Tips From Walter Dean Myers: How Parents Can Encourage a Love for Books

February 13, 2012

The new National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature gives parents tips on how to get their tots and teens interested in reading.

Here are a few suggestions from Walter Dean Myers on how to get children to read early and often. To see the full story visit here.

For ages 1 month to 4 years

1. Select colorful books with simple pictures, and involve the child in a dialog about them. ”Why do you think the baby hippopotamus wants to be tucked in?” Most children enjoy having input into the story.
2. Mute the television for 10 minutes and have the child tell you what the story is about. They might come up with a better story.
3. A regular reading time works well. The bedtime story is a treat for any child.
4. A bookshelf in a child’s sleeping area is a great idea. Not only does the child own the book, but he eventually owns the stories.
5. I took my child on weekly trips to bookstores where he could select one or two books. A weekly trip to the library works just as well.
6. Kids like to see pictures of the authors. Authors often have Web sites with their images, and sometimes objects or pets they write about.
7. Teach interactive reading to an older child, and have that child read with a younger one.
8. Poetry is a wonderful introduction to reading. And there are poems for every child: sports poems, city poems, silly poems, etc. They are short, amusing, and the rhythm of the poem often helps the child as well.

For older children

1. Read with them as a family activity. I still share books with my grown children.
2. Read the same book that a child is reading in school. I enjoyed reading the fourth- and fifth-grade books my son brought home, and the family had the extra benefit of having something to discuss.
3. Read author biographies. The rationale for the author’s stories sometimes becomes apparent and thus humanizes the author.