10 Tips to Keep Kids Reading
by Carole Boston Weatherford
New York Times bestselling and NAACP Image Award-winning author
of Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom--
winner of a Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration
for acclaimed illustrator Kadir Nelson
For bookings, contact: Caresse Michele, 336-689-3014
1. Visit the library often. Have your child sign up for a library card and reading incentive programs.
2. Delve into African-American history and culture with Coretta Scott King Award-winning books.
3. Read a children's book based on a movie; then, view the film. Compare the two.
4. Take audio books on the road.
5. Take a hint about your child's interests. Satisfy the curiosity with books about science, geography, sports and technology. Create hands-on experiences with how-to and hobby books.
6. Introduce your child to great African-Americans through biographies.
7. Read a comic book or graphic novel of a classic, such as Homer or Hamlet. Many libraries' collections include these books.
8. Get your child hooked on a series. Cheetah Girls and Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs both feature African-American characters.
9. Pick up a children's poetry collection or visit a children's poetry website. Read aloud a poem a day.
10. Read a book together. Take turns reading aloud. You could even start a family book club.
Links to books your child will love
Database of Award-winning Children's Literature (searchable by gender, age, ethnicity, subject, title, author, etc.)
Coretta Scott King Award Winners (Books by or about African Americans)
Kidsreads.com (New books, books based on movies, popular book series)
Guysread.com (Books for boys)
American Library Association Notable Children's Books
International Reading Association Notable Books for a Global Society (Multicultural children's books)
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Winners
National Council for the Social Studies Notable Trade Books for Young People
Books by Carole Boston Weatherford