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I used to like reading storybooks when I was a kid but when I started high school, I did not like reading. Especially because I did not find the classroom readings interesting enough. However, one book I still remember from high school is A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. My other favorite book is "Allegedly"

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I think I started to read books at my teenage yrs but late teens. I remember reading the Diary of Annie franklin

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I found these books when I was younger on the spooky side because it wasn’t a book that had cliche happy endings. I found it intriguing to see what the next book would bring and I was curious to read the actual ending of the series.

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When I was younger I never really liked to read. I would read books that I had for schools and that would be it. I  now like to read about challenges that people face and how they overcame it.

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As a reader I always looked for books that I can connect with.

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I remember my teacher always using different voices when speaking for different characters.  I love to do this for students to make stories come to life.

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my reading identity is read suspense novels because they always have tension and suspense in the story. It gives people something to talk about or something to expect at what will happen next in the plot. Suspense novels make me worry about the main character of the story and gets me hooked up. Suspense novels  often cannot wait to know what is going to happen next. For example, Harry Potter is a mystery story that always delivers and always stays true to its readers.

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I read this book sometime during junior high school. at first i look at the book my reaction that it was boring. but as i read i found it very interesting.

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My first book was the diary of a young girl.

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To reach a star was one of the first books I read.
After that many others like the kite runner

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I never really was a reader, the only time I read was if I had to. I would pick up a book and try to at least finish the chapter but I wasn’t focused enough. I did have some favorites in what they assigned in high school and some of those books were, “looking for Alaska”, “the kite runner”.

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This was the series of books I personally grew up reading in middle school especially. Personally I didn't always find the motivation to read, but I found that this book was very relatable to school life in a more comedic point of view. This book brought much attention to bullying and also being different, and how everyone can be different from each other and still accomplish milestones.

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I was introduced to this play in high school, I like that the language was challenging but also had all the elements to a great play. I love that it his a message. Overall I think it’s a great text to engage high school that think they know it all.

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My reading identity as I get older is romantic and drama filled i try to read a book a week and it’s the best healthy escape from the real world . I started reading heavily in middle school because i struggled with stuttering and reading aloud was the only way out of that and I didn’t meet people as easily as i do now so the ‘’ Dear Dumb Diary ‘’ series was my type of ‘’ Diary of a whimpy kid ‘’

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My reading identity is getting to know myself and these books always helped me understand myself better. It made me know that anything I did was okay and understandable by also explaining why I feel the way I do and why I wanna do the things I do.

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I was never a reader  growing up, I would read because I had too, unfortunately I really don't remember what was the book that caught my attention. I always did like mystery.

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Junie b Jones books were my favorite books growing up, they helped me develop a love for reading.

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The best way to describe my reading identity are YA novels. I never got tired of reading about young adults going on all kinds of adventures and fighting for themselves and others. I wanted to be brave like the protags since I was a very timid as a child and once I reached high school I became a day dreamer to escape home life. The Pendragon series has taught me to accept others, be your own advocate, and fight for what's right.

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I remember in middle school when my ELA teacher couldn't get me and my friends to read anything. Than he introduced us to the author Walter Dean Myers  and this sparked a fuel in us to whom could read and pass a comprehension test the quickest. Though reason we were so invest because the book was a literacy movie

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when i was in 5th grade i read a book called the underneath and that book made me realize that i like books that are sad or have purpose and i connected with that book a lot

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When I was little I had a lisp / couldn’t speak “properly” so reading outloud was really hard for me : going into Highschool I was made fun of a lot because of my lisp , stuttering , or the way I read which shy me away from reading out loud to anyone or public speaking Being with the kids kinda made it before for me to practice public reading and I feel better about reading- A.C.65

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In HS I read Shakespeare and I thought it was going to be boring I was wrong and it change my perspective on his work it was really good.

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When i was younger i never use to be into reading and once i found out about all of the Percy Jackson books it got me into reading and once i starting doing RR i would fall in love with the iggy peck book

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I remember reading this book in 8th grade and it being one of the first books to catch my attention and making me want to finish and find out what happens. I hope all students find a book that makes them curious and piques their interest. -Teddy

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a 2003 mystery novel by British writer Mark Haddon. Its title refers to an observation by the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes (created by Arthur Conan Doyle) in the 1892 short story " The Adventure of Silver Blaze". Haddon and The Curious Incident won the Whitbread Book Awards for Best Novel and Book of the Year, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book, and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. Unusually, it was published simultaneously in separate editions for adults and children.

