Parents who Love Reading, Kids who Don't: How it Happens and what You Can Do about it

Mary Leonhardt

Crown Publishing Group, 1995 - Education - 258 pages

An inspiring and practical book by a veteran high school teacher that shows how to make your child an avid reader -- even if he or she now dislikes books.

Virtually all teachers agree: The best students are avid readers. They're the kids who don't just do their homework, but pick up books and magazines to read for pleasure. Yet even parents who love to read sometimes find that their kids don't enjoy books. Now, Mary Leonhardt shows how to awaken, or reawaken, a child to the joy of reading. She even identifies the seven stages that children go through as they develop their reading skills and outlines what parents can do to help them along. Her advice is clear, down-to-earth, and proven effective.

Contents

• HOW IMPORTANT IS IT THAT YOUR: 5
• 2: 18
• A READINGFRIENDLY SCHOOL: 121

About the author

Mary Leonhardt has taken her enjoyment of literature into the classroom and onto the printed page. Her Parents Who Love Reading, Kids Who Don't, along with her Keeping Kids Reading, are intended to encourage young people to enjoy and appreciate the gift of reading. Ms. Leonhardt, who holds an MA in English from Brown University, has taught at many schools, including a convent school in California, Concord-Carlisle High School in Massachusetts, and several Virginia high schools while her husband was serving there with the U.S. Navy. She has 20+ years of experience in the teaching of English; her graduate work in learning difficulties at Old Dominion University helped her better understand the difficulties many students have with reading. Within her own family Ms. Leonhardt can relate to reading troubles. Her son took special education reading classes until the ninth grade. Due to a large extent to his mother's having read aloud to him his reading greatly improved. He recently enrolled at the University of Maine. With an emphasis on the appreciation of literature, Mary Leonhardt sees enjoyment as the key. It doesn't matter if the enjoyment comes from comic books, juvenile thrillers, or more "traditional/classical" literature.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Parents who Love Reading, Kids who Don't: How it Happens and what You Can Do about it
• Author: Mary Leonhardt
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group, 1995
• ISBN: 0517882221, 9780517882221
• Length: 258 pages
• Subjects: Education / Parent Participation; Family & Relationships / Activities; Family & Relationships / Education; Family & Relationships / General; Family & Relationships / Parenting / General; Literary Criticism / Children's & Young Adult Literature