Easy Ideas to Help Get Your Kids Reading This Summer

Getting Your Tweens and Teens
Reading This Summer!

by Mary Brigid Barrett

Most adults assume that once kids become independent readers they do not like to be read aloud to or told stories. Totally wrong. Young kids and teens love to hear stories and love to have books read aloud to them. Summer is a great time for the whole family to read aloud together.

Be a Reading Role Model
When was the last time you picked up a book to read in the summer just for pleasure and enjoyment? If you read, and kids see you reading, they will read, too. And if you are an adult they love and respect and are not one of their parents, your influence is a hundred times stronger!

Take Advantage of Car Time

• Summer time means lots of travel time. Most libraries are stocked full of books on tape. Hours of boring car time can become pleasurable for the whole family listening to a tape of an Agatha Christie novel or the latest best-selling young adult book.
• Play word and memory games with kids in the car. "I Spy," "I'm Going on a Picnic," and the "Find the Letters of the Alphabet Game" are popular with kids of all ages. If you are not familiar with these games, your local children's librarian will have books that can teach you these great games and more.
• Take the time to go on field trips with your kids, no matter what their age. Peer groups are important to tweens (ages 10-12) and teens, so let them bring a friend along. Take public transportation to a city and just walk and look all day. Take a beach day. Visit the zoo. Try out the art museum. See a ball game. Take a walk in the woods. Go places you always wanted to visit when you were a kid. Then, and most importantly, talk about the trip with your kids. Ask them questions that require more than a one word response. Encourage your kids to have well thought-out opinions.
• Take a trip back to the neighborhood you grew up in and share your memories, positive and negative, with your kids. You will be surprised how curious they are about your life.

Ideas for Reluctant Readers

• A reluctant reader is a kid who can read, but does not. Most of our reluctant readers are young men. In a 1999 survey of over 3,000 teens, ages 11-18, over 50% of the girls said they read regularly outside of class assignments for fun. Only 32% of the boys questioned stated that they read for pleasure. Want a great way to get our boys reading this summer? Give them comic books and graphic novels. Start with the comic pages in your own town newspaper. Move on to The Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes collections. Try Tom Strong by Alan Moore of DC Comics. Go to a book store or comic store and ask for the Adventures of Tintin, comic books so popular they have now been translated into 22 languages.
• Great books for older boys include: an intense poetry collection by rap star, Tupak Shakur, The Rose Grew from the Concrete; super skateboarder, Tony Hawk's autobiography, HAWK; Louis Sacher's Holes; Edward Bloor's Tangerine; Christopher Paul Curtis's The Watsons Go to Birmingham; Ben Bo's Skullcrack; and Paul Fleischman's Bull Run.
•  Keep paperback books and magazines in your car, in your beach bag, or with your camping equipment. Older kids love magazines, and you can borrow many of the magazines kids love from your local library. Magazines kids love include: Teen People, Sports Illustrated for Kids and Sports Illustrated, Seventeen, Omni Magazine, Discover Magazine, Rolling Stone, and Preview.
• Start a mother/daughter book discussion group with your daughter's friends and their mothers. Everyone can take turns providing refreshments, and, because it’s summer, you can meet in the park or at the beach. You can begin with Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, or The Giver by Lois Lowry. Find Edna Ferber’s old novels: Saratoga Trunk, So Big, Showboat, Cimarron, and Giant—and discuss if society’s attitudes have changed concerning women and minorities.  Ferber’s novels inspired a number of plays and movies, many of which are now available on video and DVD. Rent one of the movies after you have all read the book and have a great popcorn party.  Ask your local librarian for further book suggestions and information on conducting book discussion groups.

Provide Reading List Assistance

• The libraries that most kids have access to are their own school libraries, but school libraries are closed in the summer. Make an extra effort to get your kids to their neighborhood public library and make sure they, and you, have a library card. Most public libraries have summer reading incentive programs. Encourage your kids to enroll in the program and read all summer with them.
• Many schools give mandatory or suggested summer reading lists to their students. Many kids, even the best readers, read books from school lists with reluctance. They would prefer to remove all school references from their lives in the summer. The best way to encourage kids to read from mandatory lists is to share the reading experience with them. Take turns reading chapters out loud together. Or, read silently and discuss the book as you go along.

Life long readers are readers who enjoy reading.  Summertime provides a unique opportunity when kids are away from school for kids to learn that reading, story, and books are fun and entertaining. Summer is also the time of endless program reruns on television. So turn off the TV and play a board game with your kids, go outside and show them the stars, or read a book together. When we, as adults, take the time to share our passions and pleasures with our children, those passions and pleasures become theirs, too. Have some fun this summer, read with your kids!

