By Kitty Felde
I was at a surprise birthday party last weekend for a friend and found myself sitting next to a 12-year-old who wasn’t a big fan of reading. He couldn’t remember the last book he read. I was determined to find something he’d love. By the time the candles were blown out and the cake was cut, I found out he loved graphic novels – particularly fantasy – but he wasn’t a Harry Potter fan.
Librarians at the American Library Association’s annual conference told me over and over again that you have to really interview a kid to get to know their reading interests.
McKena Wilkerson, a librarian with the Val Verde Unified School District in Perris, California says she always interviews kids to find out something about their personalities, and then matches the book to the kid. For the goofballs, she steers them toward James Patterson’s “Jackie Ha-Ha” series or Mo Willems’ pigeon books like “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!”
“If they’re going for something a little more serious or spooky or adventurous,” she says, “I’ll do the “I Survived” books. Those are always a good choice.”
Jamie McCraw from the Surprise Public Library in Arizona says parents do their best interviewing on a hike or in a car. “The best conversations you can have with a kid,” she says, “are always when you’re not looking at each other.”
But she does offer one caution about literary tastes. “I think you also have to be ready for it to change. In an instant.” Your kid may love Pokemon today, but tomorrow they’ll love sharks. “You’ve got to pivot,” she says.
Kitty Felde hosts the Book Club for Kids podcast. Her latest book, “Losing is Democratic: How to Talk to Kids About January 6th,” is now available from Chesapeake Press with free curriculum.