Reading for fun

Friday was parent/teacher conference day at my school. "My child did not like to read last year and now I catch them reading in their room after they have been sent to bed." I heard this from more than one parent and I almost cried. Not because kids were disobeying their parents, but because they couldn't stop reading!! My goal as a teacher is to get kids to love books. Many times if kids don't like to read it is because they haven't yet found the right books.

For boys try Strider, Dear Mr. Henshaw, Al Capone Does My Shirts and Where the Red Fern Grows. Also try books by Bill Myers or Henry Winkler (yes, The Fonz). Both of these authors have written series for boys and my son and students (grade 5) have read them incessantly.

For girls there is the Abby Hayes series or the Madison Finn series. My warning to you is that girl books take a turn toward boys and relationships way too early. Don't let your daughter settle for cheezy romance books when there are so many more good books to be read.

Both boys and girls also enjoy books by Carole Marsh, Lois Lowry, and Andrew Clements. But even if ALL of these choices don't work,
there are more choices out there, so keep looking. But regardless of what your kid reads, my hope is that you find them
upstairs, after you send them to bed under the covers with a flashlight reading a book.