The Book Trend

Books have been the core of how we receive knowledge for hundreds of years.  As young children, parents read aloud.  As they reach school age, many struggle learning how to read, while others pick it up very easily.  This can make those struggling students even more frustrated.  Reading becomes a chore and not fun for those kids who struggle.  They are given remedial books that have boring subject matter. Recently series have come out that has gotten children who refuse to read or struggle, reading for 12 hours straight.  The HarryPotter series seems to have started it all (although many series have come out before).  Now, Rick Riordan with his multiple series (The Lightning Thief, The Kane Chronicles, and The Lost Hero), as well as the 39 Clues Series is keeping children longing to find out what is going to happen next.  But what happens to those kids who don’t find those books or find books that interest them.  Some find their way later in life to books.  Others avoid books like the plague.  Both parents and teachers should take the time to find books that relate to that child’s interest and start to read it aloud.  Over time, students may start picking the book up on their own to learn what happens.    

No Word Picture Books

No word picture books do not get the credit they deserve.  No word picture books are books with no words and just pictures.  They have pictures that tell their own story.  Picture books are books that have both pictures and words.  Teachers and parents overlook how useful no word picture books can be.  These books are the beginning blocks for literacy.  If a child can follow a story with pictures, she has begun learning to read.  Some may even say she is actually reading because understanding images is as important as understanding the words.  There are many different types of no word picture books like Full Moon Soup, where the child can make up a story around the pictures.  There are other stories, like Tuesday or Flotsam, where there are intricate details a child or adult must find.  In Tuesday, there are clocks hidden throughout the book, it is up to the reader to figure out what it means.  In other words, don’t always push children to read books with words because pictures are important too!