Read the Books that Your Children Read

The other day I received a comment on my blog from a man named Arthur Brown. Arthur wanted to know if I had reviewed a particular book, because his friends' kids had been raving about the book, and he wasn't sure if it would be too hard a read for his 9-year-old daughter. I think that it's great that Arthur knows what books his friends' kids like, and that he wants to help his daughter pick out the right books for her own reading level. I had not read the book in question, but what I told Arthur that I thought was that he should read the book with his daughter. And this got me thinking about all of the benefits that can come from parents reading the books that their children read.

I've always been a proponent of the reading of children's books by adults (see my earlier article about this). I think that there are a lot of good reasons why adults should be giving children's books a second (or third, or fourth) look. But I think that for parents, reading the books that your children read can have particularly large benefits, as follows.

1. If you read the books that your children read (either by reading aloud with them, or just by quietly each reading on your own), you'll have a much better idea of what your children like, and what their reading level is. This will help you to pick out other books for them, and they'll be the right books. Your child will also be able to tackle slightly more difficult books than he or she would otherwise, because of having you there as a backup.

2. If you read the books that your children read, the books will naturally lead to discussions about things that are going on in your kids' own lives. This is especially true if you read aloud with your kids even after they are old enough to read on their own. For example, you could ask "What do you think about the fact that Simone doesn't smoke pot, even though her friends do?" or "Would you want to the surgery to be Pretty, if you knew that it would make you look like everyone else, or would you rather be unique?" (bonus points for anyone who recognizes these references). I'm not saying that you should force these discussions, by any means, but it seems like the books could open certain conversational doors, if you let them. For example, our niece loves to talk with us about the Harry Potter books, and the relationships between the main characters, and what we think will happen next, and we all enjoy these conversations tremendously!

3. Reading the books that your children read sends a clear message to your kids that what they read is important to you. This tells them that a) they are important to you, and b) that you value books and reading. So, you get to make your child feel justly cherished, and you get to validate the importance of books. And I can't emphasize enough how important this last point is. Even if your child is a bookworm at age 8, there are many pressures to stop reading as he gets older. Surely parental reinforcement, putting your money where your mouth is, time-wise, can help to prevent this. And there are many reasons why it's good for your child to continue as a bookworm (increased vocabulary, improved math skills, exposure to classic literature, increased confidence, etc.).

If your child is a serious bookworm, you probably won't be able to find the time to read ALL of the books that she reads. But you'll know which ones are important, which ones are favorites, and you can focus on those. I have a friend who lives in Austin, and she and her 11-year-old daughter have had great success with this approach. I've learned a lot from them, and learned of many great books through their shared reading experience.

So give it a try. Read the books that your children read. The potential rewards are well worth the effort - closeness, reinforcement of the value of reading, and improved communication. And you get to read great kids' books at the same time. What a win-win proposition!

One final note: although I have addressed this article towards parents, the same idea applies to anyone who works with, or has a relationship with, kids. Teachers, librarians, aunts, uncles, grandparents. I would think that it would work for anyone who has an interest in kids, and who wants them to keep reading as they get older. Read what the kids read. Then talk with them about the books. The rewards are endless!

© 2009 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved.

Comments

[Liz B]

I've found that library patrons of every age love it when you ask them what they are reading. Readers advisory becomes a mutual relationship, rather than one sided.

I so agree with you about parents reading childrens books! Great post!

[Jen Robinson]

Hi Liz,

Thanks for the feedback! I like the idea of readers advisory being a mutual relationship. Who doesn't like to talk about the books that they like?

[Erin]

Hi Jen,

I recently stumbled across your blog, and as a fellow avid reader of children's books, I thought I'd say hi! I noticed on your list of books that you'd like to read that you haven't yet read The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander...I highly recommend it!

Erin

[Sara]

Hi Jen,

I was just reviewing your article because I have been having a difficult time directing my 9-year old daughter to books. I have two comments.

First, my daughter's second grade teacher had a pretty conrete way to determine whether or not the reading level of a book was appropriate. I can check with my daughter for the strategy.

As a parent, I find that I am not concerned with the reading level, but with the appropriateness of the content. That's why I so enjoy reading your reviews.

The other comment was that parents can listen to books on tape with their kids. We've been listening to books in the car with our two children and it has been a great way to share books together. Right now, we are enjoying Harry Potter, which would be too difficult for my younger child to read. Long car rides have become something that my children now look forward to, because they both know that we will all be sharing books together.

[Jen Robinson]

Thanks for the feedback, Sara! I love the bit about the kids looking forward to long car rides because you can share books together. That's really great!

Sara also wrote offline to fill us in with her daughter's method for deciding if a book is too difficult:

1. Open the book to a random page.
2. Read the page.
3. If you find 5 words or more on the page that you don't know, then the book is too difficult for you.

Her daughter uses this strategy when choosing new books and will put the book away if she encounters 5 or more unknown words.

I think that it's better to put a book on hold for a while than to bang one's head against it in frustration, so a method like this makes sense to me.

[Vivian]

I so agree with your post. I can see why you chose this one as your favorite. Thanks for participating!

[Jennifer, Snapshot]

I am glad that you linked up to this at HipWriterMama's. I read it the first time around, but I am about to launch my Read Together summer mission, and instead of focusing just on reading with kids, I want parents to read and discuss, so I'm going to include a link to this on Monday when I start signups.

[Jen Robinson]

Thanks, Vivian and Jennifer! Vivian, thanks for inspiring me to look back at this post, which I actually haven't done in a while.

Jennifer, I did see that you were starting your Read Together summer mission, and I plan to write about that this weekend. I think it's so great that you're doing it!

[minerva66]

I started reading children's books yrs ago to recommend them to my kids for homeschooling purposes. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences in all that time. We do discuss the books, and I have a much better idea of what they are likely to read of my suggestions. The funny thing is I think I spend more time discussing them with adults who have read and loved them, too. But even when we don't discuss them, my kids and I are still sharing them. When we do discuss, great conversations of very real circumstances happen.

[Jen Robinson]

Thanks for sharing, Minerva! I do find that I have most of my book discussions with other adults (but then, I don't actually have my own kids). Anyway, it's great to hear that reading the children's books has been such a positive thing for you. I think that your kids are very lucky!