There was a great little column in the Chicago Tribune today about how this writer's child has now progressed to "chapter books." Remember how important that is to kids? They don't just look at the pictures or finish a book at one reading, but they continue to read the book, chapter by chapter..."Charlotte's Web" or "Caddy Woodlawn," for example. Kids lay their books on their nightstands and read before they fall asleep. It is a wonderful time in a kid's life when he or she starts to read those "chapter books!"

I still fall asleep by reading, but I don't always make it through a chapter!

I panic if I don't have a good book to read before sleep. I start many more novels than I finish, but the good ones are worth the wait.

Kalleh,

My students are oh, so excited to read Chapter Books.. like Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant... and Nate the Great by M. Sharmat... it is so gratifying when they graduate to "chapters"... we try so hard to get them acclimated to sustained reading.

My son likes chapter books, but still prefers non-fiction. He often falls asleep amid a pile of books (no quiet, tidy placing of books on nightstands here). I'll never forget the time I was on a trip for work and on the phone he told me with great glee "I've got every single Garfield book we own IN MY BED!" Everything I read about getting boys to love reading says to let him have his cartoons and non-fiction and stop telling him they aren't "real books." Sigh. I am doing my best!

quote:

Originally posted by Caterwauller:
My son likes chapter books, but still prefers non-fiction.
Everything I read about getting boys to love reading says to let him have his cartoons and non-fiction and stop telling him they aren't "real books." Sigh. I am doing my best!

CW, my son loved Garfield, the Hardy Boys, and the Guinness Book of World Records at your son's age. He progressed to fantasy. He has never liked the kind of books I like, but he has turned out very well, nonetheless!

My kids loved historical fiction, which I think is great for kids. Kids usually like fiction, but also it has a healthy dose of history.