Parent references available in your local library or bookstore: 

• The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, revised edition 2006, Penguin Books

• Great Books About Things Kids Love by Kathleen Odean, 2001, Ballantine Books
• Great Books for Girls by Kathleen Odean, 2002, Ballantine Books
• Great Books for Boys by Kathleen Odean, 1998, Ballantine Books
• American Library Association: For booklists and other suggestions send a self-addressed stamped envelope to ALA, East Huron Street, Chicago, IL, 60611 or go to www.ala.org.
• Science Books and Films (part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science): For booklists and other suggestions send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Science Books and Films, 1200 New York Avenue NW, Washington DC 20005 or www.sbfonline.com.
• The Center for the Book, at the Library of Congress: For a comprehensive listing of literacy organizations and reading partners, book festivals, literary events, and activities promoting reading and writing across the nation, write to: The Center for the Book, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20540-4920 or www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook.

For more articles that provide parents and guardians helpful advice for creating lifelong readers, check out the NCBLA's Parent and Guardian Handbook!

MORE Summer Reading Activities!

For Fun Summer Reading Activities,
Check Out the NCBLA's
Summer Adventures Treasure Chest!

Whether your summer adventures take place at a sun-splashed beach or the cool mountains, at Grandma’s house or your own backyard, be sure to give reading a starring role! A great place to start looking for summer reading fun is your local library. Almost every public library sponsors special programs, reading contests, book clubs, and free passes to area museums and attractions. And remember that the librarians are also a rich resource. They can offer expert advice about completing summer projects and book suggestions for even the most reluctant readers. 

To discover some great summer learning activities, browse our complete Treasure Chest of ideas. Included in our Treasure Chest are:

• Beyond the Book: Take a Literary Field Trip
• Reading List Suggestions for Kids and Families
• Progressive Story Games, a perfect partner for The Exquisite Corpse Adventure!
• The Anti-Boredom Travel Backpack!
• Getting Your Teens and Tweens Reading this Summer!
• Let's Put On A Show and Other Summer Amusements: Great Ways to Get Your Kids Writing in the Summer and Liking It!
• Summer Travel Entertainment: Great Audio Books for Kids

Summer Reading Fun!

Reading Rockets' Start with a Book Website Makes Finding Great Books for Your Kids Easy

  At the Start with a Book website, the work of finding quality titles to read aloud that match the interests of your child or fit with the theme of your summer program or camp is already done for you! Each of the 24 kid-tested themes at Start with a Book includes suggestions for fiction and nonfiction books, hands-on activities, writing ideas, and links to apps and websites to deepen summer learning experiences.

Also be sure to check out Reading Rockets' Reading Tips to Go, which are simple reading tips sent directly to your cell phone as a text message. Here is an example:

Reading Tip: Can you swap a mop? Write a swap poem. You write one line of a poem, and your child writes the next, matching the rhythm and rhyming the last word. 

Get text messages like these in English or Spanish sent right to your mobile phone all summer: www.startwithabook.org/sms or text “READING” to 41411.

Make the Fourth of July a Learning Opportunity

This Independence Day,
Help Kids Connect to the Past

Share Myths About the Burning of Washington
with Young People and Invite Them
to Dig into the Truth

"Struggling to Stand" Copyright (c) 2008 by Wendell Minor

In The Washington Post, Steve Vogel writes in "Five Myths About the Burning of Washington, "On Independence Day 199 years ago, there was little cause for revelry in Washington. With America on the brink of defeat in the War of 1812, some feared it would be the nation’s last July Fourth celebration. The British forces threatening to dismember the union would bring their own fireworks — setting the White House, the Capitol and other public buildings ablaze later that summer. The burning of Washington has become the subject of much myth." 

Vogel shares and debunks five myths here.  

An ideal resource for helping kids dig into the past is the NCBLA's interdisciplinary art and literature anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out. Overflowing with engaging stories, informative essays, humorous poetry, and extraordinary art created by over 100 of America's most talented authors and illustrators, Our White House can help kids understand the past and make connections with our present and future

Part II of Our White House features artwork, essays, and stories to draw kids into the world of 1812 and features:

• Ralph Ketcham's enlightening essay regarding the days and events preceding the War of 1812 in "The White House Prepares for War: 1812"
• Susan Cooper's poignant, imagined letter written by a British soldier to his parents titled "The Burning of the White House"
• Don Brown's story of Dolley Madison in "Dolley Madison Rescues George Washington"
• An excerpt from the 1865 memoir of Paul Jennings, a former slave who worked in the Madison White House, titled "The First White House Memoir: 1865"

Be sure to check our coordinating Education Resource Guide, which includes activities and discussion questions  for Part II of Our White House here.

