How to Get Kids to Read -It's Easy!

As a follow up to yesterday's post, I thought I'd present the single best way to get kids to read. It's so easy it's mindboggling.

Let them pick their own books.

I know it's hard for control-freaky parents to let go of the reins, even a little. And reading-level controlled teachers with nervous administrators and mandatory borrow-a-book programs might even break into a cold sweat at the thought. But when kids pick their own books, voila! They find stuff they like. And then, double voila! They want to keep reading.

It's shocking, I know but true, the books you loved when you were a kid might just not thrill your progeny. My kids can't stand any of the carefully curated collection I built for them from my own childhood faves.

And books that they should read, because they are worthy? Can you say 'kiss o' death?' No devoted reader was ever birthed from a forced encounter with The Stone Angel.

What if they choose books that are above their reading level? Won't that hurt their confidence? Perhaps, but that's just as it should be. Junior may learn that he doesn't exactly know everything yet, and the world doesn't shine out of his ass. The world will thank you for this. Besides, if the book is really interesting (and maybe even has dirty pictures), well, the motivation to improve one's reading skills is right there, and the means to develop them right at hand. Literacy 101 and Citizenship 101 at one easy go.

If you must must must feel compelled to choose books for your kids, at least pick books that kids are known to like. The good folks over at Sympatico have put together a short list of their top ten kid-tested and kid-worthy reads. I'm pleased to see my own Hilarious History of Hockey made this list (but of course it would- it has pucks made out of frozen cow poo in it, and you can't get more kid-friendly than that).

So buy em all, and leave all ten top titles scattered around for your kids to find. They'll be reading like fiends before you know it.

Is Reading Fun?

Is reading fun? As a confirmed bookworm, I can reply with only one answer - of course it is. But that's not true for everyone - especially today's kids.  Even while literacy scores have been improving, we've managed to create a new generation of non-readers. According to an article in this week's National Post, fewer kids today report that they enjoy reading than they did a decade ago, despite an overall increase in literacy. 

My ultra-articulate response to this story is, "No duh." For at least the last decade, it's been obvious to those of us who care about literacy and reading that literacy education has been hijacked by the bureaucrats - functionaries who see the ability to read strictly as a job skill useful for future worker bees. Their view is that kids need to be taught to read - to decode written symbols - in order to produce valuable output - data entry, form-filling, ticking off of boxes on a customer satisfaction survey. The practical skill called literacy is completely divorced from what I would call true literacy - the ability to gather information from written sources of all kinds as a way to independently satisfy any curiosity.


In the reading-as-job-skill world view, reading for pleasure is beside the point, a distraction that interferes with measurable outcomes. So teacher-librarians, who spend their day encouraging kids to waste their time  - and tax payers' dollars  - giggling over books instead of building those black and white test scores, become redundant. And those expensive obsolete print collections called school libraries?  Frills. Let's put in a computer lab instead and call our job done. 

That has to be the thinking. Otherwise, how could politicians and educators spout the importance of literacy ad nauseum  while simultaneously gutting school libraries and eliminating school librarians?


With this week's news story, at last, the other shoe drops. Because of course you can't separate the love of reading from true literacy, any more than you can separate melody from music appreciation. There needs to be a reason to read, one that is meaningful to the reader, and not the bureaucrat, to drive true literacy. That reason comes when one discovers for one's self how books - and comics and magazines and DVDs -  open the world in unexpected ways, and how they can take you on a unique and highly personal journey.

Let's hope this new study gets the pendulum swinging back in the right direction. Let's put literacy education back into the hands of book lovers, people who revere the written world and respect children enough to let them come to the love of reading the only way possible - through old-fashioned discovery. And let's support - by funding AND through an appreciation of the critical role they play - the teacher-librarians in our schools.

They are the beating heart at the centre of any truly literate school community.

Storywalk for Juba? #fb #kidlit

Portland, Maine, is the home of a wonderful project called Storywalk. Text from a picture book is spread out on several signposts along a park's path. Families walk the path, read the story, and do accompanying actions tied to the book and to the location. The idea is to get kids reading and exercising, all at once!

Here's a photo of the Portland Storywalk, featuring the book, "And Here's to You!" by David Elliott (Candlewick Press) (photo courtesy Bangor Daily News)

When I returned from holiday, I got the good news that Bridgetown, Nova Scotia's public library is considering installing a similar storywalk in that town - featuring Juba This, Juba That! It does seem to be a perfect match up, both because the book reflects the historic roots of the city, and the because of the active nature of the story itself, which would be an ideal read-and-do adventure.

So thrilling to think about!!!

It's not a done deal yet, so keep your fingers crossed!

Porcupine Hits #1!!

How pretty it looks - Porcupine at the tippy top of the Christmas books bestsellers list for 2011.

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/bestsellers/books/937900/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_5_last

Porcupines Don't Like To Share

And can you blame them, when they have nice sweet juicy corn on the cob?



Now you know what to buy dear Quilliam, the porcupine in the pine tree, for his Xmas gift.

Dr. Greenie's Mad Lab #science #tv #children #education

In my last post, I mentioned that I've been working with a television production company on a science show for kids. I've written the segment called "Dr. Greenie's Mad Lab" for two years now, and have also completed a full interactive webisode for the show that will be ready some time early in 2012. We're all hoping the show will be renewed for another year - it's been getting great reviews from the broadcaster, APTN.

The show is environmentally-focused, emphasizing the positive steps people around the world are taking to help protect Mother Earth.  It's a "magazine" style show, with seven different segments. Mine, Dr. Greenie, features a mad scientist and his supersized pink Guinea Pig sidekick. It's silly, sophomoric, and scientifically sound.

When I signed on for the project, I was told that the sound board contained 86 different fart sounds. My mission? To use them all. After two years, and twenty-six episodes, we've used about 40. Clearly we need another two years to complete my task!

You can see last year's totally ridiculous episodes at the Planet Echo Website. I hope you like 'em!

Trouble in the Hills Gets a Trailer #YALIT

We may not be ready for wide theatrical release. Yet. But even so, we've got a fun little trailer to give you the flavor of the kind of trouble that awaits within the covers of Trouble in the Hills. I'm hoping to do a scripted trailer this winter, and a complete video game too, courtesy the great minds at the TV production company I work with on a science-related TV show, Planet Echo.

Here's the trailer for your viewing pleasure!