DD does not want to read the books I have picked

[summer]

I have purchased through the years a variety of books that I thought would be good reading, especially for history. On my list for this year include books like "George Washingtons World" "Abraham Lincolns World" "Mr Revere and I" "Island of the Blue Dolphins" "Johnny Tremain" "Carry On Mr. Bowditch" "Witch of Blackbird Pond" etc. I have not said she has to read all of them. I have just begged her to pick one that looks good to her and read. She has declared her hate for all the books. There are many of them. I have read, outloud, some of the chapters from "George Washington's World" and she didn't mind it. But she is 12 years old and I do not have the time to sit around reading outloud to her all the time. These are books all below her reading level. I did finally get her to read "Sign of the Beaver" a couple months ago, but nothing since.

 

What would you do? She has never been a lover of reading, but I do not think I am asking too much of her.

[Melora in NC]

With my 9 yr old ds, I tried having a collection of good books available for him to choose from and suggesting that he pick one and read it, and he never did it. When I decided which he would read, though, and assigned a certain number of chapters each day (based on the idea that I wanted him to read for about 40 minutes) and made that reading part of our school day, he actually did the reading and enjoyed most of the books. He did have one or two books that he just didn't take to, even after over an hour of reading, and those I let him quit and replaced them with others.

My ds isn't an eager reader. He isn't likely to pick up a good book and read (he is happy to read Calvin & Hobbes & other comics) unless it is assigned. But once he is reading, he Does enjoy most of the books I choose for him. Your book choices look good to me, but maybe your dd just needs fewer options and a little "push" to get her going.

[AuntPol]

My dd is very unlikely to pick any book to read on her own. No amount of strewing, etc will lead her to pick up a book. She is an above level reader but she just prefers to write, to socialize, watch tv, etc. I have to assign it. She will read what I assign to her and most often like it.

[Mom2legomaniacs]

I had this same post not too long ago. I had gotten 3 of the ones you listed (Mr. Bowditch, Tremain, Witch) for ds to read and he hated them. Hated, hated, hated them. I have come to the conclusion that I do not know how to pick out books for him that he will like.

 

So, I had him go to the used bookstore with me and look at a bunch of books that I pulled off the shelves that I considered acceptable. He picked his own, and read them. Some were below his ability level, but good for his age. He very much enjoyed the Great Illustrated Classics stories. We are working together now to pick books that he likes and I say are good for assigned reading. There are so many out there, that surely we can find something!

 

I have also told him that he will have to read some books that he may not want to or greatly enjoy sometimes. I will assign things for a reason, but will try to select with his tastes in mind as well. (btw: the ones I listed above were also deemed boring by some others on here as well. that made me feel better about letting him not read them but moving on to something else)

 

Can you work together on book selection somehow?

[elegantlion]

My ds is a reluctant reader as well. We have assigned reading time, even during the summer. We both sit down in the living room, he reads from his book, I read from mine. We also do a separate read-aloud around the same time. He loves that time.

 

Right now, he wouldn't read a thing if he didn't have to, but it's still required. I try to set the example by reading my own material, so he doesn't "suffer" alone.

[JFSinIL]

I have more than enough books available (mostly library books) and dd has to pick one to read on her own for school. Some books that I really want her to read, such as Island of the Blue Dolphins, we did as a read-a-loud, taking turns reading a page and getting through a chapter or two per day. She ended up liking that book so much she named one of her Webkinz after Rontu the dog. ;)

 

I'd pick three from your list that you absolutely WANT her to read and do them as read-a-louds as I did.

[Plaid Dad]

If it's important to you that she read at least some of these books, I'd put it to her this way: you choose, or I choose for you. If it matters more that she learn about the period than that she read a certain selection of historical fiction, I'd stick with "George Washington's World" as a read-aloud and perhaps let her choose a few biographies or other books from the library to read on her own and then write reports on.

 

I was never excited by American history when I was a child, and honestly, I'm still not. I can appreciate many of these novels today, but they're not what I'd reach for given a choice of reading material. Maybe it's the same for your dd? Does she enjoy other types of fiction?

