Encouraging Reading, Part 2

My younger brother Joe just read Small Steps by Louis Sachar in less than a day. I just loaned him A Wrinkle in Time by Madeliene L'Engle, which I've been re-reading lately. I figure he'll finish before I get a chance to read it again (NaNo takes time!) so I let him have it tonight.

My brother never really was a reader, but suddenly he can't seem to get enough of books. He'll read a book every now & again, but they're usually for school. A great motivator for him though, is to see his friends read a book, or to convince him that it's the "cool" thing to do. (And btw, reading is cool)

Another great way is to find a book that he really loves, and this is usually the hardest part. His class is currently reading Holes in school, and he finished far before the class did because he liked it so much. This was only a few days before I went to see Louis Sachar at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL with my mum, so we brought him along. He seemed to really get into it and we bought him his own copy of Holes which he got signed. In his presentation Sachar mentioned Small Steps, which I had always seen around, but never knew the story of. Joe really wanted to read it, but we were already buying so much that night, we passed on it. The next week I bought one of the signed copies Anderson's had from the event. Then a few days after that my mom caught Joe reading my sister's copy of House by Ted Dekker, which she thought was too scary. To keep him from reading that, I presented my new, shiny copy of Small Steps, which he immediately devoured.

So, this just adds to my theory that all you need to do to get a child hooked on books, is to find that one right book for them. Holes is one I like to suggest, as is The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (this one looks daunting, but it's half pictures & flip book! Kids love that). The other night a mother saw me looking through the children's books at the Sachar event and asked me to recommend a book for her daughter, and after talking to the woman I suggested The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler by EL Konigsburg.

I think the problem is that most people don't pay attention to a child's unique interests enough to be able to pick out the right book. They'll suggest something new, or a best-seller, or maybe something they loved as a child. And sometimes these work, but some children are really stubborn and they need that exact right book for them, not for you. So talk to your child, find out what they want to read. My children's literature professor last year said that she's sometimes annoyed with the fact that all her son wants to read are Pokemon novelizations, but that she'd rather him read those than read nothing at all. If it gets them started reading, I agree with her. If they find something they love to read, they won't find books so boring or scary, and maybe they'll pick up another. And another. And another.

Just listening to your child is probably the best you can do in any situation, in my opinion anyway. I don't think parents always do that.

...Okay. Back to my NaNo, I promise. (I've written about 1700 words today so far)

Banned Books

I'm a day late to comment on Banned Books Week, but here's the thing guys: books are banned all the time. Not just in any one week. This isn't a topic we should concentrate on for a mere 7 days. This is a problem we should be aware of 365 (sometimes even 366) days a year! It's a serious problem where certain people try to govern what's "acceptable" or not for us to read. They try to control our reading habits and make things inaccessible to us. What's wrong for one person could be the absolute best read for another. So don't let those people win. Read banned books. Fight against banning books. And don't ban books yourself. Give reading a chance.

Now, I'm writing up my newest book review for my school's newspaper, and in honor of banned books, I've decided to write on The Great Gatsby. I'll put up the review when the issue comes out (and I'll put up my last one very soon), but until then, check out the list of banned books and see which ones you've read, which ones you want to read, and which ones simply do not belong on that list.

I can't find any one list with all the banned books, but if you google you can find a lot of good lists.

Banned books that I have read:
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (banned for putting anthromorphosized animals on the same level as humans. go fig. I LOVE THIS BOOK)
Animal Farm by George Orwell (I didn't like this book, but my friend LOVES it)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (I have yet to meet someone who likes this book. Still shouldn't be banned though)
The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Adventures of Huck Finn by Mark Twain
Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
The Giver by Lois Lowry (I just debated about this book with someone last night actually)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
The Witches by Roald Dahl (one of my favorites)
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Canterbury Tales by Chaucer
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Bible
Anything by William Shakespeare (though I have not read them all)
Grimm's Fairy Tales
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
1984 by George Orwell (most of it anyway)
Charlotte's Web by EB White
Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (more correctly, I've read The Golden Compass & part of The Subtle Knife)

Banned books I really want to read:
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Freedom Writers
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Outsiders by S.E. HInton
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (I may have actually read this in grade school, but I can't remember clearly)
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller


Also, check out the ALA's page on Banned Books Week for more info on banned books.

Book Meme

I'm not dead, school didn't kill me. I'm heading out of town in a few minutes here (as soon as the family is all finished packing), but when I get back next week I'll have plenty of wonderful things to post for you all. Including reviews of John Green's Paper Towns (comes out Oct 08), The first 3 (or maybe 4) Traveling Pants books by Ann Brashares, The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Paton, The Witches by Roald Dahl, and The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Possibly some ranting over Louis Sachar's Holes and some stuff on children's literature and picture books too. My children's lit class has prepared me well and I'm more than happy to share what I learned!

