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Sunday, July 30, 2017

How do you teach a child to read for the pure enjoyment of reading?



by Pam Everhardt Bloom  Rowan Public Library
How do you teach a child to read for the pure enjoyment of reading? Research abounds and Rowan Public Library definitely provides books and articles addressing this question.  That said; don’t overlook the power of conversation and observation during your next visit to your local library. Whether chatting with staff or fellow patrons for suggestions, anecdotal evidence is plentiful and willingly shared. A random sampling of library staff, adults who tend to be active adult readers, invoked many common threads.  Their answers to, “Did you read as a child?” were revealing and may be helpful when encouraging a love of reading.
Of those who did not enjoy reading as a child, being outside and playing often took preference over books. Upon further reflection, some mentioned that there weren’t books at home, that they weren’t taken to a library, or that reading was just hard and not fun. When asked what changed them into readers, it was often discovering and reading a book they picked out on their own. For some it happened as early as 3rd grade, for others it came with the freedom to make their own choices outside of school as adult readers.
That brings us to a common thread among staff - the ability to choose a book to delight and enjoy based on no needs other than personal ones, no matter the age. Interestingly, many of those who were voracious readers as children grew up in houses with many books to choose from, had family subscriptions to book clubs/magazines/newspapers that arrived regularly or visited a library frequently. Choice was easily available.   
Award winning author Kwame Alexander (Newbery Medal, The Crossover) has a philosophy about the need for children to select the books they want to read. In a recent National Public Radio Here and Now podcast, June 28, 1917, Alexander stated, “Books are like amusement parks, and sometimes you’ve got to let kids choose the rides.”  Saying that, he also addressed the need to guide children, “You want kids to get excited and engage with books? Give them a book that they want to read. Give them a book that they think is going to be awesome. Allow the literature to be a bridge to get them to appreciate all the books that you want. But it has to start with their imagination, their excitement…”
 Those of us at Rowan Public Library often see that match between readers and books happen. Some recent book selections for older juveniles that are also enjoyable for adult reading include:  Armstrong and Charlie by Steven Frank, The Ethan I was Before by Ali Standish, As Brave as You by Jason Reynolds, Things Too Huge to Fix by Saying Sorry by Susan Vaught, The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones by Wendelin Van Draanen, and A Month of Mondays by Joelle Anthony. Two new mysteries, The Devlin Quick Mysteries - Into the Lion’s Den by Linda Fairstein and Walls within Walls by Maureen Sherry, may make your heart beat a bit faster; always a good recipe for a book.  Visit Rowan Public Library and experience the magic of choice for the child in your life and the kid in you. This gift of time to browse and select personal favorites may become the jumpstart to a lifelong love of reading.


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