How to Make a Child a Reader

Agree or disagree, but here is what James Patterson, the author of the YA Maximum Ride Series, has to say about How to Make Your Child a Fanatic Reader,

"Sorry, moms and dads, but it's your job -- not the schools' -- to find books to get your kids reading and to make sure they read them." 

This is a subject that is near and dear to our hearts, here at The Things You Can Read.  As a teacher and parent, we want all "our children" to be readers.  Over at Nerdy Book Club there is an excellent post by Julie Falatko, who is a mother, blogger, and reviewer of children's books, on this very subject.  Take a peek.    What are your thoughts on this subject?  Let us know!  We will close with another quote from James Patterson, the prolific author, who has this additional comment on the subject:

"Here's a simple but powerful truth that many parents and schools don't act on: The more kids read, the better readers they become."

Make time to read to or with your child this weekend!


Where to find books your kids will gobble up?

ReadKiddoRead.com

GuysRead.com

Oprah.com's Kids Reading List 

American Library Association 

Young Adult Library Services Association 

DropEverythingandRead.com-has a "Favorite D.E.A.R. Books" tab on its home page.
Also, don't forget your local libraries and bookstores

Final Tip:  According to Patterson, "Kids and parents should visit Scholastic and other book fairs. Free or low-cost books for schools are available (while supplies last) at ReadKiddoRead.com, FirstBook.org, and ReadertoReader.org."

Happy Reading!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Best-Ever Teen Fiction

NPR's List of Best-Ever Teen Fiction

The folks here at Things You Can Read are big NPR listeners, and we were delighted to discover the NPR feature on YA fiction unveiled on August 7, 2012 in Harriet Russell's NPR post.  Interestingly enough, NPR conducted a poll of over 75,000 people. Voters cast their ballots for the BEST-Ever Teen Fiction.  "It's almost a cliche at this point to say that teen fiction isn't just for teens anymore. Just last year, the Association of American Publishers ranked Children's/Young Adult books as the single fastest-growing publishing category," stated the NPR article.  

I'm sure you are salivating by this time to know what the list looks like.  It can be found at Best-Ever Teen Fiction, and if you are really curious to check out all 235 finalists, NPR provides the list, as well as a list of the top 100 in printable form, if you are a hard copy kind-a-person.  

Let us here at The Things You Can Read know what you think of the article.  We absolutely love to hear from our readership.