[Another Lynn]

I would put them on a certain shelf or in a "book basket" and tell her she has to read x minutes/day (30 or 40 minutes+) from books on this shelf/basket.

[PeterPan]

Maybe the problem is they're history? I don't like history and *I* wouldn't want to be forced to read those. The Genevieve Foster books maybe, if I felt in the mood, but beyond that, nope, nada. I'm not even going to read them to my dd this year, hehe. I got them on tape and she can LISTEN to them. (BTW, that would be a good compromise for you...) I'd find her some quality options in a genre she enjoys more. When I was that age, I enjoyed science fiction, mysteries, etc. Reading historical fiction isn't a hill to die on. Yes, she has to read the history text, but the rest is just optional, for history lovers.

[mcconnellboys]

I'd assign a chapter a day, if that's what it takes.

[mchel210]

My 12 yo wont choose his own books to read...so I give him our list to go off of for SL books. He doesnt get to choose school books now...but he can choose free reading books...(which he chooses...Nothing)

 

After he started reading the CORE 4 books with sonlight...he said he is really starting to enjoy them. He complained during the first 2 chapters or so but now stopped. I would just tell her to read them and then choose other books she wants to read on her own.

[Jen500]

I was never into reading about US history until I had a very engaging history professor in college. Would your daughter prefer to learn history through watching some good videos? Just an idea.

[kls126s]

My two cents...

 

I can see on one level you don't want to strain the enjoyment of reading, and forcing someone to read something smacks of that. However, we all want our dc to be well-read and well-informed, and we are, after all, the parent.

 

I look at it this way - my dd doesn't get to tell me she doesn't want to do this math lesson, and she doesn't get to tell me she doesn't want to read this book. Now, I can certainly understand not looking forward to reading a book, and if your goal is just to broaden her exposure to some historical topic, be flexible about how that happens. Let her listen to it on CD, let her choose what order to read them in, assign reasonable chunks per day - all things pp have mentioned.

 

However, I do want my dd to read well and widely, so I have a pretty open mind about free reading. I have low tolerance for "twaddle" (a CM word for junk lit) but I do let her have a lot of say in what she reads simply for enjoyment, because I actually do want her to enjoy it.

 

Summary - she has to read the books you determine she must read, with reasonable compromises between the two of you, and she can have as much freedom with free reading as you are comfortable with.

[Gretchen in NJ]

Well, this might be bad, but we pay our reluctant reader to read. I know it sounds bad, but it works for us. I adjust the amount based on:

 

1: How much I want her to read it.

2: How much time she spends reading it.

 

We pay out once every 3 months or 4 times a year. They have to read $50 worth of books. If they don't, they don't get any $$$. We double any dollars over $50. Most of the money goes into a savings account for long term savings. But, they also get to spend some of it too. They have used it to purchase Mother's Day gifts for me and birthday persents for family members.

 

Gretchen

[G5052]

With my 9 yr old ds, I tried having a collection of good books available for him to choose from and suggesting that he pick one and read it, and he never did it. When I decided which he would read, though, and assigned a certain number of chapters each day (based on the idea that I wanted him to read for about 40 minutes) and made that reading part of our school day, he actually did the reading and enjoyed most of the books. He did have one or two books that he just didn't take to, even after over an hour of reading, and those I let him quit and replaced them with others.

My ds isn't an eager reader. He isn't likely to pick up a good book and read (he is happy to read Calvin & Hobbes & other comics) unless it is assigned. But once he is reading, he Does enjoy most of the books I choose for him. Your book choices look good to me, but maybe your dd just needs fewer options and a little "push" to get her going.

 

We use Sonlight, and they're pretty much OK with all of the books. There was one some time back that DS said was too "girly" that I let him drop, but they both have read almost every book in the cores we've used. I do preread because Sonlight is indeed a little "edgy" and we've dropped a few that way.

 

Outside of school, they read whatever they wish, which for my younger one is the Boxcar Children series and the older is rereading the Redwall series.

[Kelli in TN]

If these are books related to study, or just books that you feel strongly are important then practice this in front of the mirror everyday until you can say it correctly......

 

 

First shrug and give a very slight tilt of your head, then, in a very matter of fact, calm voice, say "I hate it for ya".

