Review: How to Raise a Reader

How to Raise a Reader by Pamela Paul and Maria Russo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of the most common challenges I hear from my blog's readers is their struggle to get their children to keep reading. With so many distractions of an electronic nature, children may seem to have too many alternatives to a good book. What's a parent to do? New York Times Book Review editors Pamela Paul and Maria Russo are full of good ideas and suggestions about common reading pitfalls to avoid.

This book is structured according to developmental stages, from reading to babies, toddlers, primary grades, middle grades to YA suggestions for your teens. One of the things I love about their advice is that they point out how quickly children will notice that their parents aren't reading, are on the phone or otherwise distracted. They encourage family reading time, family audiobooks, and in general, modeling the behavior that you wish to achieve. They also point out that you need to know your child's nature- what engages them, what they fear, and even just making sure you know why your child resists some aspect of reading. One of the author's children was resisting reading alternate pages out loud with their parent and the concerned parent was surprised when the child sighed heavily and said "I hate reading out loud. I have to go so slow." Not what you'd expect unless you know your child is an excited reader who is looking forward to getting to the next page!

I found this book has some good advice, some great booklists, and in general I think it would be either a solid purchase for parents of young children or a book you could check out of the library for strategizing about flagging interest in your middle grader or high schooler.


I received an Advanced Review Copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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