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Isaac
Bashevis Singer, 1978 |
Children don't read to
find their identity, to free themselves from guilt,
to quench the thirst for rebellion or to get rid
of alienation. They have no use for psychology....
They still believe in God, the family, angels,
devils, witches, goblins, logic, clarity, punctuation,
and other such obsolete stuff.... When a book
is boring, they yawn openly. They don't expect
their writer to redeem humanity, but leave to
adults such childish illusions.
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A Youth
Column
By Beverly
Rowe
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Getting the Kids to Read
Summer Reading Programs
New Book Recommendations
Tips for Writers
How DO we get our kids to read
more? With all the video games, television,
and cell phones occupying most of our kids spare
time, encouraging them to actually pick up a
book is difficult. One thing that I can't stress
enough is that kids need to have someone to
read to them out loud. Start when your children
are very young...it is surprising how much babies
actually enjoy having someone read out loud
to them. Make it a family ritual, and pick books
that are about things that they are interested
in and are exciting. Boring simply doesn't encourage
interest in reading.
Kids like books about other kids that do the
same things they do. Finding something that
is funny, exciting, and relevant may take some
research on your part. Take the children to
the library and let them pick out their own
books...there are so many to choose from. I
give my grandchildren an Amazon gift card, and
let them choose whatever they want from the
huge selection of books available there.
Buying an electronic reading device for your
child is an investment in their future....Amazon's
Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, Apple's I-Pad,
or even their smart phone works great to add
e-books of their choice.
Your public library will have a number of summer
reading programs available...check with them
and enroll your child. There are even some wonderful
online programs....for instance, Scholastic
is sponsoring a competitive reading program
for kids. It looks like great fun. There are
new
book lists for every age in this program.
There is Barnes
& Noble's Imagination Destination to
spark your kid's interest....they offer a free
book of your child's choice, and you don't have
to buy the books your child reads for the
competition from B&N... |
| Here
are a few books that sparked my interest: |
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Kid
Pickers: How to Turn Junk into Treasure
by
Mike Wolfe and Lily Sprengelmeyer
Fantasy, Science Fiction
Grade 3 up
If you like garage
sales, this book will be a winner with your
kids. Here is a contest
where you can win a copy of it http://www.kidsreads.com |
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In
the Shadow of Blackbirds
by Cat Winters
Ages 12 & UP
In 1918, Americans roam the streets in gauze
masks to ward off the deadly Spanish influenza,
and the government ships young men to the front
lines of a brutal war. Sixteen-year-old Mary
Shelley Black watches as mourners flock to séances
for comfort, but she herself has never believed
in ghosts. She’s forced to rethink her
way of looking at life and death, for her first
love --- a boy who died in battle --- returns
in spirit form. But what does he want from her?
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The
Laura Line
by
Crystal Allen
Teen
Thirteen-year-old Laura Dyson wants two things
in life: to be accepted by her classmates and
to be noticed by ultra-cute baseball star Troy
Bailey. But everyone at school makes fun of
her and Troy won't give her a second glance.
When Laura is forced to learn the history of
the slave shack on her grandmother’s property
for a school assignment, she discovers the self-esteem
she’s been missing.
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Chomp
by
Carl Hiaasen
In
three previous mysteries --- HOOT, FLUSH and
SCAT --- Carl Hiaasen has offered young readers
entertaining comic mysteries that combine environmental
concerns and social issues with plenty of wacky
laughs. Now, in CHOMP, he extends his winning
streak with a funny novel that dives into the
world of reality television. |
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Planet
Tad
by
Tim Carvell
Tad
has an agenda: Survive seventh grade. He also
wants to: grow a mustache, get girls to notice
him, and do a kickflip on his skateboard. .
. .But those are not the main reasons he started
a blog. Tad just has a lot of important thoughts
he wants to share with the world, like: Here
is the first thing I have learned about having
a dog in your house: Don't feed them nachos.
Not ever. |
 Be
sure to subscribe to the
kidsreads.com newsletter...book recommendations,
reviews.
And
for the teen version of the newsletter, go to
this site: http://www.teenreads.com/
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TIPS
FOR WRITERS:
 Children's
Book Insider is offering a free, no strings
attached, e-book for aspiring writers.
Just
go to this site and put in your email address....
http://cbiclubhouse.com/
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