Ten Ways to Raise a Nonreader

1. Have the television on at all times. Make sure you put a television set and a computer in every room. (Don't forget the kitchen!)

2. Keep the place neat--no books or literary magazines in sight.

3. Never let your children see you read a book.

4. Never take your kids to the library.

5. Never read stories aloud past age two.

6. Never talk about ideas while eating meals.

7. Keep the lights down low. Buy only forty-watt lightbulbs.

8. Schedule your children for every activity you can think of so they won't be bored.

9. Never play any table games together.

10. Absolutely no reading in bed or good lamps to make it easy to do so.

from Honey For a Child's Heart, by Gladys Hunt

My friend Michelle gave me this wonderful book several years ago, and I recommend that all parents buy a copy! It not only presents the "how-to's" of encouraging your children to read, but also the "why's". I reference the age-categorized book lists periodically and keep a record of all our completed read-alouds in the back cover. After lunch on school days we all get comfy in the living room and read a chapter (or three) of a good book together. I think this is a favorite time of day for us all!

Today we finished Babe: The Gallant Pig. Next up? From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.