Reading Books We Love

Reading books is so much a part of my life and my kids' lives, I sometimes forget that not everyone feels the same way about books. And don't worry, we can still be friends even if you don't love books the way we do!

In light of this excellent post by Liesl Shurtliff, I wanted to share some stories about my son:

My son in kindergarten

My oldest son has not always loved books. I read to him as a kid (like, A LOT), I had a home full of books, I modeled reading for fun (confession, maybe too much!), and HERE is proof positive I took him to the library even when it was tough! But still, my son didn't care for them. In fact, he disliked books and reading so much that his second grade teacher reached out to inform me that he was so far behind on his reading levels, that if something didn't change, and fast, he was not going to move up a grade with his peers.

I was horrified! There I was, a bona fide book lover, hoping to be an author someday, yet I couldn't even get my own son to read.

I was lucky. I had resources. My mom was an elementary school principal at the time and had been a reading teacher before that. I asked for advice, and here is what she told me.

"First and most important, find a book that he wants to read. That is very important! It must be his choice." . . . So turns out, this was harder than I expected. It took a lot of trips to the library. A lot of trial and error, because he didn't know what interested him. All books were the same to him at that point, and in his mind ALL BOOKS were boring. I grabbed lots of different types of books and I started reading to him.

We didn't finish many of the books we started, but I didn't give up. After a lot of searching, we landed on the first book in a brand new series: MAZE OF BONES by Rick Riordan.

"Second," my mom told me, "once you have a book he loves, read it together. You read it out loud, but follow along with your finger and have him follow along as well." We read the whole book that way, and moved on to book 2. I was still the one reading, but his attitude was changing. He was more excited about reading time. We kept at it through book 2 and moved on to book 3. That was when everything changed.

My son got tired of waiting for me. He was anxious to know what would happen. And he began sneaking the book and reading it on his own. Slowly, slowly, slowly. And sometimes he would ask for help. But that book forever changed his reading life, and I will always be grateful for both my mom's advice, and for The 39 Clues series that kept books coming out in such rapid succession.

From there he moved on to comics. He particularly loved the Star Wars comics. And I was so grateful to see him reading! To see him excited to read.

His reading interests grew, and he began to read Rick Riordan's other books. That led him to read everything he could find about mythology. That led him to studying ancient cultures. That led him to start learning Hebrew and Greek on his own. That led him to study Inca and Mayan cultures. The kid loves to learn!

Those early books that some people would call junk books and a waste of time saved my son's reading career (and yes, helped him pass the second grade). Those comics gave him confidence. Led him to understand the possibilities that can come with reading. 

Please. Get kids excited about reading. Let them read books for the joy of it. Books that speak to their heart. And please, to all you graphic novel creators: KEEP THOSE BOOKS COMING!

What book first made you excited to read?