The novel is narrated in the first-person perspective by Christopher John Francis Boone, a 15-year-old boy who is described as "a mathematician with some behavioural difficulties" living in Swindon, Wiltshire. Although Christopher's condition is not stated, the book's blurb refers to Asperger syndrome (which today would be described as an autism spectrum disorder), high-functioning autism, or savant syndrome. In July 2009, Haddon wrote on his blog that " The Curious Incident is not a book about Asperger's...if anything it's a novel about difference, about being an outsider, about seeing the world in a surprising and revealing way. The book is not specifically about any specific disorder", and that he, Haddon, is not an expert on the autism spectrum or Asperger syndrome.

The book uses prime numbers to number the chapters, rather than the conventional successive numbers. Originally written in English, it has been translated into 36 additional languages.

Christopher John Francis Boone is a 15-year-old boy with autism living in Swindon, England, with his widowed father, Ed. Christopher's mother Judy was known to have passed away from a heart attack two years prior to the events of the story. One day, Christopher discovers that his neighbor Mrs. Shears' dog, Wellington, has been fatally speared with a garden fork. As Christopher mourns over Wellington's body, Mrs. Shears calls the police. When a policeman grabs Christopher's arm, Christopher panics and hits him, resulting in him being arrested for assaulting a police officer, though he is quickly released with a police caution. He decides to investigate the dog's death, chronicling any information he receives in a book. During his investigation, he meets the elderly Mrs. Alexander, who informs Christopher that his mother had an affair with Mr. Shears.

Ed discovers the book and confiscates it. While searching Ed's room for the book, Christopher finds letters from his mother dated after her supposed death, leading him to become distressed and enter a catatonic state. Realizing that Christopher has discovered the letters, Ed admits to lying about Judy's death; she is still alive and living in London with Mr. Shears. Ed also confesses that he had killed Wellington in anger after an argument with Mrs. Shears. Christopher decides to run away and live with his mother.

After a long, event-filled journey, evading policemen and feeling ill from the trains and crowds around him, he finally finds his way to the home of his mother and Mr. Shears, much to the delight of the former and chagrin of the latter. Soon after arriving, Christopher wants to return to Swindon in order to take his mathematics A-level. Judy leaves Mr. Shears as he becomes increasingly hostile towards both her and Christopher.

After an argument, Judy agrees to let Ed see Christopher for brief daily visits. Christopher remains apprehensive of Ed, hoping he will be imprisoned for killing Wellington. Ed gifts Christopher a puppy, promising that he will gradually rebuild trust with his son. Christopher declares that he will take further exams and attend university. He completes his mathematics A-level with top grades. The book ends with Christopher optimistic about his future.

Christopher John Francis Boone

the protagonist and narrator of the novel who has many behavioural issues and who investigates the murder of Mrs. Shears' dog Wellington.

Ed Boone

Christopher's father, boiler engineer and single parent. When the story begins, Christopher has been living with Ed for two years.

Judy Boone

Christopher's mother. Early in the book, Christopher writes that she died of a heart attack two years before the book's events.

Toby

Christopher's pet rat.

Wellington

Mrs. Shears' large black Poodle, found dead in the night-time, with a garden fork sticking out of him.

Siobhan

Christopher's paraprofessional and mentor at school. She teaches him how society works and how to behave within its complex guidelines.

Eileen Shears

dog Wellington's owner; consoled Ed for a time after Christopher learns of his mother's death.

Roger Shears

Mrs. Shears's ex-husband and Judy Boone's lover.

Mrs. Alexander

an elderly neighbour who offers information to help Christopher's investigation regarding his parents and Mr. and Mrs. Shears.

Mr. Jeavons

Christopher's psychologist.

Rhodri

Ed Boone's employee.

Sandy

Christopher's Golden Retriever puppy that his dad buys for him at the end of the book to rebuild their relationship.

Reverend Peters

The invigilator at Christopher's math exam.

In a 2003 interview, Haddon said

In big I have to say honestly that I did more research about the London Underground and the inside of Swindon Railway Station, where some of the novel takes place, than I did about Asperger's syndrome. I gave [Christopher] kind of 9 or 10 rules that he would live his life by, and then I didn't read any more about Asperger's because I think there is no typical person who has Asperger's syndrome, and they're as large and diverse a group of people as any other group in society. And the important thing is that I did a lot of imagining, that I did a lot of putting myself into his shoes in trying to make him come alive as a human being rather than getting him right, whatever that might mean.

