Early, avid readers

[Mommy22alyns]

If you've had a young and enthusiastic reader, what did you allow them to read on their own time? Did you relax the twaddle rules if you had them? ;)

 

Becca reads at a very high level, but like a typical 6 year old girl, loves ponies, butterflies, and princesses. We keep great quality read-alouds going every night, she reads her science and history work out loud to me, and frequently picks up picture books and easy readers on our shelves to read on her own or to Sylvia. She gets quiet reading time every afternoon and likes to zip through things like Pony-Crazed Princess and Butterfly Meadow. These are easy for her - maybe a few hours for each book - the reading level is a few back of her (informally) tested level.

 

Is this okay? I want to keep her enthused and encouraged, and it makes her feel fantastic to be able to finish a chapter book so quickly. On the other hand, I want to make sure that she keeps an appetite for challenging stories and vocabulary and doesn't get sucked into wanting all of her reading to be easy.

 

How have you walked this line with your little book-lovers?

[skaterbabs]

DD is reading very well (mid-2nd grade) but has zero confidence in her ability to read independantly. I do allow her as much twaddle as she likes at this point, because anything "heavy" I read TO her for now. She's slowly realizing that even the tougher books aren't too hard for her to read, but she likes being read to still.

 

We *finally* found a series of chapter books that she likes, the Rainbow Magic Fairies. Total fluff, but I honestly don't care if it gets her reading independantly.

 

For DD, her ability to read the book is not related in any way to the desire to do so independantly.

[AnneC]

DD is also 6 and loves fairies, horses and princesses too. She's allowed to choose what she wants to read in her spare time but I will nudge her in the direction of books that I want her to read. She read half of Wind in the Willows over 3 evenings but went back to reading fluff and hasn't finished it yet. I found a series of books called the Royal Diaries (not the Princess Diaries, they are different). Each book is based on the life of a true princess, dd has read a couple of these and really enjoyed them.

 

I find it very frustrating that she can read at a much higher level yet chooses not to. I think if I push her she will lose her enjoyment of reading.

 

Don't get me started on DS who can read at a college level and chooses to only read lego catalogues:glare:

Edited May 19, 2009 by AnneC
correcting spelling

[HeatherInWI]

I just stocked our house with lots and lots of acceptable books and let the dc loose with them! We had assigned books as part of our schooling, but I kept that not too heavy until the dc were in upper elementary. I didn't push on the reading level thing, just made sure that most of the books we had on hand were really worth reading (Cam Jansen was about the most "twaddle-ish" chapter book series I tolerated).

 

Now they both read just about anything, from children's lit written for children their age and younger to adult science texts. Of course, I read most of the same things -- and I really enjoy most of the children's lit, even if it is below my reading level!

[Catwoman]

I let my ds9 read whatever he wants to read for fun, and choose "better" books for his academic reading during school time. I know he can read books that are well beyond Henry Huggins or The Boxcar Children, but he's still a kid, and I would rather have him reading books that could be considered too easy for him, than to force him to read "great literature" that he doesn't enjoy.

 

At this age, I am most interested in having my ds develop a life-long love of reading. I am less interested in having him read books he hates, just so I can impress the other homeschool moms with our reading list. (Don't laugh -- I know some moms who really do that!) It's all about the fun at our house!

 

Cat

[joannqn]

Coming from the standpoint of a few years ahead of you, I can say that I'm glad that I allowed my daughter to read whatever she wished because she reads without complaining (I get plenty of complaining on other subjects though). However, I can also say that I wished I would have required her to read more at her reading level at least some of the time. I think there's room for balance there. How I'm going to achieve that balance next year, I don't know yet exactly.

[Catwoman]

How I'm going to achieve that balance next year, I don't know yet exactly.

 

When you figure it out, let me know -- I'd like to do that, too, but in a cunning and sneaky way, so ds doesn't realize I'm up to anything. ;)

 

Also, if you can come up with a solution to the "complaining" thing, I would be willing to pay for that! :D

 

Cat

[Amber in AUS]

At this point i am allowing her to choose twaddle from the library, but i do limit it and make sure it is balanced out with what i choose for her. At home most of the bookcase is twaddle free. So she is able to choose whatever she would like to read during free reading. She is on the couch right now with Wings of Icarus a library book i picked out. I think she looks at the cover and if it looks OK she goes for it. No not then she puts it back. She is into princesses and fluffy stuff as much as the next little girl.

