Book Beginnings
Gathered by
Kenneth U. Campbell
Howard Middle School
Ocala, Florida

This site includes the beginnings of many popular books, and some not so popular, to enable a teacher or student to determine if: (1) the student can read a given book, and (2) the book is of interest to the student. Usually, the chosen text is the actual beginning passage from the book. However, when the actual beginning passages of a particular book do not particularly define the spirit or readability of that book, another passage has been chosen. Each selected passage is approximately 180 – 250 words long. These passages may also be used as probes for read/reread interventions for students needing such guided practice. If a student is to be successful with a given passage, he/she should be able to read it in less than two minutes with six or less errors. The student should read with correct expression, following the rules of punctuation.
The spirit of the nation’s copyright laws allows educators to use small selections of text to help in teaching endeavors. It is also permissible to quote copyrighted materials to encourage student interest as in quoting the material for use in a book review. Neither the Marion County School System nor the authors have any financial interests in the materials selected.
“The fair use doctrine” on copyrights for educational purposes looks at four factors to determine fairness: (1) the purpose and character of the use; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount used; and (4) the effect of the use on the work’s potential market value. This site wishes to promote the reading of the books, either from a school library or from purchase. A very small percentage of the written material is copied so a student or teacher may select and possibly purchase an appropriate novel.
The selections have been chosen from either public school libraries in Marion County or in Children’s Literature sections of popular bookstores. These books have not been edited for content, religious nor political. For parents using the site, it remains imperative that you preview or actually read the material carefully to insure its appropriateness for the specific family values impacted. These stories include a wide variety of authors, times, and political persuasion. No overt censorship has taken place.