Great news. Remember the mom from the Oct. 1 post?

Well, she has done an amazing job and in just one short week, her son is now picking up books and reading more.

She says she went right home and got out a selection of books in subjects that interested her son. She put some on the coffee table, one or two on her son’s bed, and scattered others throughout the house. Her husband saw the books in the living room, and started flipping through them. Before she knew it, her son had joined him and they were both sitting there reading.

Not only that, but the other day she was wondering why it was taking her son so long to get ready for his bath. She thought, “What the heck’s taking him so long?” And then she realized – he was up there reading. Something he wouldn’t have done before.

She also tried out the Hide-a-Kiss idea, and said it was really fun, and it worked.

Congratulations to another super reading-friendly family – way to go!

This great comment from Cathy was too good to leave in the comments section.

I was talking to a mom at baseball practice on the weekend.

She said her son wasn’t reading at grade-level, and she’s just signed him up for an expensive course to teach him phonics. (Or read this blog – for free. Plus it’s more fun. But I digress.)

Another mom had a great idea. She said, “I put books in the bathroom!”

She said she always has to “hold it,” because her kid’s in there reading. (The things we do for our children.)

But it is a good idea, sprinkling books all over the house, wherever the kids tend to lurk. And the bathroom’s the perfect place for a little Robert Munsch or, well, Capt. Underpants.

When kids are surrounded by books, they’ll eventually pick one up and flip through it – and that’s the first step to creating a ravenous reader.

No photo on this post because, I figured, who needs pictures of the bathroom? Not us. Gack.
Oh, and by the way, if you haven’t put your phone on the Do Not Call list yet to get rid of those pesky telemarketers, here’s the website (Canada only). Nothing to do with literacy; I just hate getting calls during dinner.

It was a crush, but I got a lot of great books.

Here’s the Scholastic booth, which is where I spend most of my time – and money – at Word on the Street.

It looks crowded, and it is, but you get to the front pretty quickly.

The Scholastic people offer these great “book bundles” – five or six books from a series for one low price. I got a set of Geronimo Stilton for 10 bucks, for instance. (That’s going to be a Christmas gift.)

Half the Scholastic booth is French, which is perfect for me, because I’ve just started teaching my son some French. For some reason, though, every book I bought in French is about a dog.

This year I bought more than a dozen books for what I would normally spend on one or two books. A pretty great deal.

You may remember Nancy, from our Sept. 18 post. She’s the little girl who wasn’t terribly keen on reading.

Her mom and I discussed getting her to write about something she’s interested in.

Well, Nancy and her mom took the idea and ran with it! We’re pleased to present her first-ever book of poetry.

Here’s a sample of one of her wonderful poems:

FALL IS HERE
The leaves are falling
It’s almost winter
And I see you
In the trees

I look outside
And all I can see
is flying leaves

So rest your head
On the pillow
It’s time to go to bed
Throw the blanket
Over your head

She wrote four other poems as well, and illustrated them. And, she’s been reading them out loud to her mom.

Her mom plans on getting the book cerlox bound (after first taking a colour photocopy). Nancy’s school has an incredibly supportive librarian, who lets children put their books into the school’s circulation system, with a bar code and everything, so other kids can check it out.

Way to go Nancy, and her incredible mother!

This Sunday, a tribute to the written word arrives in Toronto.

What was your favourite book as a child?

What were the books that soothed you, that made you laugh, that were your friends?

One great idea that will help your child (and you), is to revisit them at the library, and then share them with your child.

Your child will experience your emotional response to the book, and you’ll not only share a special moment, but it may help him to see what an amazing thing a book is.

Thanks to Michele for this great idea.

What is it about Winnie?

I don’t know for sure, but she captivates her audience, and she’ll capture your heart. From the first time I met her, she had me scrambling to find more. Fortunately, there is a whole series of Winnie books. Winnie is not your typical witch. She doesn’t cackle, or wear black, or cast spells. Except sometimes, when she does. But then she does something un-witch-ey… like accidentally toss her wand in the washing machine.

And when that happens, the colours just explode! They’re practically running all over the page! What will happen next!?

If you’re looking for something to entertain your reluctant reader – boy or girl – try Winnie and see if she doesn’t light a spark.

The Winnie series is written by Valerie Thomas and illustrated by Korky Paul.
There’s more Winnie at her website.
You can buy the 6 in 1 Winnie collection from Amazon for $18.87 Cdn.

I just had a playground conversation with a mom who said that her daughter just isn’t motivated to read. Her sons are avid readers, but her seven-year-old daughter, not so much.

The first thing to think about is, “What will motivate her to read?”

So we talked about what she likes. She’s a bit of a girly-girl, the mom said, and the only “reading material” she’s been interested in lately are those celebrity magazines with Hannah Montana in them. She doesn’t read the articles, but she does look at the pictures. The mom wasn’t too thrilled that her daughter was getting into them, but we all know that with kids, you’ve just gotta go with the flow.

But this sparked a great idea. How about making up a small book, entitled, “The day Hannah Montana met Nancy”? How motivated would that little girl be, to read about the day she met her hero?

The mom said she could see her daughter getting excited about a book like that.

Two 8.5” x 11” sheets of paper or cardboard, sideways, and folded down the middle makes a cheap and simple book. The mom’s going to stick with simple sentences, and the whole story can be told in the six pages (not including the front and back covers).

“One day, Hannah Montana visited Sunnyvale School. While she was backstage, she realized her hair clip was missing. “Oh no,” she said, “I can’t sing with hair flying all over my face!” A little girl with curly hair came forward from the audience. “Why don’t you use mine?” she said, taking a clip from her hair. “Thanks so much!” said Hannah Montana. “What’s your name?” “Nancy,” she said. “Nancy – stick around after the concert and I’ll sign a special autograph just for you!”

We discussed illustrations, and came up with a great idea—her daughter can illustrate it herself. She can cut out pictures from her magazines, and draw pictures. Illustrating the book will not only give her a sense of ownership, but it will ensure greater understanding of the words by providing a context for them.

We’ll let you know how the project goes, and whether it does encourage Nancy to see reading in a new light.

(Photo source: Starpulse.com)