This week, our school is celebrating Read Across America. Each year, a different Dr. Seuss book is spotlighted at the theme. This year, it's the Lorax. And of course, the movie is scheduled to be release on March 2nd. Perfect timing, wouldn't you say?
Our principal has an awesome Dr. Seuss hat that she pulls out just for Read Across America week. She'll visit each classroom and read The Lorax to the kids and talk about the importance of reading.
In addition, special guests have been invited to each classroom to either read books or give book talks each day throughout the week. I'm doing both a reading and a book talk.
On Tuesday, I'll visit my daughter's 5th grade classroom and talk to those awesome wanna-be mature readers about books in all sorts of genres they would enjoy. Awesome stuff like:
- The 13th Reality series by James Dashner
- Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George
- The Gallagher Girls Academy series by Ally Carter
- and more, more, MORE!
Wednesday morning, I get to visit with my 2nd grader son's classroom. Now, this is the SILLIEST group of munchkins you're ever gonna meet. So I'm thinking I might take along Alice the Fairy & Too Many Toys! by David Shannon. I love, love, love his illustrations, funny prose, and characters.
Why do I love Read Across America Week?
It's not just because I'm an author. It's because as a child, I loved nothing better than curling up somewhere - beside my mom, on a bench at my aunt's house, my bed; anywhere - with a book in my hand. Picture books, chapter books, novels . . . I adored them all. They were my friends, my escape, my entry into imagination. As a kid, reading was as important to me as loving my family.
I know that not everyone has a love of reading. In fact, my son with autism has a very difficult time reading. But he really enjoys graphic novels. Not graphic as in violent, but as in novels that are like expanded comic books. He enjoys the pictures, more complex story line, and simplistic, key wording. He also enjoy Calvin & Hobbes comic books (now, that's a love he gets from his Dad).
My hope for Read Across America is that no matter what a kid's reading level or interest is, that he or she will find something to enjoy - and maybe even love.
Do your kids enjoy reading? Or do they struggle? What have you done to help encourage them to find books or genres to nurture their passion for reading?
