Best Phonics Workbooks: Explode the Code (at Amazon.com)
Best Phonics for reluctant read aloud readers: progressive phonics (www.progressivephonics.com)
Fun book series for reluctant read aloud readers: You Read to Me and I’ll Read to You
Category: Reluctant Readers
Reluctant readers and reading strategies to get kids to love reading.
Best Boy Characters in Books (You’d Let Your Child Date)
This list can also be seen as a testament to authors who create characters so real, deep, and nuanced that we fall in love with them, if not for ourselves, then for our children. And I can safely say that no one else is consumed with creating this kind of list!
Top 5: Using Electronic Devices to Get Kids Reading
As a parent whose youngest (and only 6-years-old!) is already attempting to spend every waking hour in front of a screen, I thought I’d suggest some ideas for getting reluctant readers excited about reading in the vein of “if you can’t beat them, join them.” Or a corollary: “Let’s be sneaky and use electronics as a Trojan horse to present reading in a different light.” I’ve been blogging about these ideas that I’ve discovered over the past year and I’m pretty excited about them. Let me know what you think and if they work for you.
Top 5: Best Seek and Find Picture Books
Are Search and Find books the precursor to video/DSi/Wii/xBox/Nintendo games for little boys? Maybe … but I’ll take that any day over the screens! I have to say that I have never logged in so many hours searching for stuff in books until I had my third child and my only son. Coincidence? I think not. There is a gaming feature that never seems to bore my son from searching and finding stuff in books. This, however, does not seem to translate into searching and finding [lost] stuff in his room or in the house.
Top 10: Best Audio Books for Kids (Some are FREE!)
Ambling Books is a great site for FREE audio books. If your child reads along with the audio playing, it’s a great way to improve his or her reading skills. Try this with a reluctant reader. This is their Top 10: Audio Books for Kids list.
Book Trailers … to entice kids to read
This is a really cool way to chose a book for your child. Play the trailer … yes, just like a movie trailer but on a quality children’s book! The list is extensive! This is great for reluctant readers!
Make Your Own Comic Book, $10
I thought this would make a great holiday or birthday gift for boys who show an interest in graphic novels and/or comic books. It’s an especially good and sneaky way to draw in reluctant readers and get them reading, writing and drawing. While this would appeal to boys who like to draw, you don’t necessarily have to be an artist to be able to create your own comic.