[aly9712]

we try to limit the twaddle, but sometimes there are just some books that she considers "fun" such as Disney's fairy chapter books that I wouldn't normally consider. I figure, it's leisure reading and I sure don't like people telling me what I can and can't read in my free time so I try to refrain (when the books are innocent enough) from doing the same to her.

[Suzanne115]

I allow my 7 year old to choose her own reading for free time. However, I choose some of the books that we read for school and I limit the options she has for school books. She is a great reader who loves to read! I think it is good that she can and does enjoy a wide variety of books.

 

Suzanne

[Granny_Weatherwax]

If you've had a young and enthusiastic reader, what did you allow them to read on their own time? Did you relax the twaddle rules if you had them? ;)

 

How have you walked this line with your little book-lovers?

 

My DS has always had advanced reading skills. Our difficulty wasn't centered around weeding out the twaddle so much as it was about finding books that were age appropriate that would offer him a challenge. I would encourage him to read easier books, if only to give himself a break from the 400-600 page books he would choose.

 

I remember the looks I would receive from the local librarians when DS would go to check out his selection of books. They thought I was pushing him. DS is very outgoing, though, and they soon realized that his selections were exactly that, his selections.

 

During our summer reading program the library gave DS special accommodation for the books he read. The premise behind the program was for every chapter book the children read they would mark off a square on a chart. Well, since DS was reading junior high and high school level material he was slow in marking off squares. The kids who were reading the fluff and twaddle were always ahead of him.

[SunshineMom]

however the book choice fight might be saved for when they pick something that is truely not good for them to read at such a young age. Once my dd started reading, I went through my bookshelf and pulled some Women Studies books down along with some criminalogy books from college. I have to be careful for my dd will often ask me, "so, what is that book about?" when I am reading something from Toni Morrison. I donot want her reading my books. The princess, fairy stage is just that. Our kids are exposed to such wonderful children's literature (read alouds) which in turn creates an appetitie for well written material so no worries, she will move away from the others.

[Jen in PA]

(Cam Jansen was about the most "twaddle-ish" chapter book series I tolerated).

 

 

Cam Jansen was the compromise that worked here, too! Our library has a nice large selection of beginning chapter books, and so many of them are the popular-series, twaddle variety. I carefully chose a few simpler books from the "harder" section and showed my dd that they really weren't so different from the "easy" ones, and now she feels a bit more confident trying them. Some nights she will read from something closer to her "real" reading level, but I think that one reason she enjoys the Cam Jansen type books is that she can finish a whole one (or two or three!) in one sitting), while she has to work at something harder over a couple of sessions to finish the book.

 

I have also tried leaving our current read-aloud in her room at bedtime so that she can look ahead to see what happens next, and then she usually manages to zip through a few chapters of whatever we are working on (Lemony Snicket lately). She also loves nonfiction, especially the You Wouldn't Want to Be series, and will gladly read those on her own -- she seems much choosier about fiction for pleasure reading than she is about nonfiction.

[Mommy22alyns]

Our kids are exposed to such wonderful children's literature (read alouds) which in turn creates an appetitie for well written material so no worries, she will move away from the others.

 

 

 

That's what I was hoping/thinking. I think that's actually how I was brought up too - nobody ever made demands of my reading, but I was surrounded by a lot of great literature and both of my parents are readers.

 

We just recently discovered Cam Jansen here too - they're easy reads for Becca. I couldn't resist The Mystery of the Babe Ruth Baseball! :D For the even younger ones, I found a few "Young Cam Jansen" books in our library's easy reader section. Becca wanted to check one out but I just had her sit down and read it there in the library.

[skaterbabs]

As aly9712 said, I don't want anyone judging me on my twaddle selections. ;) Everyone is entitled to the occasional "brainless read" (as I call them.)

