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Home › Articles › Your Children › By the Book

By the Book

Get Your Child Reading This Summer

By Heather V. Long

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Setting an example by reading themselves is one of the first ways that parents can encourage their children to read. But sharing the adventures that children find in books offers much more than just encouragement.

"Getting them interested in reading is the first step," says Maxson. "Tap into what the child is interested in. A prime example: I had a mother that had a fifth grader that didn't like to read at all. He had some friends over one afternoon, and she said 'Let's go up to the Kawasaki Motorcycle Shop.' While they were there and looking around, she picked up pieces of literature and put them on the table, and over the next few weeks she took them to several shops. They were hooked, and when she suggested 'Why don't we do some research on motorcycles?' she got them interested in nonfiction. Later, she went to the librarian and asked if there were any fiction stories that were related to kids and motorcycles." By tapping into their interest in motorcycles, she got them reading.

"We never thought my son would be a fan of reading. He never had the patience to sit still for even two short books in a row, but at one point, he suddenly started not only sitting up and paying rapt attention, but asking us to read to him," says Rohan.

What to Read
"I was recently writing about the first book I ever read by myself," says Haapoja. "It was a picture book called The House on East 88th Sreet by Bernard Waber. My mom had read it to me many times, and I likely had most of it memorized. But I clearly remember that moment when everything clicked and the squiggles and dots on the page suddenly made sense. I still have that book and I read it to my children."


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