Books for Young Reluctant Readers

My daughter was a book lover nearly from the beginning. I recall placing her in the infant bouncy seat and reading Olivia - and her attention lasted through the entire book. My son, on the other hand, has more trouble sitting through a book. True, he's only 16 months old, but I want his love for books to start as early as possible. Therefore, I've had to think a lot more about encouraging reluctant readers.

What I've found is that nearly any book that moves is a big hit. Wheelie books are an excellent choice - especially for boys who often seem so naturally interested in anything with wheels. These board books only have pictures of various types of vehicles, but the shape - combined with actual, working wheels - is what makes them special. Just be sure to keep these books out of reach of kids who still put things in their mouths; the wheels could break off, revealing small parts. Puppet books are another great choice. The Finger Puppet Books by Chronicle Books provide lots of giggles for babies through preschoolers; insert one finger into the back of the book, and you've got a low-tech animated story. We also have a hand puppet version of This Little Piggy that goes over well for that same age group. Touch and feel books are another good choice for babies through preschoolers and are perhaps the most widely available sort of book I'll mention in this post. The touch and feel animal books by DK Publishing are the best I've seen, but any book with a nice variety of textures on a topic your child is interested in is a great choice. Probably the best luck I've had has been with the book Waddle by Rufus Butler Seder. This author has a number of "scanimation" books which make the pictures inside seem to move in a unique fashion. See how it works by clicking on the video here. See more of the author's scanimation books here. Electronic books are another choice - although I'd use them only as a last ditch effort, since I think our kids have too many electronic gadgets already. For young kids, V Tech offers some simple and entertaining offerings; for older kids, Leap Pad style toys, which allow special books to "plug in" to a computer like device are available. Here are a few other tips that may help your reluctant reader: * Allow babies and toddlers to chew on books without hearing the word "no." If they are told not to handle books often, children quickly loose interest in books altogether. * Store books where your child can easily reach them. If you have one child who can handle paper books fine, but a baby who can't, store the "big kid books" in the older child's room, or in an area the baby doesn't have access to but the older child does. * Let your child see you read. And if you have more than one child, allow your reluctant reader to see you cuddle up with your other kids for a good read. This makes reading seem more desireable. * Choose books in your child's area of interest. Don't try to force a reluctant reader to read about topics that bore him. * Try reading outloud while your child plays quietly nearby. You might be surprised how much she is listening; to find out, strike up a casual conversation about the storyline later in the day. * Be sure to download Grow a Great Reader - a free eBook - for more ideas.

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