 

My "work" reading is often medical studies or government-ese, so when my brain starts to hurt I take a nice long bubble bath with what could arguably considered the worst of the twaddle - romance novels. :tongue_smilie:

[westcoastmom]

I let my kids read what they want when they are reading for pleasure, although I will get books from the library that I think they will like. My 7 yr old still likes to sometimes read Rainbow Fairy books. They are a very quick 'mindless' read. Right now she is reading Little House of the Prairie. She doesn't like scary books.

[rowan25]

DD is reading very well (mid-2nd grade) but has zero confidence in her ability to read independantly. I do allow her as much twaddle as she likes at this point, because anything "heavy" I read TO her for now. She's slowly realizing that even the tougher books aren't too hard for her to read, but she likes being read to still.

 

We *finally* found a series of chapter books that she likes, the Rainbow Magic Fairies. Total fluff, but I honestly don't care if it gets her reading independantly.

 

For DD, her ability to read the book is not related in any way to the desire to do so independantly.

This sounds very familiar. DD has been reading since she was 2 and CAN read chapter books. In fact, when I'm not looking, I catch her reading her Magic Tree House books that are supposed to be for bedtime or other "difficult" books that get "left" around the house. Mainly from the library, she checks out fluff and I read the "difficult" books to her. It's ok with me. She's the type that needs to be perfect on something before she will unveil it, so I know that she is practicing the bigger books when she thinks I'm not looking.:tongue_smilie:

[rowan25]

Don't get me started on DS who can read at a college level and choses to only read lego catalogues:glare:

:lol:

[Sahamamama]

We create a false dichotomy regarding suitable "free reading" material for early, avid readers when we say, "Well, on the one side, there's her love of reading, which I don't want to destroy. On the other side, there's what she's learning about language, which I want to be rich, exemplary, and sophisticated." Then we reason that, since we've systemically covered learning about language through subjects -- grammar, vocabulary, spelling, mechanics, and so on -- for free reading time we'll render the verdict more in favor of "love of reading." The way this often plays out is to allow the child to read books that are not only far below her "level," whatever that is, but far below being worth reading at all.

 

This either-or argument, I think, misses the relational nature of reading -- the love affair we can have (even as children) with the words and the rhythms and the "feel" of a book. Conversely, we can also "hate" a book -- have you ever thrown a paperback across the room in disgust? Why on earth would anyone throw a book if all it contains is symbols and paper and ink? We throw it (or go on reading it under the covers with a flashlight) because we are in a relationship with it, with the ideas it contains.

 

As children move beyond phonics, they begin to curl up with books and we are relieved. "Now," we say, "she'll learn that books can be great company." But are her books great company, or are they basically boring? If her books truly are boring, then she will learn to be bored with books, not enthralled by them, and the very love of reading we thought we'd foster will be turned the other way.

 

Early, avid readers are not simply decoding. They are absorbing the ideas and images and thought patterns of the books they read. Verbal, "wordy" children latch onto reading precisely because it provides them with a convenient way to keep the words moving around in their heads -- these children have a word-soundtrack running at all times. They never stop talking, at least in their heads. Never. In some ways, books provide a welcome relief for these children, who spend all day, every day thinking words. A well-written book allows them to relax into the beauty, artistry, adventure, and humor of someone else's words for a while, and enjoy the journey. This is why, especially for the most eager and brightest students, these words ought to be good.

 

These children usually also have deep emotions; they are particularly capable of growing "large souls" through the vicarious experience of what they read. What appeal do predictable plots, flat characters, and stilted writing have for these children? I think that bright, early readers need their books to be full of powerfully poetic language, a rich cast of characters, and increasingly complex storylines. For them, Junie B. Jones will ultimately kill a love of reading faster than being encouraged to read this:

 