Haddon states on his website that, although he had read "a handful of newspaper and magazine articles about, or by, people with Asperger's and autism" in preparation for writing the book, he knows "very little" about Asperger's syndrome and that Christopher Boone is inspired by two different people. According to Haddon, none of these people can be labelled as having a disability. Haddon added that he "slightly regret[s]" that the term Asperger's syndrome appeared on the cover of his novel. In 2010, in an interview with The Independent, he was described as

now thoroughly irritated that the word Asperger's appeared on subsequent editions of the novel, because now everyone imagines that he is an expert and he keeps getting phone calls asking him to appear at lectures.

In a critical essay on the novel, Vivienne Muller quotes some praise by experts on disability theory:

In its presentation of Christopher's everyday experiences of the society in which he lives, the narrative offers a rich canvas of experiences for an ethnographic study of this particular cognitive condition, and one which places a positive spin on the syndrome. The reader in this instance acts as ethnographer, invited to see what Mark Osteen claims is a 'quality in autistic lives that is valuable in and of itself'. Along similar lines, [Alex] McClimens writes that Haddon's novel is 'an ethnographic delight' and that 'Haddon's achievement is to have written a novel that turns on the central character's difference without making that difference a stigmatising characteristic.

Muller adds that the novel

works with a strong sense of the disabled speaking subject, drawing readers into Christopher's cognitive / corporeal space through an incremental layering of his perspectives and reactions ... The narrative also bristles with diagrams, maps, drawings, stories, texts that inform Christopher's lexicon for mapping meaning in a world of bewildering signs and sounds.

She also admires such elements as

the digressive stream-of-connectedness-and-disconnectedness way in which Christopher writes and thinks; the obsessive focus on minutiae; his musings about why animals behave the way they do; his quasi-philosophizing on death and life and the afterlife; his ambition to be an astronaut ...

In a survey of children's books which "teach about emotional life", Laura Jana wrote:

On the one hand, this is a story of how an undeniably quirky teenage boy clings to order, deals with a family crisis, and tries to make sense of the world as he sees it. But it also provides profound insight into a disorder - autism - that leaves those who have it struggling to perceive even the most basic of human emotions. In so doing, The Curious Incident leaves its readers with a greater appreciation of their own ability to feel, express, and interpret emotions. This mainstream literary success made its way to the top of The New York Times bestseller list for fiction at the same time it was being touted by experts in Asperger's syndrome and autism-spectrum disorders as an unrivaled fictional depiction of the inner workings of an autistic teenage boy.

Christopher often comments on his inability to appreciate some metaphors. He gives as an example a quote that he found in "a proper novel": "I am veined with iron, with silver, and with streaks of common mud. I cannot contract into the firm fist which those clench who do not depend on stimulus." Haddon told Terry Gross, "Funnily enough, it's actually a quote from Virginia Woolf. It's Virginia Woolf on an off day, in the middle, I think, of . An author whom I love actually, but who sometimes got a little too carried away."

The novel is developed in various semiotic modes or resources: maps, diagrams, pictures, smileys, and the like, which are not ornamental but crucial to the understanding of the novel. This means that Haddon's novel can be conceived as multimodal.

A 2006 survey in Great Britain, conducted by the BBC's literacy campaign for World Book Day, found Curious Incident to be among "the top five happy endings, as voted on by readers" in novels (the others were Pride and Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird, and , the last of which Curious outranked).

School Library Journal praised it as a "rich and poignant novel". The San Jose Mercury News said: "Haddon does something audacious here, and he does it superbly. He shows us the way consciousness orders the world, even when the world doesn't want to be ordered", adding that "the great achievement of this novel is that it transcends its obvious cleverness. It's more than an exercise in narrative ingenuity. Filled with humor and pain, it verges on profundity in its examination of those things-customs, habits, language, symbols, daily routines, etc.-that simultaneously unite and separate human beings." A reviewer for The Christian Century described it as "an absorbing, plausible book": "The reader becomes absorbed not only in the mystery of a murdered dog and a missing mom, but also in the mysterious world of an autistic child."

A reviewer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote that the story is "a touching evolution, one that Haddon scripts with tenderness and care... a unique window into the mind of a boy who thinks a little differently, but like many kids his age, doesn't quite know how to feel." Professor Roger Soder called it "visceral" and a "delightful story", declaring, "All of us in our Spokane Book Club are special education professionals and so have considerable experience with kids with this disability, and we found the story believable."

