I’ve run across a few series of books that my oldest son, age 10, has just devoured so I thought I’d share.
1. Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars. He’s read the first 2 in this series, and we are waiting on the next 2 to come from the library. Written by Tracy Mack.
2. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. I just gave him the next book, The Black Cauldron this afternoon, and he’s finished with it already. I believe there are three more in the series so again, waiting for the library to call.
3. The Puzzling World of Winston Breen by Eric Berlin. There are 2 more in this series (something with potato chips and another one). He’s not started on these so will post again if he likes them. They appear interesting at first glance and were recommended on another website.
I had a mother tell me the other day that she can’t get her son of similar age to read, and that he’s constantly playing his media devices. What’s always surprising to me is how some parents don’t make the connection that you have to pull the plug on the media devices, so to speak, if you want to encourage reading in your home. If I left it up to my children to either watch a movie or sit down and read a book, odds are they’d choose to watch a movie every time. Why? Because usually this type of entertainment is of a passive nature. It doesn’t require your mind to engage itself like reading does. Reading is an active process. It demands not only deciphering the words, but one has to then understand the words all the while painting a picture in your mind of what is happening in the story. If you want your kids to be good readers, provide an atmosphere that’s conducive to such. Tell them “no” on the media stuff and hand them a book. I go so far as requiring them to read for a certain amount of time, giving them a timer to monitor how long that they’ve read. Usually what happens, after they initially complain, is that they find themselves lost in the book. Now, that’s a beautiful thing.
