How do you encourage these literary
friendships and the incidental learning
to which they inevitably lead? Here are
some proven tips from our years of experience as readers, parents, teachers, and
workshop providers:
• Take the pressure off. We suggest allowing your kids to read or listen to a
level-appropriate version of the book
without the pressure of an assignment
in mind. Having to remember questions or “look for” something while
reading interferes with the visualization and enjoyment of the story. Tell
them that you’ll be glad to paraphrase
any truly mind-boggling paragraphs,
but that the odds are they’ll figure it
out well enough themselves if they just
keep reading.
• Create an indulgent ambiance. Help
your kids associate reading with com-
fort and pleasure by letting them read
where they’re most relaxed and by
playing story-relevant music. If they’ll
go for it, evoke the settings they’re
reading about. For instance, A Little
Princess might be read in a makeshift
tent—like an attic—with a muffin. A
reading of Frankenstein is enhanced by
candles and online wind sounds. Black
Beauty can be read on a blanket on the
grass with carrots and apples at hand.
You get the picture!
•;Experience;the;book;firsthand;and;en-gage with its characters. When the
book has been read or the milestone
has been reached, nurture the developing friendship by having a “play date”
with the story. Make it real and fun for
your kids through a combination of
places, props, projects, and activities.
As your kids’ eyes and smiles widen at
the scents, tastes, and sounds of things
they’ve just read about, your teachable
moments will appear.
Here are just a few examples of sensory
ways to encourage the relationship between the reader and the book:
• Share a meal. Just about any reference to food can be explored in your
own kitchen. For example, re-create
a meal from Journey to the Centre of
the Earth with raisins, biscuits, and
jerky. Snack on Gouda cheese and
gingerbread as you read Hans Brinker. Eat haggis with Rob Roy . . . or
shortbread.
. . . When kids read for fun, they learn for life.
Story elements from The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly
Half-baked ideas from The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
