I guess I am a children’s book award junkie. I really love all short lists for awards even more so than the actual award recipient. There is just something so exciting about a short list; anyone can be the winner. This genre: non fiction for young adult is not where I am reading ahead of my eldest yet as she is just eleven, but I am excited to learn about this award and I’m pretty sure that it will fit the bill for one of my kids in the future.
In the case of Nancy Yi Fan, it’s clear she was born with a special gift. My 10-year-old, nearly 11-year-old brought home this book for me to blog on. (At the same age, Nancy had banged out a draft of this book and was sending it in to publishers!).
Gifts for kids around $20.
I think it’s essential for children to try out new behaviour in a safe place. Like it or not, this probably means at home, on you, the parent. It’s a child’s way of spreading their wings; trying out new personalities and traits. A safe way to experiment is important because your child knows that you will always love her or him no matter what. But a book can also be a safe way to try out new behavior as a reader if you talk about the book in the context of how it makes you both feel.
So when @IanChia on Twitter sent this article to me, Children distracted from reading by TV and computers, I fully agreed with its premise. Yes, that is exactly what happened to us on our trip. I would have had more pictures of kids caught in the act of reading since my husband and I had our camera and iPhone on the ready, but … they just didn’t read much so there was not much to catch. These kids did do some reading though! Kudos to their parents for pulling that off! I wish I could say the same!
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.
Thank you to everyone who sent in pictures of kids Caught in the Act … of READING both last week and for this week. Here they are! If you want your child (and it doesn’t have to be your own) featured next week, please send me a link or a photo to pragmaticmom.com (at) gmail.com. Replace the (at) with @. Thanks so much!!