It’s summer and we really want to keep the kids reading so they don’t experience the “Summer Slide” (when academic skills decline without practice). Some children just love to read and it’s hard to keep them out of a book – but for many others, it’s like pulling teeth to motivate them. Reading is very challenging for many students so you have to be strategic in finding materials that will entice them to read. Books that we have found to be popular are: the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Captain Underpants series (and anything by Dav Pilkey), graphic novels like Smile and Baby Mouse. Nonfiction titles that draw kids in are books that contain short interesting factual information like Ripley’s Believe it or Not andGuinness World Records. Joke books are a great immediate gratification read. Many boys like war books and we have a plethora of these in graphic novel format. Two of our hottest series are the I Survived series by Lauren Tarshis which covers exciting times throughout history and the You Wouldn’t Want to Be series which has a fun, factual, easy-to-read boxed layout.
A tip that has worked well for me: READ TOGETHER. I will read a page and the child will read the next page aloud or perhaps only the next paragraph. In this way the child is not overwhelmed by the text and by hearing the story and discussing the story together, vocabulary and comprehension are enhanced. Also, don’t count out audio books! The slogan, “Audio Books are Not Cheating” is TRUE! Children gain vocabulary, comprehension, and background information from listening to audio books! This choice is especially wonderful for family vacations! GPL has a wide selection of wonderful audio books and my most recent favorite is Restart by Gordon Korman which just won the YHBA Intermediate Award!
Our GPL staff will be delighted to select appropriate fun materials for your children. Call 317-885-5035, and we will pull books that we will tailor especially for your family.
