Raise Kids Who Love Reading

More Tips on Reading

Just because your kids have required reading for school doesn't mean the whole family can't join in. If your high schooler is reading Romeo and Juliet, for example, check out Shakespeare Stories, by Leon Garfield, or rent a kid-friendly movie adaptation. You can also find stories to explore topics your kids are studying in other subjects. If your middle schooler's learning about life on the frontier, you might check out The Courage of Sarah Noble, by Alice Dalgliesh. Environmental issues in science? Try Carl Hiaasen's Hoot.

To make sure your family reading time feels less like school, get creative. Meet outside on a picnic blanket under shady trees or snuggle up together on the couch. Or try playing this simple but yummy game: Bake a batch of sugar cookies and use icing to write words like "plot," "character," and "theme." Then have each family member choose a cookie and talk about how that literary element showed up in the book.

Load up on books, magazines, and newspapers -- even comic books. High-tech kids can check out pagebypagebooks.com to read classics online. Or try audio books, which you can download to an iPod or MP3 player. Be sure to offer varied subjects: Just because a child doesn't love fantasy doesn't mean he's not a reader -- he may prefer nonfiction tales of the Wild West or famous sports figures.

Originally published in Ladies' Home Journal, September 2009.