PeterPan Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 I never read the Chronicles of Narnia growing up. LotR was really fringe where we lived too. LOTS of people have never read a lot of classic literature that is the norm here on the board. Also, people may be overwhelmed by the choices and not know about audiobooks or which narrators are particularly good for an age or where to start. I always mention the Little House audiobooks, Narnia, and Charlotte's Web, because the audiobooks are especially well done, making them extremely engaging for kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaMere Academy Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 I have been reading to my now 1st grader son since infancy, surrounding him with books, taking him to the library every week, providing a reading lamp for awesome bedtime books, limiting iPad time (no TV at home), etc. He just doesn't take any book by himself unless I ask him to. Sure he can now read and understand at a very advanced level, but he is just lazy and chooses his sister's baby books instead -_- Does the hive have any suggestions for instilling the love of reading? Thank you. You're doing everything right, it may take time...years...before you see the fruit. I haven't read all responses so I'll just add my suggestions that you may already be doing too. Make sure your home has its own library Give books for gifts, not just on holidays but any time. I regularly order books from Amazon for my kids and let them be surprised when the box shows up Make regular trip to the book store and library Read Aloud daily, picture books and good chapter books Show excitement over books Read yourself, daily Talk about what you are reading if appropriate Buy him a magazine of something he is interested in (ex. Lego) Keep a bag of favorites in the car so you can read when you have time while out It's OK to want to read at a lower level while he is this young. Even my then-13 year old liked reading Diary of Wimpy Kid over and over again while he read other higher level books. Easier books are comforting and enjoyable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 It's always the same twenty or thirty books for k-3, and a lot of them are fairly dull, to be honest. It's so much better to find out what a child likes, rather than telling him what he's supposed to like. That' a mischaracterization of those advocating high quality lit. as a whole. It my be true of some Ambleside influenced CM types, some ultra conservatives and some people in the Circe crowd, but people using SOTW Activity Book recommendations and using the lists I posted from the American Library Association are very different than what you're describing. Those are the kinds of things most people are talking about. Also, assuming that having general and history related literature mom selects based on quality content somehow equals mom forbidding kids to choose their own independent reading books is faulty. It's not all or nothing. Are there a few people who do that? Yes. Not the majority. Junie B. Jones is no stranger that crowd. All or nothing thinking is the problem here. It doesn't need to be all best quality or none. It also doesn't need to be all of whatever the kid happens to pull off the public library shelf. A reading diet should be like your actual diet, mostly good stuff with s little crap. Most of the recommended books on list from the second half of the 20th century to today are not dull works as you suggest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 i have an elderly friend who was a librarian for decades - her advise was to let a young child read mainly for pleasure rather than for improving fluency or to increase exposure to great literature etc. She said that it did not matter if the child repeatedly chose a book from a series which a parent might consider "twaddle". She said that at some point the child will exhaust that series, pick up another interesting book and move on - the idea is to keep the child reading using what interests them and they will eventually become habitual readers and pick higher level content when they are ready to move on. So, if my child likes Captain Underpants or just his old Lego Club catalogs or magazines, I don't mention anything and count it as time well spent reading. He also read the whole Dr Dolittle series which I thought was boring but which to him was fun and interesting. So, just surround him with books, take him to the library, give him a choice in what he reads and he will love books. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Growing up, my brother and I had a relatively normal allowance. ($5/week) But we didn't have to spend our money on books. My parents would buy those...whatever type....even comic books for my brother. They wanted us to read, and they didn't care what to some degree. (No censoring.) Even though I went on to grad school and my brother never went beyond high school, we are both voracious readers to this day. We both love to watch documentaries and such. I think this played a part. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yucabird Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 I have been reading to my now 1st grader son since infancy, surrounding him with books, taking him to the library every week, providing a reading lamp for awesome bedtime books, limiting iPad time (no TV at home), etc. He just doesn't take any book by himself unless I ask him to. Sure he can now read and understand at a very advanced level, but he is just lazy and chooses his sister's baby books instead -_- Does the hive have any suggestions for instilling the love of reading? Thank you. What do you mean by "baby books"? If you mean picture books, I honestly do not see a problem with a first grader wanting to read something that was created for his age group. Why force a first grader to read something that won't hold his interest? If you choose wisely, picture books would be a terrific way for him to experience good literature and see a variety of art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heliconia Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 UPDATES, UPDATES! What do you mean by "baby books"? If you mean picture books, I honestly do not see a problem with a first grader wanting to read something that was created for his age group. Why force a first grader to read something that won't hold his interest? If you choose wisely, picture books would be a terrific way for him to experience good literature and see a variety of art. Picture books are wonderful and we read a good bunch of them aloud everyday. What I mean by "baby books" is those chunky board books. I think he's in a stage where he just want to be babied like his sister. I started her on picture books this week and she is not tearing the pages (hopefully for good). Guess what? I noticed DS reading them (LMNO peas, 123 peas, 10 Little Fingers and 10 Little toes...). Maybe that's the clue! Hiring his sister as a marketing agent ;) For Bedtime, he's still reading Nat Geo Chapters and we got Roald Dahl and a full bag of picture books/ nonfiction for our read-aloud. I hope things are going in the right direction. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 One more thing I realized, is we often look for older editions of a book. Up through the 1980's, children's chapter books (like the BFG) were on bigger pages, with larger type, and retained many of the illustrations. Newer editions have been slimmed down. They keep the text, but the book itself isn't as appealing with its tiny font. It's not unusual to find two or three copies of the same well-loved book in our house - an older edition that will get a kid hooked, a nice hardback to cozy up with, and a newer paperback to carry on trips. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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