A Book Adventure!

Don’t Bother Us! We are busy reading at Northport Books!

It’s been all over the headlines lately - reading for pleasure or fun is down. People (both adults and kids) are not reading for fun in their spare time. I do believe that adults want to read, they just do not feel that they have time for reading (that’s another issue that I can expand more on in another post).

One way to make reading more enjoyable and fun for kids is to take them to the library or a bookstore to find books that they want to read. Rather than go to look for books for your kids, take them along. If your kids are anything like my girls, they will enjoy checking out the books and picking the ones that they are interested in reading.

A few weeks ago, my daughters had a day off from school. There was an event at a bookstore not too far from us, Northport Books, so we headed out. In an effort to make this even more fun and memorable for my kids, we stopped and had dinner out at a restaurant and then went to the bookstore. While I was attending the event, my kids were sitting in their very cozy reading area, reading the books that they had selected. The owner of the bookstore told me she was impressed with how long they were able to stay reading. After, they each picked out a few books and because they were so well behaved while I was attending the event, I let them pick out one of the surprise treats that the bookstore was selling. It was a win, win! They read and were excited about the books they selected and they got a treat out of the evening as well.

Later that week, my kids told me that it was such a fun day when we went out to Northport Books. Making finding books fun and a small adventure helps keep kids excited about reading. It gives them choice in what they read and they are able to learn about new books that they may never have discovered.

One of my students took her daughter on a book adventure one weekend and her daughter found a mystery series that she is enjoying. My student shared that she would never have selected that book or series for her daughter - so she was very happy that she took her daughter book shopping.

When we do this with our kids, we are making reading fun and social, which are two aspects of reading that kids need to see.

How do you find books with your kids? Drop me an email - I’d love to hear the creative ways you get your kids books!