First of all, any Indiana children's or YA librarians going to CYPD on Sunday and/or Monday? I will be there! Come say hi! Let's hang out!
And now, a confession: I didn't finish my own Summer Reading Challenge. That's right! I am a non-completer! I get no prizes!! Oh, well.
My challenge was to read (or listen to) six adult books between the middle of June and the end of August. Well, August ends next week and I have only read three.
The adult books that I finished were:
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
My Life in France by Julia Child (audio) and
The Red Thread by Ann Hood
I attribute this failure to the fact that I actually (comparatively) did not read much of anything this summer. It was just so hot and work was so busy that when I got home, I had zero energy for anything but zoning out on the couch and watching TV on DVD. (I think I am finally just now starting to get my reading mojo back. Whew!)
Excuses, excuses, I know.
BUT this just goes to show you that even librarians sometimes don't make their Summer Reading goals. Now, of course, we want all kids to read over the summer. It helps them keep up their reading skills and stay on track for the next year of school. But I'm pretty sure that I can speak for all librarians when I say that what we want more than kids reading over the summer is kids ENJOYING reading over the summer.
Maybe that means that instead of the library's goal of reading 20 books, your child would do better with a goal of 5 books. Maybe that means reading lots of magazines and graphic novels. Maybe that means reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid ten times. Maybe it means that you spend the whole summer reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire together.
Next summer, visit your local library and sign up for the Summer Reading Club. OR if you don't have time to make it to the library or if you want to set different goals for your kids or your family, challenge yourself. Maybe you want to see if you can read 500 books with your preschooler over the summer. Maybe you want to see if your family can read aloud together every night for a month straight. Maybe you want to read a book set in every different country in the whole world!
Just remember that even if you don't meet the goal (be it the library's goal or your own), the important thing is to keep on reading and make reading a positive experience.
