Getting Your Child to Read

Hey All,

I love reading. Maybe you love reading, but these days, most people prefer TV, Internet, and Video games to books. Sad, but true. While this is a problem when it comes to adults, I believe it is even more so a problem when it comes to children and teens. You see, the young mind is still growing and developing. Like a muscle, giving it exercise and using the imagination is what makes it stronger.

Television and video games and many of the things young people do on the internet require little to no imagination. Many teens and children dislike reading because they subconsciously correlate books with school.

But perhaps if they find a good enough book, thier minds can be changed... hmmm....

So I've put together a short list of novels that I am positive could entertain all ages and genders. Really and truely.

First on my list: The False Prince  (the Ascendance Trilogy) by Jennifer A. Nielsen

This novel/series is packed with swordfights, plot twists, and bits of romance. Don't be fooled by the title, this is not just a girly princessy book. Boys (as well as girls) will love Sage, an orphan selected by a royal official, to compete for a chance to win the throne.

Next up is The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Wow. This book is crazy. Composed of both words and beautiful illustrations, I am continually impressed by the work that must have gone into this book. Hugo, a young orphan, is constantly tinkering with cogs, clocks, and machines. But will he be able to fix the mysterious mechanical man his father left behind? And will it be able to answer his questions? 

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins

Yes, the same Suzanne Collins as the Hunger Games Suzanne Collins. This is just an earlier, and in my opinion better, work. This is the first in a series of five novels about a boy and his sister who accidentally fall down into a world below where spiders and cockroachs and rats and bats are freakishly huge. Join Gregor on his quest to leave the underland, save the city that resides there, and try to figure out how his father mysteriously dissappeared a while back.

And finally, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

I cannot give these books enough praise. They are packed with suspense, strong characters, laughs, and tears. Harry is off to wizarding school. Join him, his friends, Ron and Hermione, and teachers as they grow up together and work to defeat the dark wizard, Lord Voldemort. There is no way I can summarize Harry Potter as the series is composed of 7 long books. But believe me, by the end of book seven, you'll be wishing for more!

There you have it. If these books won't get your child to read, I don't know what will. But keep on trying. It will be worth it.

Danielle

Why I Love Audiobooks

Audiobooks. Some like 'em, some don't. I never did until last summer, when the online library I utilize, My Media Mall, only had the book I really wanted to borrow in the audiobook format. Gosh, that was a blessing in disguise!

I began listening to the book all the time, since audiobooks are hands-free; no page turning! They are very talented at making time speed by, converting hours to minutes and minutes to seconds. So in other words, got a long car trip, a tedious task, or a cumbersome workout ahead? Go ahead, don't dread it anymore! Download that audiobook, and look forward to those things you're dreading.

I especially love it when the reader of the audiobook uses much expression and multiple voices. It's like a movie without the screen. Remember that book review I posted a while ago, Dick Van Dyke's autobiography, My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business ? Well guess who reads the audiobook version-- Dick Van Dyke himself! How cool is that?

May I also suggest the Harry Potter series? The reader, Jim Dale uses so many voices and expressions, it's mindblowing how he keeps them straight!

So go ahead, try it out. What do you have to loose? You sure have much to gain!

~~{~@ Danielle