Before I became a library administrator, I spent the first decade of my career as a children’s librarian. Few things are as rewarding as helping a child connect with a book they will really love. So I wanted to take a moment to address a frequently asked question of the past few weeks: “We’re all in isolation, and school and library facilities are closed. What should our kids be reading?”
Before I answer that, let me add that I’ve heard from a number of our adult patrons who said that, while no one wants to experience a pandemic, on the bright side they thought they’d have plenty of time to catch up on all the books they’d been meaning to read but hadn’t had time for. But in their efforts to make the best of a bad situation, they’ve found that they’re having trouble concentrating. When they do find time for books, they’re distracted and having a hard time retaining what they read.
My advice, in a nutshell: read something easy. Not everything we read has to be challenging or make us better people. Just because War and Peace has been on your reading list for the past 10 years doesn’t mean that now is the time to read it. Read something light. Re-read an old favorite. Read a collection of short stories or a good magazine. Read something that makes you laugh or that takes you away from the everyday. Escapist reading is absolutely legitimate reading. Give yourself permission to read just for pleasure.
What does this have to do with what our kids read? Just this: we can extend that same permission to our children. We are living through something unprecedented in our lifetime. We’re feeling stress and anxiety, and so are our kids. We’re having a hard time concentrating and so are they. We have a lifetime of learned coping skills that they haven’t had time to develop yet, and we’re still finding it difficult. This is not the time to put a load of heavy expectations on our kids.
Remember, grade level is just an average. The report you get from your child’s school saying they read on a level 2.7, or 3.6, is only a snapshot of how they performed on the day the test was administered. It doesn’t mean that books on that level are the only things they should be reading. If your child is up to the challenge of trying something above their reading level, by all means let them try it. But reading below grade level builds confidence and reinforces the skills they already have.
If your child’s attention span is only long enough to read the back of a cereal box over breakfast, that counts. Reading comics and graphic novels count. Reading the instructions on a board game counts. Reading a menu or recipe counts. Listening to an audiobook counts. Recent research has shown that listening to an audiobook or read-aloud activates and engages the same parts of the brain as reading.
All reading counts, and it is perfectly okay to let kids select their own reading materials and to give them permission to keep it easy and light. No one, including your child’s teachers, wants reading time to become a battlefield. As long as your children are reading something, they will not lose ground.
Henry County Library system hosts a free, 24/7 digital library featuring e-books, audiobooks, movies, music, comics, homework help and more. To access it, visit our website at www.henrylibraries.org. If you need a library card, or need to renew an expired card, send an email to getacard @henrylibraries.org and we will get you up and running in no time.
