Back to School Reading Tips from Hope

Hi Everyone,
Cora asked me to fill in for her today. It seems she downloaded a few too many new ebooks and doesn't have time to do the blog today. I thought this might be a great opportunity for me to talk about reading.

As a school librarian, I get questions all the time on what kids should be reading. I don't have a specific list of titles that your child should read, but I have a few ideas I'd like to express.

First of all, everyone can be a reader. If your child is not reading there's a reason. He or she is not enjoying it! No one is going to read because it is good for them. But they will read if they find it fun or interesting.

The same book doesn't fit every child, just as the same pair of shoes wouldn't fit every child. There a wide range of differences in a child's ability, attention span, and preferred learning style. Fortunately there's also a wide range of options in how we read these days. Traditional print media is very important, but if your child isn't enjoying it, you may need to let them try something else for a while. Using alternate formats doesn't stop a child from reading print books. It is more likely to encourage it than anything else. So feel free to let your children try:
1. Audio Books
2. Graphic Novels
3. Ebooks
4. Magazines
5. Print books in non-traditional format. There are many nonfiction books out now that feature great illustrations and photos and have information broken up into bite-size chunks. A hybrid of novel and comic book has appeared recently in such works as Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney.
5. DVDs - No, DVDs don't count as reading, but you could use them to springboard your child's interest in reading the book the movie was based on, or offer watching the DVD as a reward for reading the book.

My final suggestion - take your kids to the library and see all of what there is to offer. There's a type of book out there for everyone that will make reading enjoyable for them and librarians are excellent at figuring this sort of thing out. How about planning a trip with your child right now?

Hope Velasquez