Teenagers are reading lots these days. CBC Radio recently had two young book aficionados talk about what teens are interested in, and it’s more than just Twilight (although Twilight’s in there as well). They said that some hot teen genres are: *Speculative fiction (this used to be known as science […]
Other News
New Tag books
Tag has some new books for learning short and long vowel sounds. You know I love the whole LeapFrog system. My son learned so much from it when he was little. So when I received these book kits, I was excited.What I discovered, however, is that you have to:a) Find […]
Creating comics online
I made this comic myself – and it was fun. Imagine how much your child will enjoy creating their own story lines.And afterwards, they can print them out and put them in a binder, or e-mail them to their friends. Making comics not only ensures that your child will be […]
Goofy titles draw kids in
If you lie, your butt will grow. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but my son sure wants to read this book. We were at the library today. I was trying to get my son to check out some books. He was more interested in the computer game […]
Brain-training exercise
Brains – especially young brains – benefit from exercise. Here’s an exercise that Bernadette Tynen (the brain researcher) does with her students. She says that if you do it with your child once a week, it will help to make his thinking more flexible and creative. She gives the child […]
Respecting the reading bubble
I can tell when my son is reading – and I leave him to it. There’s a certain hush that falls over the house, over his room. A certain intermittent squeak to his armchair. A kind of quiet that I can’t explain, but which I know means that he’s upstairs […]
Kids’ writing contest (note: Americans only)
Here’s a little gift for our friends to the south. Unfortunately, only Americans can enter this contest. (I’ve got an e-mail in to one of the contest judges to ask why-oh-why they’ve limited it. But I digress.) It’s such a great-looking contest, that I want to point it out to […]
Reading extensions work
You may be wondering why I’ve been pushing the Disney movies. It’s because extending reading beyond books — into movies, soundtracks, games and toys — gets kids reading. Of course, it all has to start and end with the book. Which is where parents come in. You make sure the […]
Summer reading program
Is your child collecting library stickers? The other day, my son and I went to the library to report four books and get stickers for his poster. (The stickers are the rewards in the library’s summer reading program.) Unfortunately, the librarian would only give my son one sticker. He said […]
Internet word game
Once again, I’m going to help you be a cool parent. You want your kid to read. Your kid wants to play computer games. Allow me to introduce: Blocks With Letters On and More Blocks with Letters On. The website promises, “64 levels of mind-numbing word action.” Mind-numbing – well, […]
