One thing you may not know about me is I homeschool my kids. You know the part about homeschooling that overwhelmed and scared me the most?
It wasn’t teaching math, though it should have been. Teaching long division about did me in for my older two. Thank goodness I haven’t hit that stage yet with the younger two!
It wasn’t teaching them how to write, because I knew if they read, they would eventually fall in love with word.s
It was teaching them how to read. That. Was. Terrifying.
If I messed that up, nothing else would work…well, except for math, but remember long division? Ugh!
My undergrad degree is in political science and history. Nary a class in teaching reading. My law degree and MBA don’t help either. Yet somehow I have four kids who love books with a passion. The best bribe for any of them is the next book in a favorite series. And when your almost five-year-old begs to go to Barnes & Noble so he can get the next Magic Treehouse book to read, it’s hard to say no.
Many people would tell you reading is a dying art. That kids simply aren’t doing it. I don’t believe them.
I believe there are a host of kids who have never had an adult read to them before they hit school, and that makes me sad. I believe there are kids that have never discovered the fun of a novel read aloud to them with all kinds of goofy voices just for fun. I believe there are kids who would inhale books if someone would help them understand the mystery of how letters fit together to become words. And I know there are some kids who need extra help to have the mystery translated in a way that works for their brains.
But as I unpack yet another box of books, give away a second, and see the four large boxes of children’s books that desperately need a bookshelf home, I know and am so grateful that each of my kids delights in reading the written word. That is a gift no one can ever take away from them.
As an extra benefit, here are my kids favorite series:
the newly minted fifteen-year-old: The Gallagher Girls, The River of Time series, Heist Society and related books, The Becoming Beka series, and many, many more.
the two-weeks-until-he’s-twelve year-old: Percy Jackson (really my husband, 15 and 12 year olds, and I love Rick Riordan’s Greek and Roman series), Andrew Klavan, Warrior Cats (I don’t understand), Gregor the Overlander, and anything by Brandon Mull.
the 7.5 year-old: Nancy Clancy, the Who Was? Series (we’re currently reading Queen Elizabeth I), Nancy Drew, Little House on the Prairie, Little Critter, and more.
the almost 5 year old: (yes, he is reading!) Magic Tree House in order of course, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and anything that I will read aloud to him…he has to read a paragraph every couple pages though.
What do/did your kids like to read?
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My daughter, who is also 5, enjoys reading Dr. Seuess. They are fun and silly to read. She also likes anything with princesses.
My older child loves the Magic Tree House series. I will have to look into Who Was? series.
The Dr. Seuess books are great, too! And the Who Was? What Was? etc. books are great introductory biographies.
I loved reading with my older kids. The Little House on the Prairie books, Magic Tree House and tons of Miscellaneous books. When they started to steal the books to finish on their own because 2 hours from mom wasn’t enough reading to them went by the way side. On their own they enjoyed the Warrior Cat books also. Brandon Mull couldn’t write fast enough for them! When the younger kids started wanting stories I started back with younger books for them. Emily Rodda is a favorite for them and me. (My oldest daughter started hanging out by their bedroom door so she could hear without being obvious.) Now I read adult Christian books to them. Mostly western (Mary Connealy), fairy tale retelling, (Melanie Dickerson) and suspense (Irene Hannon). There will never be anything like a good book. On their own they currently like American Adventure stories and Diary or a Wimpy Kid.
I love that — especially your older daughter hanging out to listen. They want to give the impression they’re too cool…but they really aren’t 🙂
I am the author of more than 40 books, including award winning books for children, and am in dozens of schools each year as a Visiting Author. and have learned a great deal about what children read. And why. Just as you can’t force kids to like broccoli because it is good for them, you can’t force kids to read what they don’t like or have no taste for. A lot of kids want to check out books their friends are reading so they can appear to be cool, when in fact they would really rather read a non-fiction book about how electricity works. Finding ways to “connect” the two is one of the things that have made my books popular. For example, The Horrible Homemade Halloween Costume picture book continues to sell as many copies each year as it did when it first came out more than 15 years ago. It involves a homemade bale of cotton costume that I had to wear as a child. When kids read this book, they are eager to also read “The Cotton Gin: Invention that Shaped the World” and “Jeans” — both are books about cotton! No, they aren’t in a series, but including elements in books that connect readers to other books is one way authors build readers and readership.
