What's a good book for your child?

I feel your pain. It is so hard to feel like your doing the right thing with your child's school work, why does getting a library book have to be difficult too?

It doesn't. Remember, there is a difference, a huge difference, between your child's instructional reading assignment and their pleasure reading choices.Your child's teacher probably selects reading material for them based on a reading assessment. This is designed to provide the student with material that is challenging enough to boost their reading without being too difficult as to cause frustration. Quite frankly, a lot of this stuff is pretty dreary, but so are the multiplication tables and we have to know them.

Now when your child visits the library, ours or any library, to get choice material, it's a whole new ball game. The child's interests and your parental supervision now take over. We want your child to read as much as possible to become a lifelong reader. Too often we forget what lifelong readers do, how we choose what to read. We read what interests us. Your child will blossom as a reader if you allow them to do the same (with developmental guidance, of course).

Your child may want to read some easy story books because they like the stories or remember them fondly. That's ok. They may want to get some books on snakes that they can't read, that's ok. Let them look at the pictures, share the book with them. You don't have to read the thing cover to cover.

My word of caution for you is this; don't rush your child. I see it too often. Students come in and tell me "I'm a Level M" or "I read on an 8th grade level". Phooey! You're not a level anything, you're a kid and you should read books you like. There's no such thing as an 8th grade level. Children at any grade are diverse in their abilities in reading the same as math, science, or football. The tragic mistake parents make is insisting their child read at as high a level as possible. Folks, the content of these books just isn't appropriate for all children. Trust me, your child will grow up fast enough. You don't want or need to rush them along, just because someone told you they are a level whatever!

Look, if you really need a tool to judge what's too hard or just right for your child to read, use the 5 finger rule. Have your child read the first page out loud to you. One finger goes up for each missed word. If they miss five, it's probably too hard for them. If they miss three, just right. Also listen to the flow of their reading. If it's stilted, one word at a time, not conversational, then they'll never enjoy the book. Nothing makes me sadder than hearing someone tell me their second grader read Harry Potter when I've heard the student read easier material in a plodding, dull fashion. They read the words, not the story. Why not wait a year or two until they can enjoy it.

Lastly, there are a lot of stories that used to be common to all of our experience. Goldilocks, Hansel and Gretel, The North Wind and the Sun and so on, that kids miss if we skip them ahead to "chapter books" just because we can. There was a reason stories were told around the fire centuries ago. These stories teach cautionary tales that help your child when faced with more dangerous real world problems and choices. Don't miss them!

Herb Wilburn