 

If an argument brews just keep repeating "Oh, well, I have to do stuff I don't like to do all the time."

 

If that doesn't work, you can always fall back on "Do you know how long I was in labor with you?" or some guilt inducing variation of that.

 

Okay, not really to the last one. Don't waste that last one. Save that to guilt your teenagers when they give you a hard time.

 

Now if you are not set on these books then give some parameters and let your child pick.

 

I am a mean mom, when I want something read, I want it read. End of story.

[Tami]

as one's education will not be truncated without it! My dd hates historical fiction, but loves biographies and fantasy. The Childhood of Famous Americans series is her favorite! I don't care for historical fiction all that much myself. Give me a history encyclopedia and I am happy.:001_smile:

 

I would suggest dropping the historical fiction requirement. It will be fine. Once in a while listen to an audiobook at lunch time if you need a historical fiction fix.

 

What has worked famously for us is a reading basket filled with various genres. My dd was a reluctant reader, but the trick has been finding a genre that she really relates to. Self-selecting does wonders for the reluctant reader.

 

Make reading a reward. I BEGIN our day with reading (30 min) as a reward if morning routine is done in a timely manner. Otherwise, we start with table time. Starting our day with reading when dd is fresh has made a big difference! The other idea I got from someone on the board is to allow dd to stay up 30 minutes later if she would like to read silently in her room at bedtime.

 

Honey For a Child's Heart and Books Children Love have some fabulous suggestions. However, the BIGGEST think you can do to help your reluctant reader, imo, is make a weekly library trip and let your dc choose books. For required reading, allow your child to choose from a Book Basket of worthy selections of biography, fantasy, folk tales, or non-fiction. Make sure they are all great books you would be excited about having.

 

Some books that my historical fiction-hating dd especially liked are:

 

Humorous:

The Saturdays series

The Penderwicks

 

Fantasy:

The Magic Bicycle series by Bibee

Five Children and It and others by E Nesbit

James and the Giant Peach

The Secret of Nimh

The BFG

Island of the Aunts

The Search for the Delicious

The Phantom Tollbooth

 

Animal Stories:

Rascal

Gentle Ben

Lad: A Dog

The Horsefeathers series

Winnie the Horse Gentler series

The Junkyard Dog

Summer of the Monkeys

Wheel on the School

 

Other:

Crispin by Avi

 

HTH!!!

[lovemykids]

This happens to me all the time with my reluctant reader! Depending on the book sometimes I let it slide, other times it's non-negotiable.

 

;)

[Peela]

I don't require my kids to read books they really dislike, but if I think they are important, I will read them aloud. They have books assigned each day to read, usually about a chapter a day from each, but if a book comes up that they really dislike, I will shift it over to the read aloud pile.

My kids are 12 and 14. I don't personally feel that 12 is too loud to be read aloud to and I read aloud to my kids every day, mainly books that are a bit more difficult. Also, it makes great bonding time. Have you read the books? Sometimes when I read the books myself I understand why they don't like them.

But if she is just being difficult, I think all the other suggestions are valid.

[Lizzie in Ma]

I read all the other replies first and they all seem reasonable. Were it my child I would have a 2 pronged approach I think.

 

Some books would be non-negotiable and I would assign pages per day or chapters per day. In fact, that is exactly what I do.

 

Others, such as some historical fiction are optional but some of the classic ones are not. I would bag Witch of Blackbird Pond in a heartbeat, can't stand it myself but would insist on Carry on Mr. Bowditch. Bowditch is a much better book with much better content and it is fairly important to the period.

 

I am not a huge fiction fan and many of our history books have been Landmarks. I do assign them, she would not choose them herself but has liked them very much. I also like that they are on several different reading levels. Some are an easier read but the content is what I want for her to read.

 

I do also choose books on all kind of reading levels. We just did Aztecs in Mystery of History 2, I chose a quick kids book for it's quality of illustrations and a History Channel Bio. No worries. But, for the 100 years war, I assigned Mark Twain's Joan of Arc. It depends how in depth I want to go on each topic that I chose the reading for my dd.

 

Such is the insight into my decision process. :D