Jun27
10 Things Parents Can Do to Encourage Their Children to Read More

I’m Dan, and I’ve written lots of books for young readers. 

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Personally, I was a reluctant reader as a child, and I know a lot of kids out there don’t like to read.  Here are ten sure-fire tips I’ve found that will get your children reading when nothing else will… 

  1. Tell them that reading is bad for children and that if you ever catch them doing it, they’ll be severely punished.
  2. Tattoo text on the inside of their eyelids. 
  3. If you know they’ll be going outside, write the first chapter of your favorite book in skywriting.
  4. Hide all their videogames and tell them that the video game police came over and confiscated them.
  5. Serve alphabet noodles at every meal.
  6. Reward them. Tell them that if they read a hundred books this summer, you won’t make them listen to your “classic” albums from your teenage years.
  7. Invite Rick Riordan over for a book signing in your backyard.
  8. Tell them that monsters hide inside book covers, and the only way to make them go away is to read the book.
  9. Tell them that if they read a hundred books you’ll give them a million dollars. Then, after they read the hundred books and try to collect, deny everything.
  10. But seriously, the best thing you can do to get your kids reading is to find a subject they really like (skateboarding, fighter jets, dinosaurs, whatever) and give them books on that subject.  It works!

Oh, and there’s one last tip…

    11. Give them lots of Dan Gutman books!

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Image via Kids Must Read