Okay, until then I leave you with a book-based meme taken from Jordyn over at Page Numbered

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?
Maybe the House of Night series? Everyone always tells me good things about it and my friend Jess lent it to me once. I got through like 3 chapters and could not read anymore because I hated the main character so much.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?
Ooh, that's tough. Um. I'm reading the pants books now and really connecting with Bridget, so let's take her along. And maybe this is a current book obsession thing, but I want to bring along Margo Roth Speigelman from Paper Towns because she's so awesome, but still really deep and thoughtful. My third guest would be Ginny from 13 Little Blue Envelopes. We'll all go on a road trip! That seems to be the best idea with these girls.

You are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for a while, which book would you expect to be waiting for you at the end?
Crime and Punishment. I tried to read it for school and could not do it. Or maybe something by Dickens.

Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it?
I don't remember exactly, but I know I did this a few times in school. Cuz that's what honor kids do, honestly.

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book?
Hm...I'm not sure. There most likely has been. I know I do it with manga sometimes, like the 29th volume of Naruto I could have sworn I'd read before, but as I got farther into it I found out I hadn't.

You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (If you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead of personalise the VIP).
Depends on the person, but either The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald or The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. I recommend Hugo Cabret to non-reading kids all the time because even though it's huge it's easy to read. Half of the book is like a picture/flip book anyway. And then when they're done and like it they can fell like "I just finished that gigantic book, now I can read anything."

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?
Italian, no contest. I would like French maybe because there are so many good books in French, but Italian would win out no matter what. I'm learning Italian and I love it completely.

A mischievious fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. It was the first book to get me really into reading and I still love it. I try to read it once a year anyway.

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)?
I found John Green through Scott Westerfeld's blog, and whereas I'm not a big fan of An Abundance of Katherines I really love Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns. John Scalzi too, also through Westerfeld. I haven't read most of his stuff, but I really enjoy Agent to the Stars.
But more importantly I found Maureen Johnson through the blogosphere and she's my favorite author these days. I will read anything written by her, even if it is a blood & tears book. And I hate those books generally (Twilight is the only thing of that genre I like, but for the action and not the romance so should it count?). MJ is a writing goddess, that's all there is to be said about that. Thank you internets!

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free.

I wrote this library into my book, actually. It's huge, with shelves so high you need those rolling ladders around. Most are hard cover or leatherbound, but some books are paperback and falling apart. These ones are all first editions or the ones I read as a child or never truly published by written by people I know. My favorite books are signed and have personalized messages to me. And there's a huge wall of all my favorite manga, with all the volumes there. And somehow my comics would end up somewhere in a way where the could not be ruined.


Take this if you want, I won't tag anyone this time around

Chicago Ranked 36th Most Literate City

For the last 10 years Central Connecticut State University has ranked America's largest cities in terms of most literate. This is done using six factors: number of booksellers; education; Internet Resources; Library Resources; Newspaper Circulation; and Periodical publications.

The top 10 are as follows:
Minneapolis, MN
Seattle, WA (last year's #1)
St. Paul, MN
Denver, CO
Washington, DC
St. Louis, MO
San Francisco, CA
Atlanta, GA
Pittsburgh, PA
Boston, MA

Living in the South Chicago Suburbs, I was curious how well Chicago ranked and was dismayed when I found it at number 40, falling from 39 last year, but rising from 46 in 2005. Overall 69 cities were ranked, so 40 puts Chicago in the bottom half. With Chicago being the 3rd most populated city in the US this puts are literacy rate low. In 2000 there were 78 libraries within the city limits of Chicago and 596 public schools (elementary & secondary). 28.2% of Chicagoans above age 25 have not received a high school diploma.

I've checked many different sources and all the data I received from each one disappointed me. What could we do to raise our rankings? What could we do to keep kids in school? What could we do to promote reading?

Support the schools. The better the school, the more likely a student is to stay through high school and the higher standard of learning the school provides.

Support local libraries. Some people see libraries as outdated because they don't have the funds available to keep up with the technological growth.

Support organizations such as First Read that help children learn to read and provide them with the resources necessary.

Or the simplest thing anyone can do:

Read to children.

As a parent, the best way to encourage education is to read to your child. Teach them how to read, how to improve their skills, and make it interesting. Also children do what they see their parents do. If a child sees a parent reading, they'll want to read. But if they see their parent do nothing but watch tv, they might not take the initiative to do anything else.
You can also read to your younger siblings or cousins or neighbors. You could volunteer at your local library or elementary school. Just read to them.