The Our White House anthology is supported by a companion educational website, OurWhiteHouse.org, which includes additional content, such as "Primary Sources: Dolley Madison's Letter to Her Sister About the Burning of the White House."

 

Our White House is available in both hardcover and paperback from Candlewick Press.

Ask for Our White House
at a library or bookstore near you!

Civic Education: How Much Do YOU Know???

The Atlantic Asks:
Are You Smart Enough to be a Citizen?

Take Their Quiz and Find Out!

Illegal immigration and citizenship continue to dominate the national conversation. A recent article titled "Are You Smart Enough to Be a Citizen?" in The Atlantic made a modest proposal: 

What if citizenship were not guaranteed by birth? What if everyone had to earn it upon turning 18, and renew it every 10 years, by taking an exam? What might that exam look like?

Take the challenge! And invite the young people in your life to take the challenge and discover how much you all know--or don't know. To take the quiz, click here. 

Our White House Is Perfect Resource for Helping Young People Engage in Civics and American History

Exciting stories, informative essays, humorous poetry, and extraordinary art can help kids understand the past and make connections with our present and future. A perfect resource for learning more about American history and civic engagement is the NCBLA's award-winning anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out.

With Our White House, kids can learn about the building of the White House--and why it once burned. They can engage with intimate stories of those who have resided in the White House over the years, including presidential pets and ghosts! And kids can also discover the joys and sorrows that have faced our nation and the often gut-wrenching decisions needed to be made by our presidents.

Our White House was created by the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance as a collaborative effort by over one hundred award-winning authors and illustrators to encourage young people to read more about America’s rich history and culture; to think more about America’s future; to talk more about our nation’s leadership; and to act on their own beliefs and convictions, ensuring this great democratic experiment will survive and thrive.

The Our White House anthology is supported by a companion educational website, OurWhiteHouse.org, which expands the book content with additional stories, primary sources, articles, activities, and discussion questions related to book topics.  

 

The Civic Education pages include engaging and informative articles and activities to share with young people, such as "I Pledge Allegiance: Classroom Kit on Becoming an American Citizen" by Helen Kampion,  "Getting the Votes and Getting Elected: The Popular Vote vs. The Electoral College," and "Choosing Sides: The Rise of Party Politics."

 

Learn more about how you can inspire young people using the Our White House resources in the online article "For Educators: Using Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out and OurWhiteHouse.org in the Classroom."

Our White House is available in both hardcover and paperback from Candlewick Press.

Ask for Our White House at a library or bookstore near you!

Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review!

“Eight years in the making, this anthology of White House history convenes an all-star roster of 108 children's authors and illustrators, as well as a few scholars and former White House employees and residents and it is a blue-ribbon choice for family sharing during an election year. Chronologically ordered, the entries range from poems to presidential speeches, satirical cartoons to stately portraits. . . . The volume makes the invaluable point that history does not have to be remote or abstract, but a personal and ongoing engagement.”

The Horn Book Starred Review!

“With something for adults and children alike is the sumptuous new anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out. . . . The contributors are all luminaries of the children’s book field. A fascinating, eminently browsable, and accessible entrance into the People’s House.”

School Library Journal Starred Review!

“This handsome compendium is rich with excerpts, poems, and other writings about the historic residence, many of them personal in tone and subject. With artwork as eclectic as the text, the book offers glimpses into the presidents, their concerns, their families, and the mansion itself.”

Featured on the “Martha Stewart Show” as One of The New York Times “Eight Great Books for the Holidays”

On the December 15, 2008 “Martha Stewart Show,” Martha advised procrastinating audience members and viewers to “Think books! I do!” as ideal holiday gifts. With that in mind New York Times book review editor Sam Tanenhaus shared recommendations of eight great books. Our White House was one of those books—the only children’s book on his list!

L.A. Parent Recommendation!

“This is the definitive White House book for history buffs young and old. Whether you seek ghost stories, architectural details, or personal accounts . . . you will not be disappointed. With amazing artwork and entries spanning more than 200 years from literary luminaries ranging from Charles Dickens to Walt Whitman, Gregory Maguire to David McCullough, there is material enough to keep you coming back for more.”

