- by Alvin Poh
Firstly, for reluctant reader, you must help them to get use to reading instead of doing other not so productive activity such as watching meaningless TV programme. For a start, it is best to choose books that interest them.
The books they read don't always need to have a lot of cultural significant. I know of many children who like to read Goosebumps and Animorphs which I don't consider as great literature. However they do capture kid's imagination and turn them on to reading. From reading Goosebumps, you child might be willing to try science fiction by authors of the caliber of Isaac Asimove and Ray Bradbury. And Mystery lovers might move from Nancy Drew to O.Henry or Edgar Allan Poe.
Choosing Books For Reluctant Readers
Some moms and dads don't really approve their children to reading comic books. Yes, comic books contain a lot more picture than words and the sentences are often not properly constructed. These parents hope that their kids have better taster by reading other kind of books. My personal take is this, "For reluctant reader, it is better to comic books than nothing at all". However make use that the content of these books are healthy - there are unhealthy comic books today that are full of violent and immortality. (Nowadays, we have Islamic comic like Aulad, Ana Muslim. I bought them for my kids too).
When choosing books for reluctant readers:
1. Find Books That Relate To Their Life
Is your child having problems with friends or at school. Reading novels and story books related to her situation can be very helpful. If you can't find the right book, one good solution is to seek help from the children's librarian. (I bought books about the the movies that my kids love, ie. The Mask, The Incredibles, Barbie, Toy Story2, Cars, etc. They are so excited to read the books after watching the movies).
2. Try Joke Books
Most children like joke books. They find them funny and humorous. You may have to put up with some tired jokes but jokes books are good way to encourage reluctant readers to read.
3. Cater To Their Interests
If your child is a football fan, then let him read books and magazine related to football. I'd also recommend biographies of famous and successful football stars which often teach good life values like self discipline, hard working and positive self-esteem. (For example, Wafitos loves asking a lot of questions on everything around his. So we bought him an illustrative beginners' encyclopedia on Everyday's Things and Events.)
4. Accept Comfort Over Proficiency
You're trying to encourage your child to read. Quantity is better than quality at this time. For a start, I'd suggest that you choose books that are below his reading proficiency so that he can feel good about reading them. He'll know when he ready, he can go for harder books with better quality.
5. Try Poetry and Puzzle Books
Parents may have forgotten how their children loved the verbal silliness of Dr. Seuss? Silly, spooky or lyrical poetry and rhythms often capture children's imagination when books don't. Look for poetry books written for young readers e.g. books by Shel Silverstein are all time favorite for kids. (Dr. Seuss's books are funny. My kids love them too).
I'd also encourage you to try puzzle books for your child. One of my personal favorite s Usborne Young Puzzle Series. They are very well written and highly captivating for children, evenly adults. They encourage creativity and help children to build up their problem solving skill.
** Based from my experience, as parents, we can inculcate the passion for reading in our children right from their early years. Instead of buying toys, I used to buy board books for Wafitos and Afafita. In fact, Wafitos' first toy when he was one year old was books. Some parents may think that how could a one year old toddler appreciates books? Well, the truth is, to nurture the love for reading, we MUST start as early as we could. Our toddlers and babies may throw the books, bite them, chew the covers or tear the pages, but its ok. They'll soon love books when they grow up. Inculcating the passion for reading and love for books means that we, parents, MUST read the books for them regularly. Its better if we could make it a routine of bedtime story. We must show our babies and toddlers what is books are, and what can we get from reading books. We must also make the books accessible for them to take and flip through. For example, set a mini library or a put a bookshelf in our kids room.
Alhamdulillah, my son has a strong love from books. He can spend hours in MPH or Kinokuniya, sitting at one corner, reading books. I'm glad that my efforts are fruitful now. Many a times, when he was a toddler, I keep on questioning, would all my efforts of exposing books to him be fruitful? But now, I'm glad that I have done a right thing for my kids.
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