Our teenage son Sam has always been Mr. Non-Fiction. When he was very young, he was passionate about trucks. We read everything we could get our hands on in the “truck” genre, from You Can Name 1000 Trucks to I Stink! These days, he’s into humor, baseball, and classic rock.  We offer up a lot of baseball and musician memoirs, and point him towards authors like Gary Paulsen, Gerald Durrell, Mike Lupica and Matt Christopher.  As long as he’s reading for pleasure, we’re happy.

Our seven year-old daughter Hope is all about fantasy. Her heroes are princesses, fairies, ponies and ballerinas, along with girl rock stars, fashionistas and just plain gutsy girls. (What can I say? No matter how hard we tried to be gender-neutral parents, we ended up with two gender-stereotype kids.)  She loves series books, including the Pony Pals, Rainbow Magic and Magic Treehouse series, as well as the Allie Finkle, Just Grace and Clarice Bean books.  As long as the protagonist is female!

The question I was asked was: What are the particular challenges you think we (meaning children’s book authors, editors, educators, advocates, lovers of children’s literature) face?

This was my response:

“I think one of the challenges is keeping young people’s skill and interest in reading high enough to take advantage of the opportunities that will be waiting for them.

In my book Raising Bookworms: Getting Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment (Beech Tree Books, 2008), I talk about how much reading skills correspond to our ability to be confident, engaged, informed citizens. They affect how well we communicate, succeed in school and in our chosen careers, and ultimately our level of personal fulfillment. In fact, order to participate fully in society and the workplace in 2020 and beyond, we will all need powerful literacy abilities. But with all that competes for our attention these days, from television to the internet to electronic games and social networking, we face the possibility of a serious decline in the reading and writing skills of the next generation.

Our strength as readers and writers is profoundly influenced by how much of it we do – the more we read, the easier it gets. The easier it gets, the more we enjoy it, so the more we read. But we have to start by actually reading – and the key lies in making that activity as attractive as all the other temptations out there. We achieve that by focusing on activities that support the joy in reading (as opposed to reading as chore, or duty)…and by ensuring that what is being read is so good that the reader gets hooked and comes back for more.

That’s why I’m dedicated to supporting children’s book authors in the continued development of their craft. We have a huge responsibility on our hands. It only takes one great book to turn someone on to reading… but those great books need to keep being written and gotten into the hands of children!”

This is why you must write that book. If you have ever felt that nudge… that gentle (or perhaps, at this point, nagging) whisper in your ear to get that idea down on paper, I am here to hold you accountable. We can only keep the next generation (and those after that) reading, and writing – and using creative expression to solve problems and promote awareness, and cultivate compassion, and address the issues before them with artfulness and thought – if we continue to provide them with the tools to do so.  And the first (and best, in my view) is a good book.

So, get writing. Who knows? You may be the next Madeleine L’Engle… but even if your story touches just one child, one heart, that’s reason enough for it to exist.  One might even say you have a responsibility to put it out there.

“How can I get my child to turn off the Gameboy (TV, computer etc.) and pick up a book?!”

This is the question that Emma Walton Hamilton, the best-selling children’s book author, educator, and Editorial Director of the Julie Andrews Collection publishing imprint, hears the most often.

Whether on a book tour with her mother and co-author, the legendary actress Julie Andrews, at speaking engagements in schools, libraries and other public arenas, or in casual conversation, this question surfaces again and again, with increasing urgency, from parents, grandparents, educators, librarians and caregivers across the country.

In fact, eighty-two percent of parents wish their kids read more, according to Scholastic’s annual “Kids and Family Reading” report. Parents overwhelmingly view reading as the most important skill a child needs to develop, which should come as nor surprise, since it is a well-documented fact that children who read well do better in all aspects of school and beyond.

Reading skills correspond directly to one’s ability to:

• Be a confident, informed citizen
• Communicate effectively
• Succeed in one’s chosen career, and
• Achieve personal fulfillment.

But… a recent survey by the National Endowment for the Arts based on two decades of census reports states that, for the first time in modern history, less than half the adult population now reads literature for pleasure.

The disturbing facts are that one third of high school graduates and forty-two percent of college graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives. This decline in reading literature occurs across all ages, sexes and races. It is most pronounced among the young.

Building on the premise that an appreciation for reading stems from an kinesthetic connection between books and pleasure, Raising Bookworms offers over 150 powerfully effective yet simple strategies to engage even the most reluctant reader, and to build, maintain or restore a love of reading for every age range.

“Raising Bookworms” does something rare—it recognizes that to get a kid reading means lighting an internal fire, not just applying an external push. This book shows you how to make reading a habit they’ll want to form all on their own.” – James Patterson, Bestselling author

Readers will discover…

• Why reading is so essential for success in school and in life
• How to build – or restore – the critical connection between reading and pleasure
• The value of, and techniques for, reading aloud to children of all ages
• How to find the best books for young readers
• Answers to frequently asked questions about developmental issues, the impact of television and the internet, and engaging older children and reluctant readers
• Hundreds of activities, resources, recommendations and tools for building the foundation for a life-long love of reading

“The message of this lovingly written book – packed with recommended reading and activities for parents and children – is simple: children can learn to love reading books. Caring attentive adults can make the difference, and that difference changes lives.” – Leonard Kniffel, Editor in Chief, American Libraries

For BULK ORDERS: Phone: 1-800-BookLog Fax: 1-419-281-6883
E-mail: orders@AtlasBooks.com or visit www.atlasbooksdistribution.com

Click here to download a pdf order form.

Notes:

• 12/08/08 in the category of “Books > Reference > Words & Language > Literacy
• Category: Parenting Activities. See the “News & Events” page for details and press release