Profile: Girl, 7, likes art, spaghetti

Playing in the snow.

Here's a girl who's 7, and likes art, ballet and spaghetti. She also loves books. Maybe you know someone similar, who would like the same books she does.

PROFILE
Female, age 7, Canadian, loves reading

DESCRIBE YOURSELF
Smart, creative

LIKES
Art, Disney World, spaghetti, ballet, soccer, horses and playing in the snow and on the beach

FIVE FAVOURITE BOOKS
1) Camping Out: A Shadow Story, by Lisa Allen and Julie Sharp

2) The Paper Bag Princess, by Robert Munsch

3) Eloise's Guide to Life: or, How to Eat, Dress, Travel, Behave and Stay Six Forever, by Kay Thompson

4) Thomas's Snowsuit, by Robert Munsch

5) Santa Knows, by Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith

Want to know more about this post and the profiles we're writing about? Click here.

Reading as a part-time job

One mom found an interesting way to get her daughter reading.

She paid her.

I think that’s really interesting.

Now, as this mom told us about what she'd done, she cringed a little—she knew full well that bribery is not the best way to hook a kid on reading. She knew it was a short-term solution… a Hail Mary pass, if you will, when you’re really desperate.

But the intriguing thing is, it worked. Her daughter started reading. (I’m not sure if she’s still being paid to read or if she’s now reading on her own—I’ll find out and update you.)
Update: Yep, she's become a reader! The mom said she originally paid her daughter $20 once to read a specific book. That incentive got her over the hump; the girl got through that book and carried on, reading the rest of the books in that series... and now she reads for her own enjoyment.

Another mom said that her kids are always clamouring for books when they visit a bookstore. Her solution? The kids buy the books out of their allowance, but she reimburses them for the book once they’ve read it.

Now, obviously she’s in a pretty positive situation; her kids already love books. But her idea about reimbursing them ensures that the books actually get read, rather than just sit on a shelf.

I’d like to know what you think about paying kids to read. Could it be a positive way to get kids into reading, when combined with other more sustainable activities—like reading to your child, letting them see you reading, and generally reinforcing the value of reading?

Or is bribery just out of the question, even if you’re super desperate? Should we take it out the equation altogether?

And lastly, if we say that paying a child to read might be OK… how much are we talkin’ about, here?

Family Literacy Day - Jan. 27

Today is Family Literacy Day.

This is the day!

It's the day you and your kid:

1) Read together.

2) Talk about your favourite book.

3) Listen to a book on tape.

4) Write each other a letter, which you drop in the mail for each other. Surprise!

5) Vote for your favourite children's books here.

6) Go to the library.

7) Create a storybook about your child. (Here's how.)

8) Cook something together - your child reads the recipe as you go along.

9) Read together.

Happy Family Literacy Day.

I hope you enjoy celebrating it with your family.

We will celebrate by continuing to read The Mysterious Benedict Society (the second book) together, just before my son... falls.... asleep... to dream mysterious dreams.

The picture - no, it's not me and my son but I just love it. They're so into reading together! Ooooh, Family Literacy Day. It's such a cosy celebration.

Profile: Girl, 8, likes nature, poetry, art

Pippi meets Wednesday.

Here we have a likeable, creative, nature-loving and artistic eight-year-old girl.

She's a little bit Pippi Longstocking and a little bit Wednesday Adams.

Sound like someone you know? If so, she might enjoy the same books this girl enjoys.

PROFILE
Female, age 8 (almost 9), Canadian, enjoys reading (smaller books)

DESCRIBE YOURSELF
Attentive, caring, nature lover

LIKES
Nature, poetry, writing, art

TOP FIVE FAVOURITE BOOKS
1) Journey to the River Sea, by Eva Ibbotson
(Take a look at Eva Ibbotson's bio - it's fascinating.)

2) The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall

3) The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick

4) Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Dog Days, by Jeff Kinney

5) The Fog Mound series, by Susan Schade and Jon Buller

(The rights have just been purchased, to create an animated feature film of these great books.)