"For a moment the Phantom hesitated. She looked obediently to Paul, her master. Then that wild bugle sounded again. It seemed to awaken some force with her, creating a curious urging in her mind. A shudder of excitement went through her. She twisted her body high in the air as if she were shaking herself free -- free of fences that imprisoned, free of lead ropes, free of stalls that shut out the smell of pines and the sound of the sea. An impatient whinny escaped her. She whirled past Paul, then ran flying to meet the Pied Piper. The air went wild with greeting. Deep rumbling neighs. High joyous whickers. The stallion and the mare were brushing each other with their noses, talking together in soft little grunts and snorts as animals will. At last the Pied Piper nipped her thigh, urging her forward. This time the Phantom did not hesitate. She flew toward her island home. Only once she turned her head as if she were looking backward. "Take good care of my baby," she seemed to say. "She belongs to the world of men, but I -- I belong to the isle of the wild things!" [from

Misty of Chincoteague

, by Marguerite Henry]

Contrast this with a typical offering from Barbara Park's Junie B., First Grader: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! (P.S. So Does May):

 

"Winter break is the school word for I gotta get out of this place, I tell you! 'Cause blabbermouth May is driving me crazy! She is tattletaling on me every day almost! That's how come yesterday I chased her down on the playground. And I threw grass on her head. It was fun. Except I hope Santa did not see me do that. That guy watches me like a hawk this time of year."

Advocates of these books, and others like them, usually say something along the lines of, "At least she's reading something -- that's got to be better than nothing." Critics usually point out their crudeness, their cookie-cutter plots, their simplistic language, or other serious flaws with the writing itself. These criticisms are valid, IMO, but they miss the point of what snuggling up with a book for "free reading" is all about -- finding a story, living a life enriched through a healthy relationship with rich books.

 

It's unlikely we'll develop a true love of reading in an early, avid reader if we allow, let alone encourage, her to read what is, in fact, not better-than-nothing. Those of us who love reading -- and want to instill that same love in our students -- need to revisit our memories of the stories that pulled us into another world. We need to remember how we came to love reading because of what we found to read.

Edited May 19, 2009 by Sahamamama

[KristenS]

Hey, Cam Jansen isn't twaddle! LOL. I STILL buy every new title I can. (Children's mysteries are one of my favorite genres, though most of my faves are OOP.)

 

I think balance is the key. I read a lot of 'easy' stuff (some twaddle, some just good but easy) which REALLY increased my reading speed and fluency, I think. Slowed me down a bit when we hit 'hard' books in high school and college, but I still had a big advantage because of being a natural speed reader. One key to really digging deep in books is the ability to re-read them ... which college and high school schedules don't usually allow for. How can you analyze literature if you don't have time to read it more than once? So practice on the easy stuff actually does help. But the quality books need to be in that mix too.

 

FWIW, nobody ever censored my reading. I tended toward clean cut stuff anyway, and old stuff, so that probably helped me. Older twaddle still has a higher vocabulary level than newer twaddle. :)

[skaterbabs]

You have a very good point, and that's why I'm eager to introduce DD to longer stories now that she has the stamina for them. She'll sit through a 35 page picture book, but until about two weeks ago couldn't handle a 25 page chapter book regardless of subject or reading level.

 

We're separating "Reading" from "Language Arts" for her this year as subjects. Much of her school reading is actually picture-book biographies of famous people written on 3rd or 4th grade reading levels. (She's five.) She eats them up like candy, absorbing information about Louis Armstrong, Ben Franklin, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and so on like it's candy. For her, reading "Alice In Wonderland" with Mama is the ultimate treat, especially in what she perceives as the middle of the school day. In her mind, this isn't doing school. :lol:

 

But I want her to read independently at times. (Occasionally Mama needs to use the ladies' room!:glare:) She looks at books that are on or even slightly below her reading level and tells herself "I can't read that, it's too hard." Not because it's actually difficult for her, but because she thinks it *should* be hard. For us, twaddle like the Rainbow Magic Fairies or Disney Princesses or Barbie are things that she is more likely to pick up when I'm not available to read to her. If she discovers that she CAN read them without me, well, there ya go! She's still seeing meatier works as something fun and enjoyable, and everyone enjoys a bit of twaddle occasionally. :tongue_smilie:

[SunshineMom]

I am not a fan of the Junie B Series either and my kids have also been turned off just because I found it so difficult to read to them. Books I choose for read alouds are mostly Newberry Award winners or old time favorites. A steady "language rich diet" of well written stories help our young children develop an appreciation of literature. Instead of being TV focused, children who have been read to and love reading make (unrequested) associations between various book characters/stories that add to their understanding of morality, people, culture, and events. There is nothing like a good book, to get lost in another world and to be shaped by another's experience. I do think as parents we can guide our children to rich literature but I also believe they become capable of choosing for themselves.

