By Gary D. Schmidt, suggested ages 10 & up
Let's face it: we do judge books by their covers.
I spent a few hours last week searching for eBooks from our local library that I could download to my son's Nook. He had recently started Lord of the Rings after loving The Hobbit, but he didn't care for the first book in the trilogy.
That's when I spotted The Wednesday Wars. Something about the cover and the description caught my eye, so I checked it out. My son, like many others, isn't always willing to jump into a new book without knowing anything about it. But he jumped, and hasn't looked back.
The story of a seventh-grader who is certain his teacher hates him has captured my fifth-grader's attention so much so that he can't turn his Nook off during meals. That's always a good sign.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Love for books
My kids have heard my voice reading to them since they were in utero.
My first-born son listened to tapes playing my husband's voice as he read a childhood favorite, Sammy the Seal. The next two children benefited from hours of listening to story times for their older brother. And so the love for books began ...
I remember cuddling with my oldest son when he was barely a few weeks old, reading him Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. That led to The Foot Book and Goodnight, Moon. Nearly every Sandra Boynton book entertained us, but we were particularly fond of Barnyard Dance, The Going to Bed Book and Moo, Baa, La La La!
Fast forward a few years, and now I have three emerging and enthusiastic readers in elementary school. One is a fifth-grader with an insatiable appetite for reading. Another is a second-grader who is quickly taking off, soaring above our expectations and experiencing books he's long waited to read. My youngest, a kindergartner, happily listens to her brother read his school books, asks about words and retells stories with amazing detail.
All three of them love story time, those few minutes of quiet and calm before bed, when they try to convince me to read "just one more, Mom!" And because I love books and reading, and all the good it does for my children, I almost always cave.
And so I'm here. I'm always searching for new books to read, that will appeal to each of my children's interests. Studies suggest that after fourth grade, kids stop reading. I'm hoping that won't be the case in our house. I hope to share what we love, why we love, and look for new ideas that I can keep here. Maybe they'll be helpful to your little reader, too.
My first-born son listened to tapes playing my husband's voice as he read a childhood favorite, Sammy the Seal. The next two children benefited from hours of listening to story times for their older brother. And so the love for books began ...
I remember cuddling with my oldest son when he was barely a few weeks old, reading him Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. That led to The Foot Book and Goodnight, Moon. Nearly every Sandra Boynton book entertained us, but we were particularly fond of Barnyard Dance, The Going to Bed Book and Moo, Baa, La La La!
Fast forward a few years, and now I have three emerging and enthusiastic readers in elementary school. One is a fifth-grader with an insatiable appetite for reading. Another is a second-grader who is quickly taking off, soaring above our expectations and experiencing books he's long waited to read. My youngest, a kindergartner, happily listens to her brother read his school books, asks about words and retells stories with amazing detail.
All three of them love story time, those few minutes of quiet and calm before bed, when they try to convince me to read "just one more, Mom!" And because I love books and reading, and all the good it does for my children, I almost always cave.
And so I'm here. I'm always searching for new books to read, that will appeal to each of my children's interests. Studies suggest that after fourth grade, kids stop reading. I'm hoping that won't be the case in our house. I hope to share what we love, why we love, and look for new ideas that I can keep here. Maybe they'll be helpful to your little reader, too.
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