What the heck is this post about? This'll explain it.

The mom who interviewed her daughter said she was really interested to hear how her daughter described herself, and the thoughtful list of books she came up with. Great job! Thanks, S and L.

The image is a picture of Pippi Longstocking and I think it conveys this girl's spirit pretty well. This is the illustrator.

Mysterious Benedict logic puzzles

If your child loves puzzles, click here.

I've been raving about The Mysterious Benedict Society books.
My son is loving them and frankly, so am I.

They're about four unusual children who are called upon by Mr. Benedict to solve a threatening, decidedly adult problem. The impending utter breakdown of society by an evildoer, to be specific.

The books are great because they're focussed on the children, and their very diverse and unique gifts. Each of the children is brilliant in his or her own way, and each is a bit of a misfit. Working together, they pool their gifts to solve mysteries and save the world.

The reader gets in on the fun, since many of the puzzles faced by the children are posed in such a way that the reader of the book can attempt to figure them out as well.

A great website
The website that accompanies the book has a series of logic puzzles, like the ones found in the book. In one instance, you'll face four doors, each with a number and a letter. You have to figure out which one to open. (And I love that the instruction isn't, "which door doesn't belong?" it's "which door should you open?")

Kids have to figure out for themselves that on one of the doors, the number of letters matches the number. For instance six-3 would be the answer since "six" has 3 letters.

There is a whole series of delightful puzzles that should prove fun for kids who enjoy thinking things through, and get a kick out of getting the answer right.

Try the website for yourself - the great thing about these books, and the website, is that the puzzles are intended for kids but could easily stump an adult. The other great thing is that hints are provided, so if your child is stuck she can click on up to five solid hints that should lead her logically to the answer.

Photo: This is a picture of the author, Trenton Lee Stewart. I snagged it from Publishersweekly.com, but since it's also the one featured on the book's website I figured it was probably an officially sanctioned photo so I won't get sued.

Profile: Male, 14, likes movies, skiing

Some great teen fantasy reads

Do you know a teenaged boy who's into movies, skiing and video games? Maybe he'll like the same books as this young man.

PROFILE
Male, 14, enjoys reading

DESCRIBE YOURSELF
Funny, tall, smart, athletic

LIKES
Video games, books, movies, skiing

TOP FIVE FAVOURITE BOOKS
1) Percy Jackson and the Olympians (all 5 books in series)

(Here's a cool 15-second video that gives you a good sense of what the Percy Jackson books are like.)

2) Entire CHERUB series by Robert Muchamore

3) Deltora Quest Series by Emily Rodda

4) Daniel X by James Patterson

5) The Heir books - Wizard Heir, Warrior Heir and Dragon Heir

Are you wondering what the heck this post is all about? This will explain everything.

Thanks, F and T, for sending in your profile!

The argument for making Harry wait

There’s an interesting post on a blog called Kidliterate - here.

The author, Melissa, argues that parents shouldn’t be in a big hurry to read the Harry Potter books to their children.

She says there are lots of books kids should experience first, and if they dive into Harry Potter too early:

1) around book three the series gets quite scary as “Voldemort starts picking off Harry’s friends and family one at a time”;

2) while young children may be ready for the “happier” themes in the book such as loyalty and magic, they’re likely not sophisticated enough for the darker themes such as racism, self-loathing and evil.

3) If they hear Harry Potter read aloud at a young age, they will likely not go back and read the books themselves, later.

She suggests starting kids on books such as the Ramona series, Stuart Little and Roald Dahl.

While she doesn't recommend a specific age at which Harry Potter is appropriate (probably because it depends on the individual child), she does say that 6 is too young.

She then offers a terrific list of 14 great fantasy-type books, and reasons why she recommends them.

If you can ride out the author’s occasionally condescending tone (“Usually these parents did not listen to my careful, polite warnings that this would happen.”), she makes a pretty interesting point.

The article is worth a read.

Thanks to Jen Robinson’s Book Page, where I learned about the Kidliterate article.