That’s a great way to connect with readers. And you’re right…it’s all about finding what that child likes.
I loved reading books like “The Hobbit” and “Treasure Island” to my kids. We read aloud to them every night before bed and all three grew up to be avid readers.
That’s how I finally read The Hobbit. I told the older two that they couldn’t see the movie until we’d read the book. It worked for all of us 🙂
My older two took to reading really well. My daughter is a huge Rick Riordan fan. My son loves John Flanagan’s Ranger Apprentice series. My youngest, though, really struggled with reading. He hated it. And nothing seemed to stick. It took a long time for me to finally find something he connected with. Humor. Especially little boy humor. I think I have bought every fart book known to man. (Not kidding.) 🙂
But the best find I ever made was a series by Tommy Greenwald. The first book is Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading. It’s all about a boy who hates to read. Talk about a character my son could relate to! The chapters are super short, there is lots of humor, and my kiddo eats them up. Not only does he enjoy reading them, he comprehends everything as well. And once he gained some confidence, his reading and comprehension in other school-related areas improved, too. I would highly recommend this series to anyone who has children (especially boys) who don’t like to read.
Karen, have you heard of the Hank Zipzer series by Henry Winkler? (Yes – *that* Henry Winkler) It’s about a young boy who is dyslexic and has various adventures.
I hadn’t seen that one. Thanks for the tip! 🙂
Karen! thanks for the tip on the book about a boy who hates to read. Adding that to my list for when people ask for recommendations.
The Incredible Worlds of Wally McDoogle series by Bill Meyers are a funny series for boys. I read some of them out loud to a younger boy I was watching. He not only laughed, but I did as well.
Sorry that should be is a funny series, not are.
My just-turned-5-today little girl loves Pinkalicious books and Berenstain Bears! She is also going to be getting a few Disney Fairies The NeverGirls books for her big day (I think she’s a fairy is disguise)! My 6.5 y/o son loves Elephant and Piggie, and Pigeon books and he loves blasting through the easy readers on his own. My husband (the non-reader) just finished reading them The Phantom Toll-Booth, and I started The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I love that my kids want to read as much as me!
I think if you keep reading out loud to them, they will. And the fact they like to read on their own is huge!
Cara,
I have kids of very similar ages to yours so I appreciated the favorite books you listed for each of your kids. They gave me fresh ideas! Thanks.
You are welcome, Becky. My kids love series and I love having recommendations on where to start. It’s not unusual for us to walk out of the library with the first book in five series to see which one my 11 year old will decide to inhale.
I never wanted to teach reading. As a homeschooled child myself, I always thought if I were to homeschool my daughter, I would wait until after the public schools taught the reading part and then pull her out. For me, reading is instant and magic – like breathing. And I didn’t think I’d have the patience to teach it…
Then we discovered our daughter has moderately severe dyslexia. And that schools are woefully uneducated and ill-equipped to handle it. Over the past few years I have had to become more of an expert than I ever wanted to be. But I am thankful to have a daughter who *wants* to read with a passion; who loves audiobooks like The Tales of the Frog Princess series by E.D. Baker, the Allie Finkle series by Meg Cabot, the Ever After High series; and loves to snuggle up while I read aloud the Narnia books. It’s a long haul with very slow progress and we’re still in the midst of the struggle. But so worth it.
Your daughter is lucky to have you. Email me, and I’ll connect you with a homeschooling friend of mine who has done tons of research on dyslexia and taught her kids with dyslexia to read.
