Children’s Books

The Best Children’s Books

Some of the best children’s books are those that help push children into reading in stronger ways. Scholastic books help children to read based on level while stretching their skills. Books like the Harry Potter series, Twilight, or even Amelia Bedilia are great books for children to read that stretch their reading skills and they entertain their brain.

How to Identify a Good Book

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Some of the good books for kids use their language. Lanuage is important or a child will not be able to use his or her imagination. Some of the keys to look for include word count and word length. For children that are in the sixth grade, there will be multiple words of six letter or more per sentence. This is because a child should be able to comprehend the structure of the blends and then from there gain understanding.

The next thing to look for is to see if there is a series for something available that has a review. Most reading lists at schools will have a selection for a reason. The books on the list are recommended based on the criteria that they will have an entertainment value along with the vocabulary and word strength.

For most readers this is not an issue, but your reader is struggling, there is nothing wrong with finding fun reads that may be a little below their reading level. This will help encourage them to read more and feel comfortable with reading and diving into books regularly.

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Introducing your child to the classics

It is rare to see a young person under the age of 20 without some sort of electronic device at their fingertips or plugged into their ears. Parents who love to read can’t help but feel that their children are missing something when they have little to no knowledge of the classics. What can a book loving parent do?

Have a mother /daughter or Father/ son book club
Take turns choosing the books to read and decide to read together and discuss afterwards or to read independently and discuss one day a week. A book club will make reading enjoyable and give kids of all ages something to look forward to, especially if they are involved in the subjects.

mother and daughter reading

Reward your child for summer reading

If a teenager finishes a book, reward them for it and encourage them to do more reading. Gift cards for books, an age appropriate c.d.or a simple ice cream cone are great ways to send a positive message to kids. Reading is an important skill that prepares children for life. Rewarding them early will help with education and possibly make it an enjoyable lifelong habit.

Keep the classics within reach

Give a child the option to read the classics by keeping them on hand. Display them in prominent areas like the coffee table, family bookshelves or bedside tables and mix it up from time to time. Switch them out every couple of months to see if kids find a change in genre or title more interesting. Getting your child to read does not have to be like pulling teeth, instead it can be as simple as turning a page.

Filed Under: Children's Books Tagged With: Book discussion club, Child, Electronic

Trying To Convince Kids To Read Books? Have A Book Based Drama Show In Your House

Kids can be very slippery customers when you compel them to do something against their wishes. They can spend a few hours with a book in front of them without reading or assimilating even a single word. They probably would have found it easier to read the book and finish it off in an hour or two but prefer being stubborn just because they don’t want to read the book.

Well, how can you help your kids read books well? Why don’t you and your spouse put up a fantastic costume drama based on a book that you have read? It can be something as serious as Voldermort’s confrontation with Dumbledore in the Ministry of Magic or can be something as silly as the frog who stuck a candy to his feet to ride the bicycle well.

Once the kid sees you having a lot of fun with your spouse setting up the costume drama and discovers that it is important to read the book to join in your fun, he or she will automatically be motivated. The next step is to encourage your child to perform any part of any book that he or she likes. One smart option is to convince friends of your kids to join you and participate in the drama.

Not only will this keep all neighborhood kids occupied in a constructive manner, it will also give some breathing space for your neighbors to spend time on their own without having to one after kids all the time. Once you understand child psychology and try to exploit it, you will find it very easy to get them interested in books.

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Want Your Child To Read Books? Simply Buying Lots Of Books Will Not Work

Steel walls do not prison make. In their same way, having lots of children’s books at home is not going to automatically inculcate the reading habit in your child. Why? Children have absolutely no motivation to read books. Books are passive form of entertainment as one is forced to rely on imagination to convert the written text into real life scenarios. Once the child is motivated to use imagination, he or she may read on a continuous basis.

However, until then, children may be comfortable with internet and television because all the senses are gratified without any effort from their side. What seems like a wonderful experience for you is nothing but lots of hard work for your child. Hence, you will have to work harder than simply purchasing lots of children’s books for your house.

For starters, you will have to inculcate reading habit into your schedule. If you read before going to sleep every night, your child will observe this and will try to make an effort to inculcate reading in his or her schedule. On the other hand, if books simply accumulate dust in your house, can you really blame your child for not bothering about books?

Another reason why children do not like to read is because they do not find interesting books. Of course, a six or seven year old child may not have specific reading tastes as far as genres and writing style is concerned. However, if your child prefers fast paced books, there is no harm in going in for fiction that involves a bit of adventure and excitement for the child.

This will force you to observe your child carefully to determine which type of book he or she would like to read. Belief that buying books is all that one needs to do to inculcate reading habit in your child is based on a flawed premise.

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A New Harry Potter Book Coming Soon?

The author of one of the most successful book franchises in history is said to be contemplating writing more about the boy wizard who saved the wizardly world and humanity alike. J.K. Rowling the British author of the Harry Potter book series had previously stated that she did not intend to write about the boy wizard, Hogwarts or the world of muggles and non-muggles ever again but now it seems she has reconsidered her decision. This news brought many Potterphiles great joy as they wondered how and when this book might appear. Since the books ended with an epilogue of sorts giving you a glimpse into the future lives of Harry, Ron and Hermione fans wondered how she would expand on that.

