Hey Book Ninja,

I like the idea. Think of the other times when its useful. How about instead of popping in some animated movie they've seen 100 times, they put this in the DVD player. The player I speak of is in the pointlessly hugh SUV they bought for the mountains they'll never go offroading on (I hate SUV's but that's another beef). The point is, these can come in handy at times when a parent just can't be there, and it's better than nothing.

Also, and I agree this is a lame thing to do instead of reading to your kids, but, a parent could watch it with a kid.

Ultimately, you're right, parenting is the best way to teach a kid, but there are times when this could fit the bill.

And as I always say, if gets kids reading, or even thinking of books, it isn't half bad.

But this is like the literary equivilent of medication. You're treating the symptoms, not preventing the illness. We have to ask ourselves why and how we've come to a point where we're desperate to get kids to connect signifiers with signs, when just 20 years ago they were lined up at lunch to purchase books from Scholastic's catalogue. The most exciting days of the year at school were library days and when your Scholastic books came in (okay, and hotdog day). I literally freaked out if I found a Gordon Korman or Encyclopedia Brown I hadn't read. Not great literature, sure, but staples of childhood. Where has that excitement gone? Why are we desperate enough to try to go for the "cross-over" appeal?

Ah yes, where are the Encyclopedia Browns of yesteryear?

Couldn't agree more, George. Those ads make me furious, too. Like you're a negligent parent if you don't have the latest high-tech gadget to help you abdicate parenting responsibilities. Hate those in-car movie systems, too, and for the same reason. This is teaching children to have short attention spans, for godsakes. What's so bad about looking out the window long enough to notice something?

When I go to the public library with my kids I notice two things: 1) kids crowd around me when I read to my kids, because evidently they don't get read to, and 2) my kids are the only ones left after two or three pages, because the other kids have used up their attention span for something as slow as books.

I don't care. I'm going to keep doing it this way. We are a bookish family: my 5 year old is still learning to read but will still pore over books for a good long while. My 8 year old is on his second go-round with Lord of the Rings. It does matter to do it the slow way.

i used to read to my son... sendak, dr suess, animorphs, harry potter, and now... he's too big. now we go to movies and discuss layers and nuance of the film's storytelling. each phase rocks.

I've noticed that library thing too! I end up conducting story time for five or six kids. Worse still is how they fight over lap space (but that's for another rant on the Why's it so hard to love your children? board).

The sad thing about the library is that the kid's section is jam-packed with toys, computers, and videos. I'm sounding crotchety even to myself here, but dammit, the books should be the entertainment at the library! Okay, maybe a fish tank and some puzzles, but that's it.

From the first day we were pressured to buy toys that squawked and flashed and played tunes, but I remember thinking, these are just training him to ask for a Playstation. The generation that grew up on Gameboy now has iPods and Palms and hightech cells. What consumes your time as a child consumes you as an adult. I read LOTR at very early age too, and despite my psycho Christian mother's fears that I would go all Tom Hanks from Mazes and Monsters, I in fact developed a higher standard for the books I wanted to read after that.

I should add that I forgot to mention Motorcycle Mouse, which might have been the coolest book ever written for a 5 year old.

Yep, with you on all the computers in the kids section at the library. Kids who have no acquaintance with books sign up so that they can Internet game with their friends. And my kids eyes go straight there, of course, because the pretty flashing lights do that. I have actually complained to several librarians about it.

And so it finally comes out

Literacy levels are linked with income. The sociologists once again proving that-which-we-all-already-knew-to-be-true true. But God bless em, now its on paper, the blood that flows in the icy veins of the world's governments, and will have to dealt with it at some point. (



Home

Getting stewed(ious)

Reading among children not in danger.

According to a Tesco study that asked 2,600 parents about their children's reading habits, the perception that children spend their lives glued to a computer screen playing games is either a myth or a huge exaggeration.

Or, more likely, parents are lying. The child-to-parent/parent-to-child recommendations at the end are interesting.



Home

But they sound so smart...

1.2m British kids fail to meet standards for age-based reading levels. Maybe reading's just not for them... Maybe they should try wizard school, or, like, something.



Home

Laura Bush says boys are stupider than girls

Well, given her personal experience, I can understand. But even scientists (scientimatitions, for young trouble-with-reading Wubblewoo) ) are saying boys lag behind girls in reading.

Exactly what should be done, however, is unclear, because there is no consensus on how much genetics, environment and culture are responsible for the gap. And it is not strictly a U.S. phenomenon: Stephen Gorard, education professor at the University of York in England, reviewed scores for 22 countries and discovered gaps in every one, despite differences in school setups and curricula.

In my experience, boys always lag behind girls because, frankly, the view is better from back here.. Badum bump! I'll be back on at 11, folks. Remember to tip your waitress.



Home

Reading program helps get kids excited about reading...

Comics books and dub get kids excited.



Home

Edited by author 03-23-2005 08:52 AM
Getting Johnny to read

Nova Scotia has discovered something really new, here. They can get little girls to read. Wow.

Home

John Wilson's article on what boys like to read is excellent: thoughtful, sensitive and right on target. Don't miss it!

Edited by author 04-01-2005 02:05 PM
The sky is not falling

Canadians spend twice as much on books as we do on the cockfights. The survey makes no distinction between literature, children's books, Atkins diet manuals or, for that matter, books about cockfights.

Home

A bit self-congratulatory, isn't it? As a bookseller and lit-fest organizer I can tell you t'is not poetry or literary fiction.