the magic of reading…borrowing someone else’s eyes to view the world differently for a spell,” he says.”

These days, Charley prefers to read two books at once: a fiction story and a nonfiction title so he can alternate between the two depending on his mood. 

When he thinks about the kids books that are available today, he recognizes the wide range of nonfiction books meant to engage hesitant readers. “Kids have such diverse interests, hobbies, and curiosities, and providing an array of nonfiction text is a great way to hook young readers.”

As a former classroom teacher, he also also loves the increased diversity of characters, backgrounds, and contexts reflected in modern young literature. “Seeing oneself reflected in literature also makes it easier to light the fire of reading!” he says. 

Like most things in life, reading can be hard. But Charley believes that reading a book, especially if it’s challenging, can be extremely empowering. He remembers staring down an intimidating summer reading list as a kid, but by the time school started again in the fall, he was able to look at the giant pile of books he had finished reading and feel a deep sense of accomplishment. 

“I think this sense of accomplishment and proving to oneself ‘I can do hard things!’ has great potential to empower students in many facets of their lives,” he says.