Reading is a gateway to other places, time periods, or even worlds. It’s also the springboard to success in school and beyond. Parents can inspire a life-long love of reading by encouraging and guiding their children, especially as they get older.
One way to inspire a tween or encourage a reluctant reader is through shared reading. You could read the book together each night, taking turns reading pages or chapters out loud.
Alternatively, you could both read independently and then talk about the chapters together. This is also a great way to bond with your child who seem to be growing up so fast as each day passes.
Don’t know what to read? Explore an interest. Does she adore baseball? Is he all about the outdoors? Does she love animals?
Reading for fun can be powerful when you consider your child’s interests. Whether fiction or non-fiction, the tween genre has countless books that touch on virtually every subject imaginable.
Three authors and three books come to mind: Sarah Noffke’s The Lucidites Series, Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward and Mark Burley’s Flow Like Water.
An Amazon Best Seller, Sarah Noffke writes YA and NA science fiction, fantasy, paranormal and urban fantasy. The first book by Noffke that I read was “Awoken” which happened to be book one of “The Lucidites
The Lucidites are humans with the ability of lucid dreaming. And in the world of dreams, everything is possible. A suspenseful and fast-paced read and you cannot turn the pages fast enough. Because this is a paranormal book, there are so many aspects to discuss, first being, is lucid dreaming in the realm of possibilities in our world?
Brandon Sanderson does not an introduction. His body of work speaks for itself. His latest YA book is Skyward
A relative newcomer, Mark Burley has two books of the “Hit the Ground Running” series already out. Sent away to boarding school in another country, Eric Bakker was drawn to parkour to while away the time. Then his parents went missing and his newfound skills turns out to be the edge he needed to find them. Book 2 is Flow Like Water
Ask your Tween
Chat with your tween about what he or she thinks would be fun subjects to explore. Then visit your local library. Librarians are great resources for knowing what would appeal to your child’s interests, plus what’s hot with different age groups. And, don’t forget the power of online booksellers too — searching and reading reviews can be part of the adventure.
Kids Book Club
Feeling especially motivated this summer? Start a kids’ book club with other parents. Select a book to read each month and then have kids meet for snacks and a discussion. Too busy to meet regularly? Start an online group or discuss the book via text. The more kids talk about reading, the more excited they’ll get about reading. After all, the more kids read for fun, the better they do in school and eventually, in life.