My son struggled with reading, so many long hours were spent on classroom assigned books. But for our choices, he loved anything that I would read aloud to him. He could enjoy the story and not worry about the stress of making the words work. Our daughter devoured everything she could get her hands on. I feel so blessed to have been home for them in the preschool years. We spent hours reading lovely picture books and easy chapter books. Neither one could go to bed without story time. Too precious.
Angie, those hours spent reading together are precious…even when your throat is raw and you want to say Uncle!
I have three grandsons, ages 15, 13, and 6. They are readers. Several times this past summer I saw them at the library and took them once when they spent a morning with us. They have loaned some of their books to my wife and I to read and I have pulled out my books from years ago and let them read the ones they were interested in. Occasionally we talk about books as well.
One of the things we love doing is reading series with our kids. We first really did that with the Rick Riordan books and it is a RACE to see who gets the new one first.
I get the worry about teaching math! I was so surprised to I watch my primary students ‘get’ it in the classroom in spite of having me as a teacher. 😊
Teaching reading at home and in the classroom was exciting and I loved ‘pre-reading’ books before I introduced them. Our family all read and this summer God blest us with our first grandchild. We are moving to toiwn and I poacked up the cherished children’s books with an eye on sharing them in the future with our darling Conrad.
That is so fun! Sharing books with a new generation! Yeah!
I agree. As a retired elementary reading teacher, those children who are read to from the day they come home from the hospital, are surrounded by books, and see their parents reading will value books and reading and be much more successful in school and life. It also increases their speaking vocabulary as toddlers which in turn makes reading easier because they more readily use context clues to help with new words that make sense. Our grandson just turned 3 and has already completed two summer reading programs with help from mommy, daddy, and Gigi. He loves books and is already memorizing the stories from many of his patterned books.
My heart always feels sad for the kids that don’t have anyone to read to them.
My kids all love books.
My oldest daughter is 10. She has read the first Harry Potter book and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a dozen times each. I read Swallows and Amazons to her this summer because it was a favorite of mine as a child, but I thought she’d get bogged down in the UK lingo and sailing terms. Now she wants me to read the next one. She is reading Wonder at school with her reading group but she read it a couple years ago at home and liked it then. She really likes graphic novels because they are “cool”, but I haven’t found many where the characters have good character.
My 8 year old daughter loves animals and gobbles up both fiction and nonfiction on animals. Currently she is addicted to Pony Pals, before that Puppy Place, and before that Breyer Stablemates. She has read the Dolphin Tale 2 Novel several times and has several National Geographic books she pores over on a frequent basis.
My 5 year old daughter is reading already and not because I purposely taught her! She picked up on it fast in preschool and with her sisters. Because she really wanted to read I think. She loves Elephant & Piggy and Frog & Toad books. She is currently determined to read Boxcar Children even though I think it is a bit too hard. She loves the magazines we get: Ranger Rick & Clubhouse Jr.
My 2 year old son loves that he has 3 older sisters to read to him and is currently obsessed with trucks & farm animals, so Little Blue Truck is his favorite.
Our four year old picked up reading on the sly, too. I guess he was paying attention while I taught his older sister to read. It was a shock when he was barely four and reading without getting past day 8 in the book I use. I’ll admit I gulped while I smiled.
I am also the mom of a Rick Riordan fan. My soon-to-be fourteen year old daughter also reads Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and recently finished the Beautiful Creatures series. She was beside herself when she found out Robert Liparulo is writing another YA series. She inhaled his Dreamhouse Kings series. And the most encouraging thing is that even though her iPod is semi-permanently attached to her hand, she would rather have a print book than an ebook. 🙂
My older two kids have read the Hunger Games trilogy along with my husband. I haven’t had time yet, but did watch the movie to have a general idea of what was going on. And my kids are the same way. They’ll read ebooks if they have to, but still prefer a real book. Though I will say, I’ve left comments in my daughter’s favorite YA series and can’t wait until she starts finding them. It could be a fun way to have another conversation with her.