How do you handle this in your home?

[mommy25]

How strict are you on the books your children read? I am regretting how leniant I was after they started reading. We would go to the library and they would pick out books and I let them read whatever, as long as it wasn't 'dark' or 'immoral'. I was so excited that they were reading! Now as they have gotten older they don't take an interest in the really good books, the books that I want them to read. It's like pulling teeth and I find myself trying to convince them that a particular book is really good! If the subject matter is not about everyday life, fictional type stories then they will not choose that book. I have two more emerging readers and I don't want to make the same mistake again but, at the same time, I do not want to detour them away from reading. Should I ONLY have excellent literary books on my shelf - but then what do I do when we go to the library? Some of the books that we have that I am referring to are the Box Car Children series, the Pony Pal series, Magic Tree House, and The Littles and others. My oldest daughter just started taking an interest in the Lily series put out by a christian author. She loves them and will read a whole book in a day or two but it is not of the quality that I want. But books that are listed in the WTM I have trouble getting her to read. So to sum it up:

- Should I pack those 'series' books away?
- How picky should I be at the libray?
- How do I get my oldest to read the good ones and not whine about it?

~Thanks :)

[Felicia]

Hi, My children are around your children's ages. I don't know about putting the series books away but I would still require the others be read as well. You give them of a choice of a MUST read book and then they can choose one of their own. I don't have this problem so others might be of more help here.

One thing we do in our family that has sparked an hugh interest in the classics is that we have family storytime. My children work together to pick a book, like Treasure Island or other classic. I read the book to the entire family with the TV turned off at night for about an hour each night until the book is finished. More times than not they would ask for me to read more. Just one more chapter Mom was heard alot during these times. We recently moved so we haven't read a story like this in a few months but we are looking for our next "adventure".

They may grumble at first but if you put real enthusiam and suspense in your reading, eventually they will be caught up in the adventure themselves. Your little ones will love it, and if nothing else the older ones will be exposed to the great literature you desire for them.

HTH and good luck! :)

[sadiegirl]

I think that as long as the content is appropriate and they are enjoying reading...let them have a little of both! I guess I feel different than most as when I was in school, the books that we were required to read were not ones that spoke to my heart and imagination and inspired me to continue reading. I read Nancy Drew and other series but over the years I have developed a love of reading ALL types of books from fiction to nonfiction. Maybe you could allow time for both so she feels she has a choice in her reading. I try to watch the message board for book recommendations and then I go to Amazon and Barnes and Noble and read reviews and ratings. Christmas and birthdays are a time for books as gifts and those are usually books I know they will be eager to read. Remember as we grow older, sometimes fluff is ok. We all enjoy a little light reading and if you excite her about reading, she will take this passion thru her adulthood.

[Melanie]

I don't worry too much about what my children read during their free time. I generally purchase "good" books and we generally get our "fluff" from the library. (I say "generally" because we like certain series as much as anyone. ;)) I let them check out as much fluff as they want, because they go through it so fast that they are back to reading our own books long before it's time to go back to the library.

If I want them to read a particular book I assign it as schoolwork, and they aren't allowed to whine about it.

[bethben]

I will assign the books I want ds to read that are "better" books (I'm thinking Charlotte's Web, Winnie the Pooh, ect.). Those are for school. He can read whatever he wants (within some guidelines - boxcar children would be one of these) in his own free time.

I also established a reward chart. There are books I would like him to read on his own initiative and I give him a certain star value for those books. When he reaches a certain number of stars on a chart, he gets a comic book (within our boundaries again, but still a comic book) or can exchange 2 comic book rewards for a movie out with Dad. He's done enough for a movie and is halfway to a comic book. I'm trying to change what he considers to be good reading too since I was like you and let him read anything - as long as he was reading.

On another note, we as adults like to read "brain candy" books every once in a while, so I think it will be O.K. for our kids every so often.

Beth

[LisaNY]

If you aren't already doing so, make sure you are reading aloud to your dc on a regular basis. This will expose them to good literature, and will hopefully help nurture a love for it. My girls loved it when I read aloud to them, as did my dh.:001_smile: I still read aloud to my younger dd. (13) David Copperfield is my current selection.

[WendyK]

I am not strict about it. I do assign books for "reading" instruction to get in some quality books. I also create my own reading incentives (read these 5 books get a prize type thing) and often tell my son from which books he may pick. That helps a lot. But honestly I am fine with him reading whatever on his own time.

[Josie]

1. We read aloud.
2. I give our dc 5 or 6 books that are great books and tell them to pick one to read. They read them and frequently tell me how much they loved it.
3. I do let them read books that aren't great, but I make sure the great ones are in there frequently.
4. We talk about how you can't judge a book by the cover or the title.
5. We talk about the quality of writing, vocabulary used, etc. and how the great books help us to write better and help us know great writing when we see it.

[swellmomma]

I keep my home library stocked with mostly "good" titles with a few twaddle books, However at the library is anohter story, I allow them to chose any 2 books they want as long as they are at their reading level, I don't care. They typically read those before bed, or when waiting places like a dr's office they bring those books etc, otherwise we have read alouds and assigned reading to ensure the classics etc are also read. All of my kids are voracious readers so I am okay with them getting a couple of not great books (such as my son always looking for star wars books) when we are at the library.

[dangermom]

Fluff series do serve a purpose IMO--kids like them for a reason. It's very comforting at this age to be able to pick up a new book and still have it be familiar--you know the characters, pretty much what is going to happen, and that there won't be any sudden curveballs thrown at you in the form of scary events or huge words.

You know how SWB talks about how grammar-stage kids love repetition and familiarity, and recognizing patterns? Series books do this for new readers. They allow kids to work on their reading skills within a familiar, patterned framework.

So IMO fluff series are actually pretty important for young kids. I let my daughter (age 7) read Boxcar Children, Pony Pals, Magic Tree House, and all of those (as long as they aren't inappropriate). She also enjoys Real Books with solid worth. So as long as your kids aren't subsisting solely on a diet of twaddle, I would not worry about it, and I'd go ahead and check out the 28th Pony Pal book.

And read aloud, read aloud, read aloud those great books!

[summer]

The joy of those series books would not be causing them to not want to read more serious books now. In fact, the series you are listing are quite good ones. I would re-evaluate what and how much required reading you want them to have. In public schools, this is often one book a semester, if in gifted classes. On some occassions, I have heard of 3 books a year. At high school, it might be more, but my oldest is in public middle school and in the gifted program and this year, he only had 2 required books, the rest was his choice. Last year, he had 3-4 books total where the teacher picked the book..but only because he was in the gifted track. The regular track had 1 or 2 out of the entire year.

[MerryAtHope]

I put together a reader basket for my kids of books, some a bit easier, some a bit harder, that they may choose from for "school" reading (We use Sonlight, and in the early levels I put together an assortment, now that we're in Core 3, I give a choice between 2-4 books that come next so they're "roughly" in order--but I don't try to follow the IG exactly). Anything outside of that, I pretty much handle as you do. I let them choose, though sometimes I pull out something & try to encourage them in that direction.

Merry :-)