Awards

• 2009-2010 National Endowment for the Humanities We the People “Picturing America” Bookshelf Award
• 2009 American Library Association Notable Children’s Book for All Ages
• 2009 National Council for Social Studies and the Children’s Book Council Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People
• 2009 International Reading Association Teachers’ Choices Booklist Selection
• Amazon.com Best Books of 2008 Top 10 Editors’ Pick for Middle Readers
• Parents’ Choice Foundation Recommended Book Award, Fall 2008
• School Library Journal Best Books of the Year 2008
• The Horn Book Fanfare, Best Books of 2008
• Publisher’s Weekly 2008 Best Books of the Year, Children’s Nonfiction
• Publishers Weekly 2008 Cuffie Award, Best Nonfiction Treatment of a Subject, Honorable Mention
• Scripps-Howard News Service Favorite Children's Book of 2008
• www.ourwhitehouse.org named a 2009 American Library Association “Great Websites for Kids”

About The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance

The NCBLA is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization founded by award-winning young people’s authors and illustrators. Acting as an independent creative agent or in partnership with interested parties, the NCBLA develops original projects, programs, and educational outreach that advocate for and educate about literacy, literature, libraries, and the arts.

We believe that literacy is essential to the development of responsible citizens in a democracy. And we believe that citizens, both young and old, must have equal access to stimulating books and information sources that invite them to dream and give them the tools to achieve their dreams. As writers and illustrators, teachers and mentors, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles—as citizens and neighbors—our ultimate question is always how can we best serve all of our nation’s children?

For more information about the NCBLA, please visit our website at www.thencbla.org. 

Support RIF and You Could Win a $500 Macy's Gift Card!

Be Book Smart!
Give $3 to Provide a Book for a Child and
Get $10 Off a $50 Purchase at Macy's

RIF has partnered with Macy’s to create Be Book Smart, a national partnership to raise awareness and support of children’s literacy. This effort will help RIF provide free books and literacy resources to children nationwide, while expanding RIF’s outreach to the children at greatest risk for developing reading difficulties. This campaign provides an opportunity for Macy’s customers to join the effort and have an impact on literacy in their community.

From June 21–July 21, 2013, Macy’s customers can give $3 to provide a book for a child and receive a coupon for $10 off* a $50 in-store purchase at any Macy’s nationwide. Macy’s will give 100% of every $3 to RIF. 

Since 2004, Macy’s has played an integral part of helping RIF carry out its mission, raising more than $25 million to support children’s literacy. That means millions of free books and resources for children who need them the most.
As we launch the 2013 Be Book Smart campaign, Macy’s and RIF are celebrating our 10th year together. Through this incredible partnership, we’ve done amazing things. With your help this year, a Macy’s customer using a Be Book Smart coupon will help RIF get the 10 millionth book to a child in need through this partnership.

Why Support the Campaign

Reason #1: By supporting RIF at Macy’s, you are helping provide free books and literacy resources to children in underserved communities. All children need access to books and to be exposed to reading at an early age to prepare for success in school and life. And for many of the children RIF serves, their RIF books are their only books.

Reason #2: Macy’s will thank you with a $10 off coupon* valid on eligible purchases of $50 or more!

Reason #3: You’re a Book Person and helping kids make you feel good.

To learn more, click here.

In Case You Missed It!

New York Times Reviews New Exhibit
at New York Public Library:
The ABC of It: Why Children's Books Matter

In the New York Times article titled "Bedtime With Puritans and Wild Things," journalist Edward Rothstein writes:

Photo by Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times

The great green room and the purple crayon are here; so are the wild things and the poky puppy, Charlotte’s web and Alice’s wonderland, the very hungry caterpillar and the stinky cheese man. It is a reunion of creatures, characters and creations, gathered from memories of childhood and parenthood, and celebrated in “The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter,” a remarkably rich new exhibition at the New York Public Library. 

To read the entire article, click here.

Activist Alert!

Ask Your Senators to Support Library Amendment to Immigration Bill

This week the Senate is considering S.744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (commonly referred to as the immigration bill).

 

Sometime this week, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) will offer amendment #1223 to the bill, a library amendment.

 

Sen. Reed's amendment specifies that public libraries will be an eligible entity for funding for English language instruction and civics education. It also would add the director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to the Task Force on New Americans.

 

Please call both your senators today and ask them to support Sen. Reed's amendment #1223, the library amendment. Libraries play a crucial role in assisting immigrant populations and they need to be a part of immigration reform.

 

To quickly find your senators' names and phone numbers, click here and enter your zip code.

Traveling with Kids

Make Your Summer Travels with the Kids FUN with the Anti-Boredom Travel Backpack

Make one for your kids, then you can relax!

"She took my markers!"
"Gimme back my Gummi Bears."
"Dad, he's taking up the whole back seat!"
"I'm hungreeeee."
"Mom, this is boring."
"Are we there yet?"

