I am VERY big on reading. In fact just last week I read 14 books. I was a pretty active kid but if I wasn’t out rollerblading, camping, swimming, or skiing as a tween and teen, I had my nose in a book. I married a non-reader though. Hubby reads maybe 1 or 2 books a year. :(
When I had kids I knew it was super important to get them excited about reading and luckily it has worked so far. My kids are crazy about books. We read to them a ton and I get just as excited about new kids books as they do. One place I go to see what books kids like is online. Because books can be expensive I like to do my homework and one site I like is called Read Kiddo Read. I learned about it from the moms at Mother Talk. It has lists of books by age group so that you can shop around for what other kids the same age as yours are reading and enjoying.
For my son for instance, I like the Real World Fiction section for kids ages 5-9. This gives me a list of great real world stories he can relate to and that will be fun for him. The descriptions are long and tell me exactly what the book is about and what lessons it teaches (if any) and I can determine if he will like it. Sometimes when you buy online the book descriptions are short and useless…but not these. Right off the bat I see one my son will like since he likes Junie B books… Junie B., First Grader: Cheater Pants. And then at the bottom of each book page it has a long list recommended books that are very similar. That is a nice feature.
If you are looking for kids book recommendations you may want to check out Read Kiddo Read.
When I first learned to read I really struggled with it and didn’t like it at all. My mom got me one on one tutoring with a retired school teacher who helped me learn and rewarded me with cookies (I can still remember the smell of her house) since then I read everything I can get my hands on.
For myself I like to go to Barnes and Noble or places like that to see what new books are out and then go find them at the library.
Great resource! My son is 5 and reading above average, so it will be nice to look at the information and determine if it would be a good reading level for him.
Tiffany,
I am wondering if you ever sleep!
This looks like a great reading resource! Thanks for posting it.
I usually browse Amazon books and look up whatever books my kids recently read and liked, and then check out the “if you liked this book, you might also like…” recommendations. Then I reserve those recommended titles at the library. But the Read Kiddo Read site looks better for me to browse because the book descriptions are detailed.
Thanks again, I seem to be bookmarking half your posts lately :)