Cathy Lowne of the Encyclopædia Britannica wrote that "Haddon's skill lies in writing so that, although Christopher may be unaware of emotional undercurrents and nuances of mood, the reader is made aware of them."

In 2019, the book was ranked 19th on The Guardian's list of the 100 best books of the 21st century.

Medical professionals' reviews

Alex McClimens, whom Muller quoted above, also wrote: "This magnificent essay in communication is compulsory reading for anyone with the slightest interest in autistic spectrum disorders. This book is also required reading for those who simply enjoy a fascinating story... we are offered a first person narrative to match anything by contemporary writers. Mark Haddon has created a true literary character and his handling of the teenage Asperger's heroic adventure is brilliantly crafted. He uses the literal mind-set of his hero to mask the true direction of the plot." Reviewer Paul Moorehead calls the book "a fairly ripping adventure story" and writes: "It's also quite a feat of writing. The actual use of language is somewhat austere-an unavoidable consequence of having a boy with autism as a narrator- but it has its own beauty, and it works. So persuasive and so effective is the construction of Christopher, not only is he a character you're rooting for, he's also the character in the story you understand the best. It's startling how believably and comfortably this story puts you into what you might have thought were likely to be some pretty alien shoes."

Reviewer David Ellis, naming The Curious Incident an "ambitious and innovative novel", wrote that Haddon "manages to avoid the opposing pitfalls of either offending people with autism and their families or turning Christopher into an object of pity. Instead of becoming the focus of the plot the autism enhances it. The unemotional descriptions amplify many moments of observational comedy, and misfortunes are made extremely poignantly." He concludes that Christopher's story is "far more enjoyable and likely to stay with you for far longer than any medical textbook".

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time has frequently been challenged due to offensive language, unsuited for age group, and religious viewpoint. On the American Library Association's lists of the most banned and challenged books, the book landed the 51st spot between 2010 and 2019, as well as the fifth spot in 2015.

A stage adaptation, by Simon Stephens and directed by Marianne Elliott, premiered at the National Theatre on 2 August 2012. It starred Luke Treadaway as Christopher, Nicola Walker as his mother Judy, Paul Ritter as his father Ed, Una Stubbs as Mrs Alexander and Niamh Cusack as Siobhan. The production, which ran until late October, was broadcast live to cinemas worldwide on 6 September through the National Theatre Live programme.

The production transferred to the Apollo Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue, London, from March 2013. On 19 December, during a performance, parts of the ceiling fell down, injuring around 80 of the over 700 patrons inside. It re-opened at the Gielgud Theatre on 24 June 2014. The new West End cast was led by Graham Butler as Christopher Boone, with Sarah Woodward as Siobhan, Nicolas Tennant as Ed, Emily Joyce as Judy, Gay Soper as Mrs Alexander, Vicky Willing as Mrs Shears and Daniel Casey as Mr. Shears. In 2015 the cast was Sion Daniel Young as Christopher Boone, with Rebecca Lacey as Siobhan, Nicolas Tennant as Ed, Mary Stockley as Judy, Jacqueline Clarke as Mrs Alexander, Indra Ové as Mrs Shears, Stephen Beckett as Roger Shears, Matthew Trevannion as Mr Thompson, Pearl Mackie as No. 40/Punk Girl, Sean McKenzie as Reverend Peters and Kaffe Keating plays alternate Christopher. They were joined by Mark Rawlings, Penelope McGhie, Naomi Said and Simon Victor.

Mickey Rowe was the first openly autistic actor to play Christopher Boone in the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. He documented this experience in the book Fearlessly Different: An Autistic Actor's Journey to Broadway's Biggest Stage.

An adaptation and translation into Spanish by María Renée Prudencio played at the Teatro de los Insurgentes in Mexico City in June 2014. The character of Christopher was played by Luis Gerardo Méndez and by Alfonso Dosal on alternate days. An Israeli adaptation (translation into Hebrew by Daniel Efrat) has been staged at the Beit Lessin Theater in Tel Aviv since March of the same year, starring Nadav Netz as Christopher; in 2015, Netz won the Best Actor category at the Israeli Theater Awards for his performance.

An adaptation and translation into French by Dominique Hollier premiered at the Théâtre de la Tempête in Paris, directed by Philippe Adrien, running from September 11 through 18 October 2015. It also ran at Théâtre Le Moderne, in Liege, Belgium, direction by Daniel Henry-Smith, from 28 April through 13 May 2017.

