How to get your kids to love reading without going bananas

Do you catch your kids sneaking books to school, reading after bedtime, or walking while reading?

If so, whaddya reading this post for?  You don't need these tips - go read something else.  But if you struggle to get your kids to read, carry on.

If the experience of raising 3 book lovers is any indication, this stuff works:

• Tip#1: Read to your kids.  From the time that our kids were infants, we read to them.  When they couldn't articulate their own tastes, we read Dr. Seuss, Eric Carle, and many other authors.  Poetry and rhyming stories worked well (they all loved the books about Bear by Karma Wilson) as did books with simple, gorgeous pictures (almost anything by Eric Carle) and old folk tales and myths and retellings (Lucia and the Light).  Reading time was a great bed time ritual, but also a middle of the day treat or a just feel like cuddling with mom break.  Ours came to associate books with snuggling, stories, pictures and funny voices.  Dude.  Ya gotta do the funny voices, this is no time for respectability.  There are children's brains on the line!  As they get older - keep reading to them if they enjoy it.  Even though they are competent readers, our 8 year old and our 11 year old still like to listen to us read Roald Dahl stories and Rudyard Kipling (see "funny voices," above)  Also - try to read books that are at or slightly above the speaking level of your child.  They can understand more than you think - and you'll be giving their brains a mini-workout.
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• Tip#2: Read what they want to hear.  Bad news.  You will come perilously close to losing your mind in the early years because THEY ONLY WANT TO READ ONE BOOK and that book has something like 50 words in it, repeated, over and over again until you are ready to secretly shred the thing and compost it in the backyard.  Be strong!  This period will pass.  In the meantime, you can remind them of their other loves, or you can ask to take turns, with you picking the book one day and your child picking the next day.  Put a new book with an appealing cover on top of the well worn fav.  Leave a pop-up book or an interactive book lying around for them to 'find.'  Tell your child that the fav is only supposed to be read on days beginning with the letter "T."  Eventually your child's tastes will diversify - or you'll find a supportive relative to take over reading duties.
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• Tip#3: Use their passions and interests to determine what books you read (or let them read).  If they are crazy about soccer, get them books about soccer.  If animals are their thing, get them animal books.  If they want to read about Star Wars or Calvin and Hobbes, let them.  Anything goes!  Once you've solidified that love of reading you can move to more high brow fare, but give them a good chance to realize how cool reading can be.
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• Tip#4: Get them a library card - and use it.  Libraries are evolving every day, and many libraries have programs and presentations specifically targeting children.  Take advantage of them.  Librarians can suggest great books for any age, so ask for suggestions.  Libraries are a great source for books on tape or CD, which are a tremendous resource for new readers (they can follow along with the story while listening to the tape).  Some libraries even lend out digital audio books over the internet - check with your local librarian.
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• Tip#5: Write them notes.  Keep the notes simple, use the words you know they know.  My 6 year old has a growing list of 'word wall words' from school that I know he can read, so I can write notes using those words with just a couple additional words for him to sound out.  Stick the notes in their lunch, under their pillow, on their desks/tables.  For more advanced readers, you can set up a mini-scavenger hunt with written clues that leads to a prize.  Don't make the prize lame!
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• Tip#6: Read the books they read.  I do this for 2 reasons, first, to make sure the content and reading level is appropriate and second, to prompt conversation with my readers.  When my oldest gets excited about a book, he can't wait to discuss it with someone in the know.  Hard to be in the know if you don't read the book.  And once they're reading all YOUR old favorites, it's fun to compare notes about different aspects of the stories or to compare a book with a movie version.  Having conversations with your child about books = a good thing.
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• Tip#7: Don't make them finish recreational reading if they don't want to.  My oldest son just told me he wasn't 'getting' Margaret L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time and he wasn't going to finish it.  How can someone not get A Wrinkle in Time???  But he doesn't have the same appetite for sci fi as I did.  I'll have to get over myself - there's so much good stuff out there to read, it's not like he'll go wanting.

So, are you ready to give it a try?  Here are some of our current favorites, in case you need some ideas:

For the 6 year old: to read: Hop on Pop; Go Dog Go; Green Eggs and Ham; to have read: James and the Giant Peach, anything about Star Wars or Lego Bionicles.

For the 8 year old: starting to grow out of but still enjoys: anything Junie B. Jones, or Magic Tree House.  currently exploring: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, 1001 Arabian Nights, The Secret Garden (abridged version)

For the 11 year old: Harry Potter series, The Hobbit, The Lightning Thief and follow-ups, Tom Sawyer, anything about Greek Mythology, C.S. Lewis's Narnia series.

My favorite kids' books: Almost anything by Neil Gaiman, Roald Dahl, The Hobbit (brilliant!), C.S. Lewis's Narnia series, and recently Kate DiCamillo (of Despereaux fame) and Linda Sue Park (some wonderful stories based in Korea).

How about you?  Do you (or your kids) have particular favorites?  Have you had luck turning your kids into book lovers?