The Harry Potter series consists of seven young adult fantasy novels which chronicle the lives of Harry Potter and his fight against the evil wizard Voldemort. While the initial releases of the harry potter series received glowing reviews the latter books were heavily criticized for a number of reasons. Critics maintained that Rowling was looking to recreate a bygone Britain and relegated the books to a standard fare of good vs. evil. Rowling was also criticized as each book in the series became significantly darker than the next with beloved characters being killed off. Many critics touted the series as homage to witchcraft because the storyline so heavily relies on magic and recommended it be banned. However, even with the criticism the Potter series has attracted a worldwide audience selling more than 400 million copies and has been translated into 67 different languages.

Regardless of the critics or controversies any other book about Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley whether in their adolescence or adulthood is surely to be a hit with readers. This is why the news that Rowling may renege her promises to never write about the boy wizard as wonderful news to all his fans.

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Encouraging Kids to Read Books

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The love of reading is cultivated very early. Parents reading to their children as babies or toddlers are already planting the seed of the love of reading. This can grow as the child does by having them read to you or even by choosing a chapter book to read to all of the children a chapter at a time on a nightly basis. Even allowing children to take turns reading to each other as they get older is a great encouragement.

Having older children read to their younger siblings promotes good sibling relationships as well as a joy for reading in both the reader and the listener. If the family is going on a trip soon then reading books to them about the location will get them interested in reading as well as making them fell included in planning the trip. If children can read at a high enough level, parents should encourage them to check-out books from the local library about the place the family is going to visit.

Other great ways to turn children onto reading are by creating a theme to go along with the books they are reading. If the entire family is reading Charlotte’s Web, have a party when the last page is read. Watch the movie and create a fun menu revolving around the book itself. Things like Pigs in a Blanket or Spider Punch are fun ideas. Let the kids help create the menu the week before the book is to be finished and even encourage them to help make the food if possible. If they have been reading travel books in anticipation for a trip then have them help create a menu based upon where the family will be visiting. They can also look for a movie that is based on that town or country.

Filed Under: Children's Books Tagged With: Arts, Chapter book, Child, Children, Education, Family, Literature, Reading

Books Celebrated in Children’s Literature

: Cover of Where the Wild Things Are

The world of children’s literature has changed dramatically over time. When children’s books first appeared they were created to either entertain or teach. Some were intended for both. It is often said that children’s fairy tales are stories intended to teach basic lessons to children. An example of this is the story of Little Red Riding Hood. This story is a way of striking fear into children so that they will not talk to strangers. The story of Cinderella is one of being true to oneself and good things will happen. Even stories and books from this era created an overall theme that good will almost always win over evil. Other stories such as The Wizard of Oz or Through the Looking Glass were meant to teach a subtle lesson while allowing the reader to escape into a magical world that was far from reality.

The world of today’s books generally fall into one of two categories. One is to teach lessons and the other is to entertain. While some of them do both, it is not uncommon to find writing that is merely for entertainment. It is not to say that one way is better than the other, it is simply put that children’s books of decades ago are not able to be compared with those of today. This would be the equivalent of trying to compare Where the Wild Things Are to Captain Underpants. The only books that might be relevantly comparable are those such as The Wizard of Oz to Harry Potter.

There are a great deal of amazing children’s books both past and present that should be read and appreciated for exactly what they are. This allows readers to be hopeful of finding the book that really speaks to them in one way or the other. It is not always important what is read but that a child reads.

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A Celebration of Children’s Book Art

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Much of the charm of a good children’s book is in the illustrations. The simpler the story, the more important the visuals can be. There are even some great children’s books such as Good Dog Carl by Alexandra Day that have no writing at all, and depend entirely on the pictures to tell the story. Then again, some classics like The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster have an engrossing and complex narrative, but the occasional, simply sketched illustrations by Jules Feiffer still add immeasurably to the reading experience. Whether deceptively simple, like the drawings of Mo Willems or Dr. Seuss, or detailed and lush like the magnificent illustrations of Arthur Rackham or Jan Brett, children’s book art is truly a fine art, and deserves to be honored as such.

To this aim, the highly acclaimed children’s book author and illustrator Eric Carle has opened The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts. Carle is the author of over 70 children’s books, the most famous of which is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. His artwork is both simple and visually complex, as it is created by a collage of brightly colored hand-painted paper that he cuts or tears and layers to create his images. All of his work is instantly recognizable, and always a feast of color.

The museum features not only his work, but also that of many of his favorite children’s book artists. Maurice Sendak, who wrote and illustrated Where the Wild Things Are, is prominent among them, as well as Leo Lionni, whose work had an influence on Carle. There is a special exhibition of Dorothy Kunhardt’s classic Pat the Bunny, and one for the Hans Christian Anderson Award winner Lisbeth Zwerger.

Whether in the traditional stye of Beatrix Potter, the more modern look of William Steig or the pop-ups of Robert Sabuda, the illustrations in children’s books are often the very first art that young people are exposed to. It’s important that it be a valuable introduction. The story it tells may be silly, but the art, itself can be quite masterful. In the best of children’s literature, it is.

Filed Under: Children's Books Tagged With: Arts, Children, Children's literature, Where the Wild Things Are

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