[skaterbabs]

LOL I have a far more visceral reason for not letting DD read Junie B. Junie B is BRAT. :p DD has enough brat-like tendencies without help.

 

 

It's the same reason I never let my boys watch "Home Alone".:tongue_smilie:

[Mommy22alyns]

LOL I have a far more visceral reason for not letting DD read Junie B. Junie B is BRAT. :p

 

 

Isn't that the truth! :glare: Yeah, we don't do Junie B. here either - I saw zero value in those, and actually (as you pointed out) negative value.

 

It's such a delicate balance.

[skaterbabs]

DD just read the book "I'll Fix Anthony" by Judith Viorst. I'd picked it up from the library for her because "Between the Lions" featured it on one episode and she though it was a great treat. lol

 

After she read it, I looked up the AR reading level of it because she struggled with some of the more difficult words. It's a level 3.2.:001_huh:

 

I find that amazing since the Rainbow Fairies books are listed in the 5's and she didn't struggle much at all with "Tia the Tulip Fairy." (5.0) :confused:

[Truscifi]

but I am trying to find more for DS5 to read. He is reading nonfiction on a 3rd grade level according to AR, but the only fiction he wants to read is the Clifford series. I tried him on Horrible Harry, which I was not crazy about but seemed like the best option at the time. He hated it. It was no problem for him to read, it just didn't interest him. I tried reading with him, alternating chapters, then alternating pages, and he still didn't like it. After 3 books we gave up. I want him to read fiction as well as non fiction, so I am looking for something boy-friendly. He is crazy about dinosaurs right now, and has plans to build a South American zoo when he is 16 before going back to school to become a paleontologist (he's quite ambitious ;)). So something about dinosaurs or a boy studying animals, working as a vet, anything?

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[KristenS]

Scholastic has this new series they're reprinting called The Adventures of Riley ... they are picture books but kind of fiction and nonfiction at the same time, like Magic School Bus. Riley travels with his uncle to various locations to help study endangered animals. The ones I've gotten have been pretty cool. They combine drawn art (cartoonish) with photo art in a really neat way, and they quote genuine scientists (like Smithsonian ones) with different facts. They might do for your son.

 

(I like Horrible Harry. He makes me laugh. LOL.)

[Northernmom]

Reading is reading. My kids read everything, from the classics to the backs of cereal boxes in the morning. The more a child reads the better a child reads. I would offer all kinds of literature and let the child chose what to read for pleasure. Instill the love of reading first, the rest will follow.

[Laura Corin]

Picture books can be great quality literature. I tried to keep twaddle out of the house, but good picture books were fine.

 

There are some good, higher level princess and fairy books: Andrew Lang colour fairy books; The Princess and the Goblin; The Princess and Curdie; The Little White Horse...

 

Laura

[Desert Rat]

I'm a middle path kind of girl. I think every diet needs a bit of junk. I let mine choose whatever books interest them (within reason) and save the more challenging stuff for actual school work or read alouds.

[Lucy the Valiant]

Okay, this is the thread I was looking for . . .

 

So I have a 5yo who reads chapter books. I'm new to the idea of "twaddle" and want to provide good quality stuff for her . . . she LOVES the Boxcar Children right now . . . Yay? Nay?

 

She reads "good" stuff . . . she's reading Seastar (Chincoteague) right now, and just finished Trumpet of the Swan and The Borrowers. She has read *all* of the Little House books. She also likes longer picture books, but - at quiet time, she *always* chooses the "longest" book available, so she doesn't get bored.

 

Point me in the right direction, you wise teachers!

Edited June 12, 2009 by Katie