An editorial, well worth the reading, discusses reading programs for kids during the summer break from school.

Many libraries are attempting to fight this seasonal illiteracy by offering summer reading programs. Unfortunately, the titles are about as uninspiring as a bad summer movie.

That such books might keep kids reading is a meager defense. If that's the point, asks Mary Burgess, a professor of English at the University of Notre Dame, "Why not have them read cereal boxes?"

Comments, especially from parents and librarians?

Don't know how I missed this post before. I will certainly comment.

First of all, the author of the article talks about the library recommended reading lists as "assigned reading." A recommended list is just that - options from which someone may choose. They are meant to be lighter, generally, than those "classic" books that schools would assign. It's summer, afterall! The recommendations we put on our lists represent a wide range of preferences. When we craft those lists, we are trying to go outside our own comfort zones and offer things that would please anyone's reading palette.

In some ways, this makes me think of one of my favorite library t-shirts (I don't have one, but one of my staff does). It says "My library has something to offend everyone."

It's funny she should mention cereal boxes. Our own reading program has children keeping track of the time they spend reading rather than the number of books they read, and we award prizes at 6 and 12 hours. When I talk to kids, I tell them that reading anything counts - books, magazines, newspapers, even the cereal box. If they spend 15 minutes at breakfast reading the cereal box, that is 15 minutes of reading.

The author of the article appears to be a snob about literature. Oh well, it happens all the time. If she wants to come to my library and try to read Little Women to the kids, she's welcome to come! I, on the other hand, would rather read Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging or Captain Underpants books.