As the survivor of twenty years of traveling with children, I have three suggestions for parents:

1. Defy your spouse's request to keep packed items to a minimum! Let each kid bring their own pillow, blanket, backpack full of stuff, and electronic equipment. So what if you can't see traffic out of the back window of your van? Isn't that what rear and side mirrors are for?
2. Do not leave a rest stop until everyone has gone to the bathroom, especially the kid who claims "I don't have to go now."
3. When desperate, give them sugar.

Actually, whether you're traveling by car, bus, train, or plane this summer, the best way to make traveling fun, and keep family bickering to a minimum, is to fill a back pack for your child or teen with surprise items which will entertain and comfort them.

Before you begin to assemble your kid's individual backpacks you need to do the following:

• Find out your kids' favorite book authors, musicians, colors, gum, and candy. If you don't know, ask them. Don't tell them why. It will drive them crazy.
• Get their friends' names and addresses. Give them each a small address book and tell them they have to write down all their friends' full names, addresses, and zip codes. They have to return it to you before you leave. You can motivate them with a promise of a banana split. I prefer to bribe my children with an extravagant reward that I know, and they know, will probably never happen. I offer them their dad as a servant for a day, or I promise them a Jaguar on their sixteenth birthday. Hope blooms eternal.
• Find a backpack for each of your kids. You can be very brave and clean out their school backpack (beware of old tissues, leaking pens, and sticky, unidentifiable food remains) or you can be smart and get new packs in their favorite colors.

23 Great Things To Put In A Backpack
Pack some, or all items. Judge as to age appropriateness for your child or teen:

1. Bottle of water
2. Gum (sugar-free or regular)
3. Deck of cards (great cheap entertainment for hotel rooms and in crowded restaurants waiting for your meals to arrive)
4. Clip board (mini-travel desk!)
5. Bound sketchbook (so the pages don't fall out) for journal writing; drawing; playing tic-tac-toe and hangman; reviewing hotels and restaurants; writing silly limericks; making signs to communicate to other cars and trucks ("honk if you like mashed potatoes" was one of my kids' favorite signs); and keeping lists of: state license plates, animals they spot, cars they like, cool names they wish they had instead of their own boring name, things they hate/love about traveling by car.
6. Markers of all shapes and sizes. Younger kids like the scented markers. *Hint: take out of boxes and put in zip-lock plastic bag.
7. Kneaded eraser
8. Lead pencils and colored pencils. See* in #6. Remember you take a risk packing crayons, they melt in hot cars.
9. A great age appropriate, FUN paperback book or books (not mandatory books from their school's summer reading lists). Find books by their favorite authors. Ask your local librarian for entertaining books. Libraries have paperback copies as well hardback books.
10. Correspondent's kit. Tuck the following in a large zip-lock plastic bag: their friend address book, blank postcards, STAMPS, stickers, water-proof pens or markers, blank cards and envelopes. Encourage them to write to their friends throughout the trip. And stop to mail!
11. One-two packs of favorite candy. Keep back up supply with you to dispense gradually.
12. Terrific sunglasses
13. Healthy snacks – a banana, trail mix, or bag of carrot sticks
14. Plastic bag full of disposable hand wipes
15. Pack of tissues
16. Comic books
17. Dime store treasures: paper doll set (pre-cut and put in folder), animal stickers and album, Silly Putty, Fuzzy Magnetic Mustache Man, Kaleidoscope, etc.
18. Ipod or personal CD player
19. Audio books, age appropriate. Audio books are often more expensive than the books themselves, but at most libraries, you can borrow them for free.
20. Music of favorite musical group
21. Disposable camera
22. Cheap binoculars for spying
23.  Flashlight for reading/writing/drawing when it gets dark.

The "anti-boredom" backpack will not only keep your kids entertained in the car, it just might hone their reading, writing, and creative skills as well. Make sure to pack your own bag full of goodies. Why should the kids have all the fun?

© 2002 Mary Brigid Barrett; The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance

Summer Reading

Summer Reading Recommendations  from Authoritative Sources Abound

Would you like to visit your local library or bookstore with a list of summer reading books for your kids in hand? Then check out recommendations from Reading Rockets, AdLit.org, and Horn Book!

• To discover recommendations for fiction and nonfiction picture books, as well as audio books, for kids aged 0 through 9, visit Reading Rockets' 2013 Big Summer Read.
• For summer reading adventures for young people aged 9 through 18, visit AdLit.org's Summer Fun list. 
• And, for a list of books for kids of all ages, visit the Summer Reading From the Horn Book page, which categorizes dozens of recommended books.

And don't forget to ask the librarian at your local library. He or she can help you find the perfect books for your kids based on their interests and reading levels.