By Jackie Britton
Reading has been one of my favorite hobbies since I was a child. When I found out that I was pregnant with my first baby, I went to the book store and purchased The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, along with several other stacks of children’s books. I dreamed of reading to my kids and watching their imaginations run wild. I dreamed that my children would love reading just as much as I do. Imagine my surprise when that wasn’t the case with my second son.
My first son took to books like a fish to water. My second son taught himself to read at age four and was addicted to being read stories. By the time he was five and a half, he refused to read. I bought different styles of books to try to tempt him. Countless bribes and different approaches later – nothing. I couldn’t figure him out! We were both frustrated, and I was running out of ideas to engage him.
I stumbled across Read Aloud West Virginia’s Read Aloud Families and I was cautiously optimistic. I knew my oldest and youngest children would adore it. What would my middle son think? I knew he was a going to be a good reader, but the problem was how to motivate him to care.
The first order form came, and all three of my children were excited. They picked their books, and my middle child shocked me. He picked a Star Wars book. He has never seen the movies or shown any interest in Star Wars at all. I was so skeptical. I asked if he was certain he wanted that one and read a few other book descriptions to him.
No. He was positive he wanted that one.
The day the first shipment arrived, the three kids crowded around me and squealed over their new books. My oldest ran off to begin his, and I read my youngest child’s book to her and my middle son. Afterward, I watched what he would do with his new book. He curled up in a chair and began flipping through the pages.
After a little while, he started from the beginning and began to read quietly. I joined him and we took turns reading pages and continued to do the same with those first few book deliveries. Soon he was able to read them all on his own.
Every time there was a Star Wars book on the form, he would choose it. He began to choose other genres I would have never expected. The variety of the books on the order form was wonderful. He always found something to look forward to and having good experiences with these books has changed his attitude about new story lines.
Read Aloud West Virginia helped me find the key to turn my son from the most reluctant reader into an enthusiast.
Now he is engaged during Book Tastings and can’t wait for library day at school. I am so grateful!