A question about my ds and reading

[Book Crazy]

My ds is 7.5 and reads really well. Back in October/November he was reading all the time. He read books such as Alice in Wonderland, all the Roald Dahl books, Swallows and Amazons, Narnia. He would even have 2 or 3 books going at the same time.

 

Then at the beginning of December he found some Clavin and Hobbes books at the library. He read through all the ones that the library had and used his Christmas money to buy some more.

 

I have no objection to Clavin and Hobbes, but that is all he will read now. I have gotten him easy books from the library, but he won't look at them. I have tried giving him certain number of pages a day, but after he made 15 pages last 2 hrs, I don't know what to do.

 

How can I get my ds back into reading like before?

 

Sarah

[KristineIN]

My daughter is 9 & will go through spurts, she loves comics and chapter books, but seems to go between the two. I would just give it time, keep trying to introduce him to new books, find something else that interests him. (do some read alouds that might spark an interest and he might pick it up on his own to find out what happens) For my daughter, it is fairies, anything fairies. My middle son is 8 (was 8 in Nov.), he is just now starting to get into chapter books, he's read My Father's Dragon & Stone Fox, but really those are the only two chapter books that he's read. Seeing the level that his sister is at (she started out very slow) I'm not worried.

 

HTH.

Kristine

[Snickerdoodle]

My parents kept a box of old books in the hall closet that I was explicitly told not to read. Of course, then I read all of them. There was a couple of Hardy Boys and Heidi, The Call of the Wild and books like that which belonged to my father when he was a kid.

[Chris in VA]

I'm sort of having the same problem with my dd. She is re-reading the Little House books for the 3rd? 4th? time. Which is fine, but I'd like her to branch out. She also loves Magic Treehouse and has read them all (takes about an hour for her to get thru one--not to brag, just to show they are in no way challenging for her). I think perhaps that's part of the reason SWB recommends not getting kids into series books.

But honestly, I'm ok with just having some enjoyable reading. I know I'll assign reading eventually. I know dd will read the classics. Right now, she sees herself as a good reader, and sees reading as an incredibly fun pastime. That's ok with me.

Perhaps it's just a stage with your ds. I assume he'll read all the Calvin and Hobbes, and then go back to more challenging stuff. They are quite funny, and rather sophisticated in some of the humor (for a cartoon, anyway). Just don't tell him about The Far Side! LOL my two favorite comics of all time.

[Lori D.]

First: LOVE your Doctor with sonic screwdriver "avatar", Sarah!! The new series has been fantastic! ; )

 

 

As for Calvin & Hobbes -- my boys have loved those comics since they were 7 or 8. Even now, at ages 14 and nearly-16 they still get those out occasionally! If you're worried about him not having enough variety, perhaps keep a "book basket" with a lot of different types of books available for him to read during his free time. Perhaps assign a book just above reading or age level that you do TOGETHER ('you read a page, I read a page') during school each day.

 

It's great that your son is reading well above his age level -- but it's important that he have the opportunity to read age-appropriate stuff, too -- like Calvin & Hobbes (which has great vocabulary, imagination, and some pretty heavy philosophy sometimes!). Gives his emotional maturity level time to catch up with his academics. : )

 

ENJOY this great age he's at -- it passes by all too quickly! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Monkey Island Academy]

My 7 year old son does this at times, too. He started to read at age 4 and reads quite well now (Narnia books and Swallows were on his list this year, too) but he still will go back to his stack of Henry and Mudge books and read them over and over again. I think it is quite sweet and very endearing when he asks me if I want to snuggle on the couch and listen to him read one of them out loud. I try to remind myself often that even though he can read books above his age/grade level, that in fact his brain needs to go back to the coziness of age-appropriate reading. I'd say keep gently encouraging the reading and create a book basket (as another poster mentioned) so that fresh titles are available when he wants a change.

 

HTH

Michelle J

[Monkey Island Academy]

My parents kept a box of old books in the hall closet that I was explicitly told not to read. Of course, then I read all of them. There was a couple of Hardy Boys and Heidi, The Call of the Wild and books like that which belonged to my father when he was a kid.

 

 

Oh, now that is hilarious! Could I apply this same technique with getting the kids to eat vegetables? "Don't you dare eat those broccoli stems!"

 

Michelle J

[coffeegal]

My children do the same thing. They'll be reading a lovely variety of books and then bam... none of the bunch will touch anything but comic books for a time. This will last a few months before they'll branch out again. I don't think your ds will read nothing but Calvin and Hobbes for the rest of his life. :) I've left my children alone for their personal reading, but all readers are assigned 1-4 books a week for schoolwork to ensure a more varied diet than just comics. ;)