Parents Can Help Create Lifelong Readers

I'm not a big saver of stuff. One of the few things I've schlepped along with me in our various moves over the years is my book collection. And some of those books go back as far as my own early childhood. They still bare Exlibris labels pasted on the inside cover with my name written boldly where it says: This Book Belongs to___. Some have the added notation: Private! Keep Out! That's how important and intimate my relationship was with my favorite fiction-as personal as the pink diary I locked with a key.

There are powerful memories attached to all my prized children's books. McElligot's Pond by Dr. Seuss was the book my dad read to me at bedtime, dramatically acting out the various fish-the one "with a long curly nose" or "like a rooster that crows"-until I giggled myself to sleep.

My aunt Phyllis, a librarian, and my uncle Bert, a professor, were huge influences in my reading life. They introduced me to such lesser-known treasures as The Day the Empire State Went Visiting and Nine Magic Wishes, such classics as Charlotte's Web and The Yearling, and everything by Roald Dahl.

Many of my books enjoyed a second life in my sons' childhoods, as they became their cherished choices to read aloud, among other wonderful books published in their generation. Boxes of their "Private-Do Not Give Away!" books have remained in our care long after they moved out and on-and one day (she says hopefully) will be devoured by their own children with the explanation, "Once Upon a Time, before Kindles, we had these things called books."

A few weeks ago I attended a talk at R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison given by Pam Allyn, children's literacy advocate and educator, who affirmed my own beliefs and experiences and gave great suggestions on how to encourage and empower children as both readers and writers.

Allyn is the author of two books published this year: Best Books for Boys: How to Engage Boys in Reading in Ways That Will Change Their Lives and Your Child's Writing Life: How to Inspire Confidence, Creativity, and Skill at Every Age. She is also director of LitLife, which works to improve literacy education in schools, and LitWorld, a global organization that aims to ensure that all children learn to read and write.

To guide children to become lifelong readers, Allyn stressed the importance of parents and grandparents' reading out loud to kids at home, not only for future academic success, but also as a way of "getting to know our kids in a very deep way."

She recalled her own father's reading to her from The New York Times sports page. It didn't matter that she wasn't particularly into sports, but that her dad read to her.

"The writing itself was so amazing and it brought me into [my dad's] connection and voice. It was something we both united around," she says.

Allyn suggests that parents think about reading aloud in new and useful ways.

"What types of reading can we do with our kids long after they can read on their own?" she asks. "If a son or daughter is a struggling reader, bring it down a notch. When a child has a laborious, boring school reading assignment, read something just for fun aloud. It reinforces reading as a joyous, positive [experience]."

The following is a description of READ-Allyn's acronym for encouraging kids to read:

Ritual-Don't only wait until bedtime to read. It's a comforting ritual, but create other times for the ritual of reading together as an activity to anticipate and enjoy.

Environment-Bookshelves aren't necessarily the best location for books in the home, as kids will only see them in one fixed place. Put books in baskets, crates, bins, and other surprising, moveable places to engage kids in reading.

Access-Reading is all around us-in magazines, joke books, comic books, and even the back of a cereal box. It's especially important for boys to read what they gravitate toward, so reading doesn't feel like a chore. Boys also like series books and there are lots of good ones being published that will engage them, Allyn notes.

Dialogue-Talking about what you're reading further enriches the experience. Tell your kids about when a book really moved you and why-for example, when it made you feel like you weren't alone. And when you're having a dialogue with kids about what they're reading, ask open-ended questions-questions you don't know the answers to. To make reading a peaceful, joyful time with your kids, don't be judgmental or take on the teacher role.

The importance of rereading is something Allyn can't stress enough.

She points out that boys score lower than girls in language arts no matter their socioeconomic level, and that it's not an issue of comprehension, but of building stamina.

"It's about reading long and strong," she says. "The first time you read a book, you're focused on the plot-rereading gives you deeper meaning. If it's a world you love, you want to be there again."

Okay. Time to dig into that box of books in my closet. I haven't reread A.A. Milne's When We Were Very Young in a very long time.

Best Books for Boys (Scholastic) is $21.99, softcover. Your Child's Writing Life (Penguin, USA) is $17, softcover. For more about Pam Allyn's literacy programs, visit www.pamallyn.com

Amy J. Barry lives and writes in Stony Creek. Email her at aimwrite@snet.net.