Sunday, June 26, 2011

Pinkalicous by Victoria Mann

This past weekend, my husband and I were able to getaway for an overnight trip.  We went to Naperville, IL and had a great time! One of the shops there in town is Anderson's Bookshop.  It is amazing!! They have a tremendous children's section and if I ever ran a book store I would want my children's section to be like theirs!! Very kid friendly and full of interesting books and book related toys.
This past Saturday, June 25th, Victoria Mann, the author of the Pinkalicious series, was there to read her newest book, Silverlicious.  What a treat!! It was so neat to get to hear the author read her own book and to see all the little girls so excitedly listening and following along in their own books.
After reading, she took the time to sign each of their books and was so very kind to the girls.  It was very exciting to me to see so many little girls excited about a book and meeting the author!! I didn't have my girls with me, but knew that my oldest, Kaitlyn, would have loved to have been there and hear the story.  I purchased two of her books that are written on the level of beginner readers and brought them home to Kaitlyn.  By the time she went to bed that evening, she was saying every thing was "Pinkalicious!" She loved the stories!!
These books are great for little girls and fun to read over and over! Try them out and I know your little girls will be saying they are "Pinkalicious!!" Happy Reading!!


 Victoria Mann reading her new "Silverlicious" book to the girls!
 Signing her books for each of the girls!  I stood and watched for just a few minutes and she was so kind to each girl and asked them questions about themselves!  Very nice lady!!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Carolyn Haywood

Carolyn Haywood is one of my very favorite authors.  Her books are all written on a 2nd-4th grade level.  They are clean and innocent.  Her Betsy books are about a little girl named Betsy and all her adventures from going to school for the first time to playing with her friends.  Her Eddie books are my very favorite!! They are out of print and I collect them from Antique stores. I have all of them, but two! Eddie is the youngest in a family of several boys and he gets into all kinds of scrapes, has many wonderful adventures, and collects valuable treasures that his family calls junk! Any boy would love to read about Eddie!! You can find these at your local library, find them online, or look for them at Antique stores.  The Betsy books have been printed again, but I don't care for them as much because the illustrations have been changed to look more modern. The story is still the same so if the new ones are the only ones you can find, still read them!!   These would be great read-aloud stories for your children this summer!  Happy Reading!!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Reluctant Readers

Do you have a reluctant reader in your family of little ones? Are you yourself a reluctant reader and want your children to acquire a love for reading? Here are a few tips for helping your child or even yourself become an Avid Reader instead of a Reluctant Reader.

1. Read, Read, Read! Now, that may sound incredulous since the problem is the person in question does not like to read.  To quote one of my literature heroes, Dr. Jim Trelease, "The more you read, the better you get at it, the better you get at it, the more you like it, the more you like it, the more you do it!" It's that way with anything in life.  The more you like something, the more you want to do it! I love to scrap book!! I am going to want to choose scrap booking over laundry any day. However, the more I do my laundry, the happier I am I did!! It's the same with reading.  The more you or your child reads the better you/he will become at it and will want to do it more often.
     Most of the time, the reason someone is a reluctant reader is because they struggle with reading.  The more you do something, the better you become at it! So, if you or your child is a reluctant reader, read, read, read!!
2. Find a book about something which interests the reader.  If your son is not enjoying reading, find a book about his favorite sport, cars, animals, or whatever else might interest him.  For a sport enthusiast, find him a biography about an athlete he enjoys.  If he likes horses, get him a Black Stallion book! There is a book for every interest!! Make the effort to steer your child towards books that interest him.  He will develop a love for reading faster if he is reading about something that is exciting to him.
3.  Insist that they read!!  Not too many children are excited about taking a bath, but we insist they do!  No too many children are excited about cleaning their room, but we insist that they do! Not too many children are excited about eating their vegetables, but we insist that they do! Ok, you get the point!! If a child is not excited about reading, insist that they do!! Make it fun for them.  Often, a parent will make a chart or set a goal for a child in order to motivate him to do the chores he is not excited about doing.  Well, we can do the same for reading!! Make a contest out of it! This summer, set a goal of a certain number of books for your child to read.  If they reach that goal, reward them with a trip to Dairy Queen or to their favorite toy store or park, etc.  Children will do that which is fun to them.  Make reading exciting, but also insist that they do it.  For older children, set aside a half hour or hour each day during the summer that is their time to sit quietly and read.  As parents, we all want what is best for our children. Reading is definitely best for them!!
4.  Read aloud to a reluctant reader.  Reading aloud is an advertisement for the fun of reading.  Make the book come alive and you will interest your child in that book.  Choose a book from a series and create a curiosity in your child to read more books and find out what happens to the characters.  Reading aloud is one of the greatest tools we have at our exposure for helping a reluctant reader to want to read, yet, so few of us utilize it.   Take the time to read aloud on a consistent basis and you will be amazed at the interest it will develop in your reluctant reader.
     One of our most important goals as a parent/teacher should be to help our children/students develop a love for reading.  I hope these few tips help you do just that! Happy Reading!!