Finding the right books to interest your child in reading
Posted: May 8, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized 34 Comments
In the few weeks since my last post, two of the bloggers I follow have written a post about children’s books that influenced their lives and the choices they made during their early adulthoods.
These posts set me to thinking about which books, of the enormous number I read as a young girl, had the most impact on me and my life. This thought then led me to thinking about why I love books and reading so much and why it was so important to me that my own boys discover the joys of the written word. From these various thought patterns emerged the realisation that I understood fairly early on in motherhood that, if I wanted my boys to love reading as much as I did, I had to identify what sorts of books would appeal to them enough to draw them away from all the competing attractions in our modern world.
When I was a girl, we only had television for one hour a day and the children’s programs were only in English on alternate nights. There were no ipods, ipads or iphones with all their graphic presentations of battles, adventures, space and fantasy worlds to distract me from reading. Books were the main source of entertainment for me other than socialising in the street with other neighbourhood children. My dad was strict and we could only go out to play with other children between 9 A.M and 12 P.M. and then again between 2 P.M. and 5 P.M. That left plenty of time for me to read. This is not the case for my children. In order to get them to read, the book has to appeal to them enough for them to set their electronic devices aside for a period to read.
Looking back, I realise that I loved fantasy books. I was a huge fan of Enid Blyton. Not her adventure books or girly school books but her books about fairies, brownies, pixies and all the other fantasy folk who existed in her Folk of the Faraway Tree, Mr Pink-Whistle, The Wishing Chair and other similar book series. My favourite of Enid Blyton‘s stand alone books was, and still is, The Land of Far Beyond.
When my oldest son, Greg, was born, I started to read to him straight away. When he was 15-months old he would sit and listen to me read two or three pages of one or other of the Folk of the Faraway Tree books. As he grew older, I read our way through all my old favourites including Noddy and friends, Paddington Bear, Rupert Bear and, one of my all time favourites, Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers. Mary Poppins is fantasy at its best with the children visiting a world inside a painting, watching a circus comprising of acts by the planets, stars, sun and moon, visiting people and lands at each point of the compass and entering a garden they built in the park, inhabited by people made of clay and mud. It soon became evident that young Greg’s taste in books was similar to mine. While I was pregnant with Michael, I used to read to Greg (aged 2 1/2 at the time) for up to three hours a day. Greg turned into a fantasy reader and has, on his own, read his way through all the Chronicles of Narnia books by C.S. Lewis, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Indian in the Cupboard books by Lynne Reid Banks, The Borrows collection by Mary Norton (Did you know that Mary Norton also wrote The Magic Bed Knob and Bonfires and Broomsticks which were turned into the Disney movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks?) and then on to the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling and now Lord of the Rings and all of Tolkien‘s other books. Recently, Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin and Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan have swelled the ranks of Greg’s book collection which comprises of approximately five hundred books.
It was so easy to interest Greg in reading that I thought it would be the same with Michael. Little did I know that Michael would follow a different reading path to Greg and it would be much harder to interest him in reading due to his nature and learning barriers. Michael did like having Enid Blyton read to him but he would not read it aloud. I could not get him interested in reading fantasy books, or any of my other favourite books either, to me or alone. This was a problem. There had to be books out there that would tickle his reading fancy. We tried modern books, Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon and Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney, as well as many others. Michael would listen and enjoy me reading them to him but he would not read them himself.
One day, an interesting thought occurred to me. Maybe Michael, a small boy who loved building with lego and doing science experiments with me, would like non-fiction books. I bought him the entire Mickey wonders why collection. What a hit. Michael loved them. After I had read a few of the articles, he would happily have a go at reading a few pages of one just to keep on learning and reading more. We read our way through all of these books and then moved on to all sorts of other non-fiction children’s books including all the horrible history and horrible science books. I enjoyed reading Michael’s choices too as I also learned from them. When we visited the UK when Michael was 9 we acquired books about Jack the Ripper, the black plague and the great fire of London. I have used each of these books to gain an understanding of these murders and events for use in stories I have written.
