By Kitty Felde There’s nothing like sharing a book with a friend. Especially if that friend has a tail and a lot of fur. Dogs are non-judgmental. They don’t criticize mispronounced words or sentences that take forever to finish. They just listen. Read-to-dog events have become part of regular programming around the country, including events at both […]
Young Readers: More Binge, Less Complaints
By Kitty Felde “It’s not that kids don’t like to read. It’s that they don’t like feeling like they’re forced to read.” That’s Eric Berman’s mantra. Berman is Teen Services Coordinator for the Alameda County Library in California. He says the key is getting reluctant readers hooked on something. Anything works, he says – comic books, graphic […]
Young Readers: Facts To Sway Reluctant Fiction Readers
By Kitty Felde They say there are two kinds of people in the world: those who read fiction and those who read non-fiction. Fiction fans argue that stories improve a person’s capacity to understand and mentally react to other individuals and social situations. Non-fiction aficionados argue that fact-filled books help kids develop critical thinking skills […]
Young Readers: Stopping the Summer Slide
By Kitty Felde There’s still a few weeks of summer left, the perfect time to kick back with a cool drink and read – which may be the last thing the child in your life plans to do with their precious time away from the classroom. But months without reading can hurt that child in […]
Young Readers: Fan Fiction Gives Familiar Characters A Second Life
By Kitty Felde Ever wonder why networks keep rebooting old TV shows? There’s a special place in our hearts for characters we wish we could spend time with again and again. But what happens when we run out of episodes? Fan fiction. These are original stories by writers who “borrow” the characters of books, movies, […]
Young Readers: Falling in Love Again: Top Five Questions to Ask a Kid About Reading
By Kitty Felde Perhaps I’m still thinking about Valentine’s Day, wondering about how we fall in love with another person. What is it about them that makes them irresistible? A much tougher question is: how do we get a kid to fall in love with reading? It’s hard enough to get a reluctant reader to […]
Young Readers: A Resolution for the New Year
By Kitty Felde Wouldn’t it be nice to simply create everybody else’s New Year’s resolutions instead of trying to follow your own? Can’t I just outsource my desire to lose ten pounds? Why is creating a new habit so darned hard? I spotted an interview with National Medal of Science winner and MIT Professor Ann […]