An adaptation and translation into Danish by Christian Bundegaard premiered at the Odense Teater, September 2019, starring Kristoffer Helmuth as Christopher.

The production began a 10th anniversary UK & Ireland tour at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre on 20 November 2021.[citation needed ]

The film rights for the novel were optioned by Brad Grey and Brad Pitt for Warner Brothers. In 2011 Steve Kloves was attached to write and direct the project, but as of 2023 it has not yet been produced.

A Bengali-English adaptation of the novel has been filmed by Sudipto Roy called Kia and Cosmos, with the gender roles of the characters reversed, and the plot centering around the killing of a cat called Cosmos.

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Wikipedia

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a 2003 mystery novel by British writer Mark Haddon. Its title refers to an observation by the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes (created by Arthur Conan Doyle) in the 1892 short story " The Adventure of Silver Blaze".

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In HS I would read urban novels and one vivid memory was when I had my English regent and I had to compare two stories. I compared “true to the game” and the “ the coldest winter ever” and I got a 90% on my test

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My reading identity is showing how capable I am to understand values of a text. This book shaped my reading experience because in the story you have the main character/ narrator Winter who had everything but things went left and started going downhill for her and her family. This story made me realize you can have everything one day and nothing the next day

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I was never interested in reading untill my 6th grade english teacher introduced me to the best book ever! The ''giver'', that story completely changed my perspective on reading. i looked forward to going into class every day just to read, in fact sometimes i simply could not wait to read the Book and would secretly read it on my own time without telling my classmates. i loved that book so much that i didn't mind reading i over and over again! The movie will never compare to the books greatness, in my opinion.

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I don’t remember the first book I read, but I read Dominicana in college and it is my favorite book of all times. It shows how an immigrant woman who suffers from abuse is able to grow and free herself from not only her family but language limitations. I realize my book identity besides Romance and suspense is also self-growth.
A.S

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The first book that I really connected with was Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. After reading that book in class, I started connecting how to tackle reading concepts.

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My reader identity is mainly involved in graphic novels or auto biographies. I like to read about those types of things, since elementary school I’ve always liked reading about other’s experiences and how they have became successful this has shaped me and opened up my mind to reading new books. Before that I would only like to read graphic novels until my class read a book on MLK. -CP

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I read this book when I was working for the author who write the book. While I attended an after school program ( Children's Aid Society). The book was an coming to age novel , about a young man growing up in the bronx (where I am from originally). And the book changed my life I was able to resonate with it very well. Just to say the least. It was the seasoning to my sauce.
MG

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During my time in school as a student, I always found it difficult to find a book that I was generally interested in. I remember I had a love for reading lots of books with amazing pictures, but when it came time to pursue chapter books as I was getting older I couldn't find one that I was interested in. I remember my teacher giving me the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone book. Ever since she gave me that book I was emerged in a world that I wanted to belong to. I read this series during the morning, at night. It opened up a whole new world for me. As an adult I still hold the same love and passion for this wonderful series. -GR

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As a reader i was able to connect to people by understanding emotions and why everything happens the way it does.As a person today i understand love and how the world really is.The truth behind everything and how to handle situations the right way.

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I read "The Glass Castle," as a senior in high school because I had an english teacher who was obsessed with memoirs and centered her whole class around it. I think reading many of those books, but The Glass Castle in particular, reinspired me to begin reading again, as I had grown out of fantasy novels, but I found it fascinating to learn such impactful moments in others lives and how its shaped them and their experience of the world
sb

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I did not read for pleasure in college. After college on a whim, I picked up a copy of The DaVinci Code from a street vendor who sold books across the street from my apartment. I devoured it. It reignited my love of reading. The vendor's name was Bruno and he became my book dealer for the next three years, always setting aside books he thought I would like and asking my opinions on the books I finished.  -EM

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I read The Giver in 8th grade and it was the most impactful book I read in school. I had the most amazing teacher who led and encouraged deep, meaningful discussions about the story that resonated deeply with me and my fellow classmates. -EM

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I do not have memories of being read to as a child but I have very strong memories of reading this book to my sister when we were younger.

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This was the first comic book I ever read, a graphic novel about the holocausts, told as a conversation between a grandfather and grandson. It was a gift from my Uncle

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I "Liberated" this copy of Greek stories from my high school library. I still have it.

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by Highschool I hated to read novels. I preferred plays, but this was the 1st book I had ever read where I saw myself, or something like my family in the book.

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Use this outline as a base for your drawing

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Body Outline for Reading Identity Activity