Michael’s audio comprehension has always been much higher than his reading level. I discovered that his enjoyment of non-fiction extended to audio books too. Over the past few years we have listed to audio books about the vikings, the greatest scientists of all time, great inventors and many others.
I have two nephews and two older nieces. I have applied my theory that you just need to find the right books to interest a child in reading to them too. Ben and Ryan also enjoy non-fiction books. Books about science fiction and boys on adventures like the Astrosaurs collection by Steve Cole, Humphrey the hamster books by Betty G. Birney and the Will Solvit books by Zed Storm also proved very popular with the boys.
The girls tastes are different. They enjoy Winne the Witch by Valarie Thomas and they loved the illustrations by Korky Paul. The Little Miss and the Little Men collections by Roger Hargreaves were popular with them. I also discovered that all of the young children loved Dr Seuss and rhyming text was interesting and captivating for their young minds.
If you have a reluctant reader, it may be that you have not found their golden reading lever. Most people have one if you can only find it. If fantasy isn’t popular, try something else.
The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go. Dr. Seuss
About Robbie Cheadle
Hello, my name is Robbie, short for Roberta. I am an author with five published children’s picture books in the Sir Chocolate books series for children aged 2 to 9 years old (co-authored with my son, Michael Cheadle), one published middle grade book in the Silly Willy series and one published preteen/young adult fictionalised biography about my mother’s life as a young girl growing up in an English town in Suffolk during World War II called While the Bombs Fell (co-authored with my mother, Elsie Hancy Eaton). All of my children’s book are written under Robbie Cheadle and are published by TSL Publications.
I have recently branched into adult horror and supernatural writing and, in order to clearly differential my children’s books from my adult writing, I plan to publish these books under Roberta Eaton Cheadle. I have two short stories in the horror/supernatural genre included in Dark Visions, a collection of 34 short stories by 27 different authors and edited by award winning author, Dan Alatorre. These short stories are published under Robbie Cheadle.
I have recently published a book of poetry called Open a new door, with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.
Find Robbie Cheadle
Blog: https://bakeandwrite.co.za/
Blog: robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com
Goodreads: Robbie Cheadle – Goodreads
Twitter: BakeandWrite
Instagram: Robbie Cheadle – Instagram
Facebook: Sir Chocolate Books
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Writing to be Read 
Reblogged this on Robbie's inspiration and commented:
I am over at Writing to Be Read today with an article about finding the right books to interest your child in reading. Thank you for hosting me Kaye Lynne Booth.
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Thank you for hosting me today, Kaye.
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This is an excellent post, Robbie.
Your Sir Chocolate books rhyme, don’t they? Were you inspired by Dr. Suess? You gotta love Dr. Suess.
As a kid, my favorites were “Little Bear’s Visit” and “‘Stand Back,’ Said the Elephant, ‘I’m Going to Sneeze'”. My children loved “Where the Wild Things Are” so much that they memorized it. We could tell the story without the book, and they would fill in on their favorite parts. All just plain fun to read. 🙂
I think that is one key. If children are having a good time while they read, or reading something that catches their interest, they will want to read more.
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Exactly, Kaye, you have to introduce reading as pleasurable and fun and not as a drudge or a duty. I do love Dr Seuss and I am sure he did influence Michael and I both as did Roger Hargreaves Mr and Little Miss series. There is also a dollop of Enid Blyton’s fantasy in the mix.
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So well said Robbie! You just need to find the right kind of books for your child!
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Thank you, Ritu. I am much better versed on vikings and inventors because of my boys [smile].
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😊
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Thanks Robbie I enjoyed reading this and how it is that different kids enjoy different kinds of books. Glad that michael’s interest also piqued yours –
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Thank you, Susan. It did, but then I love to read and learn so it isn’t hard to pique my interest in a book. I must say though, that I have never wanted to read Dan Brown.
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What an excellent article and so true. You just need to discover the right books and kids will read them. It was the same with my two children. My son, we found out, loved biographies and autobiographies and still does. My daughter prefers non-fiction. How wonderful there are so many types of books to chose from.
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We are very fortunate to have so many wonderful books at our fingertips. How interesting that your son liked biographies, I am sure that is not a common choice. I like biographies of authors and have read a lot including the Bronte’s, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Beatrix Potter.
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Great post Robbie.. I was bored as a young child with the books that were available and was in heaven when I was 7 and got my own library card.. I also was gifted a whole set of children’s encyclopedias when I was ten and that was breathtaking.. xx
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I also loved my library cards, Sally, and my sister’s too. I had 4 and she had 3 and I used to cycle to the library twice a week and take out 7 books at a time. Such bliss. At the moment, I can only average about 3 books a week.
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You are doing much better than me Robbie..lucky to get through a book a week.. must go to bed earlier…hugsxx
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I listen to audio books, Sally. So I use my driving time to read. We drive a lot more in SA than you do in GB.
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David only uses audio books and gets through quite a few as he uses while he works on the house and garden.. at the moment he is repainting all the doors in the house and has got through three.. they are great for exercise as well, amazing how time flies on the treadmill when you are deep in a good story… xxx
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Wonderful post, Robbie! 🙂 So important to know our children, their need, likes and interests. And reading to and with them at the earliest possible is sure to have a positive effect. I had never thought about using audio books with children–a fantastic idea. Thanks. ❤ xo
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Thank you, Bette. When I was a small girl, my Dad bought me a tape/cassette of a story called Pete and the Boys. My sister and I used to listen to it in the car and I absolutely loved it. I have enjoyed audio books ever since and that is why I thought of them for Michael.
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Dr. Suess books are my all time favourite for teaching children to read.
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Thanks, Tandy. Dr Seuss is Definitely a great place to start with reading. I used them to help both my boys learn how to read.
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You’re right, you just have to find the right books to appeal to children and let the reading interest develop. There’s a lot of competition for kids’ time these days. I’d rather we were back in simpler times. I think even kids who don’t like to read while they’re young can become adults who enjoy reading.
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I think that is true, Barbara, but it is less likely that and adult will read who didn’t develop a love of reading as a youngster. I was saying today that I believe the younger generations have an expectation that everything in life will be easy because of TV, Social Media and Computer Games which deliver instant gratification will little work. When I was young, any endevour required effort, thinking and work from reading a book, to knitting, sewing and baking to building a dam in the mud.
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You’re right. I was thinking about this today. On the positive side, I think our children will have different, more finely tuned skills, but all of what you say is also true.
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There are pros and cons to everything in life.
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Great post, Robbie. It is important to find books that match each reader’s needs and interests. That you read to and with your children is very influential. It’s great that you share your experiences with others who can learn from you.
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Thank you, Norah. I was very determined that my children would enjoy reading.
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As was I, Robbie. But how could we not share our love of reading with our children?
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Reblogged this on Thoughts by Mello-Elo and commented:
A great post on how to inspire your children to read when they have different tastes in books.
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Thank you for sharing, Eloise. It is appreciated.
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A wonderful interview! Robbie’s collection of books she enjoyed as a child is outstanding. I had no idea that Bed knobs and Broomsticks was based on a book. More importantly, Robbie was able to follow a different path in literature for her son, switching to non fiction. How smart. And they both learned along the way.
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Thank you for your comment, Jennie. I am so glad I found books that appealed to Michael and piqued his interest in reading. He will never be as prolific a reader as Greg is but he does enjoy a good book.
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Finding the right books isn’t always easy. You did that. Even if Michael isn’t the reader that Greg is, he found the joy of reading. That in itself is a tremendous thing.
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This is a fantastic post, Robbie, with some excellent ideas. I read to both my boys from a young age, but the oldest never enjoyed reading on his own. He’d do required reading, but that was it. He always had an interest in sports, so I tried those types of books – no interest. Maybe I should have tried nonfiction sports books? With the youngest, he’s still a reader when he has time, but school keeps him pretty busy.
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Non-fiction books appeal to a lot of the more sporty boys, Teri. That is something I have learned through my son, Michael, and through teaching at Sunday School. Boys are often fascinated by how things work.
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