We're not into it here either, I've got a kid who will read avidly if he's into it and not if he's not, and is generally impervious to rewards or punishments anyway!
I used to like library reading challenges when I was a kid but I think it was because I would read a book a day anyway and a few times a year I got external recognition for it!
Summer reading programs alive and well over here as well. Our library says the charts can represent anything--read that day, read together, finished a book. That twist does seem to make it feel less completion-focused and more an attempt at engaging the children in general. Half of the prizes are old books, gathered from donations to the library as well!
But I agree the prizes and sticker charts don’t seem to help anyone who isn’t already avidly reading.
When we were in Cambridge (MA) there was a group from the library that set up outside the neighborhood pools. They laid out rows of new books and invited any passing children to pick out two each. That was where my oldest first picked up George O’Connor’s Greek gods graphic novels, beginning us on a looong journey of intimate familiarity with every single one.
I suspect that effort was well funded by publisher nonprofits, and gave kids a chance at bringing home dazzling brand new books. Pretty effective.
There’s a school holiday reading challenge at our library right now sponsored by a pizza company. I haven’t looked into it at all but I assume the prize is.. pizza?
I resonated with your point about starting a book and then maybe not finishing it. This is something I’ve struggled with into adulthood because I’m the kind of person who likes a good list and so I keep an annual record of the books I’ve read. And sometimes I pick up a book for one reason or another and just find it hard to get into, but if I don’t finish it, I can’t put it on the list! Perhaps I ought to make a list of Books I Started But Never Finished haha
We homeschool in Cambodia so we don't have anything like this. I like reading myself but I like you I read what I want to when I want to. I have one child who doesn't like reading, and I feel like thats ok. I do read aloud a lot though.
We participated in such a reading challenge once when our kids were younger. They enjoyed making lists of the books they read, but I the price was rather oxymoronic - a gaming device and other digtial gadget rewards. It seemed to say : read these boring books so that you can get back to what you actually enjoy. I raised this concern to the library director, who agreed it seemed to send the wrong message...My kids liked the Mensa reading challenge (you get a free t-shirt when you finish a list). I am currently working on a post about reading (out in a couple of days) that might be of interest to you (it will even include a study guide for the top 100 classic words). Thanks for your daily insights :)
I actually prefer this to the world book day offerings. I think the WBD books are wasteful and a £1 off another book isn't enough for many families. Where as I think encouraging children and therefore families to use their local library is brilliant. Maybe I'm bias as my mum and brother work in a library but they are underfunded and underused for the fabulous resource that they are. I'm not into the prizes or stickers but I do like the community aspect, my mum/brothers library have some fab activities around the different themes and put together some great book choices around it too. They never "test" a child but they do love the hubbub around the reading challenge and chatting with the kids about their favourite characters etc. I guess it's very down the individual library and also the individual child as I can see why it isn't much use to yours but for some it will be their first visit to the library which could start something amazing
We're not into it here either, I've got a kid who will read avidly if he's into it and not if he's not, and is generally impervious to rewards or punishments anyway!
I used to like library reading challenges when I was a kid but I think it was because I would read a book a day anyway and a few times a year I got external recognition for it!
Summer reading programs alive and well over here as well. Our library says the charts can represent anything--read that day, read together, finished a book. That twist does seem to make it feel less completion-focused and more an attempt at engaging the children in general. Half of the prizes are old books, gathered from donations to the library as well!
But I agree the prizes and sticker charts don’t seem to help anyone who isn’t already avidly reading.
When we were in Cambridge (MA) there was a group from the library that set up outside the neighborhood pools. They laid out rows of new books and invited any passing children to pick out two each. That was where my oldest first picked up George O’Connor’s Greek gods graphic novels, beginning us on a looong journey of intimate familiarity with every single one.
I suspect that effort was well funded by publisher nonprofits, and gave kids a chance at bringing home dazzling brand new books. Pretty effective.
There’s a school holiday reading challenge at our library right now sponsored by a pizza company. I haven’t looked into it at all but I assume the prize is.. pizza?
I resonated with your point about starting a book and then maybe not finishing it. This is something I’ve struggled with into adulthood because I’m the kind of person who likes a good list and so I keep an annual record of the books I’ve read. And sometimes I pick up a book for one reason or another and just find it hard to get into, but if I don’t finish it, I can’t put it on the list! Perhaps I ought to make a list of Books I Started But Never Finished haha
We homeschool in Cambodia so we don't have anything like this. I like reading myself but I like you I read what I want to when I want to. I have one child who doesn't like reading, and I feel like thats ok. I do read aloud a lot though.
We participated in such a reading challenge once when our kids were younger. They enjoyed making lists of the books they read, but I the price was rather oxymoronic - a gaming device and other digtial gadget rewards. It seemed to say : read these boring books so that you can get back to what you actually enjoy. I raised this concern to the library director, who agreed it seemed to send the wrong message...My kids liked the Mensa reading challenge (you get a free t-shirt when you finish a list). I am currently working on a post about reading (out in a couple of days) that might be of interest to you (it will even include a study guide for the top 100 classic words). Thanks for your daily insights :)
I actually prefer this to the world book day offerings. I think the WBD books are wasteful and a £1 off another book isn't enough for many families. Where as I think encouraging children and therefore families to use their local library is brilliant. Maybe I'm bias as my mum and brother work in a library but they are underfunded and underused for the fabulous resource that they are. I'm not into the prizes or stickers but I do like the community aspect, my mum/brothers library have some fab activities around the different themes and put together some great book choices around it too. They never "test" a child but they do love the hubbub around the reading challenge and chatting with the kids about their favourite characters etc. I guess it's very down the individual library and also the individual child as I can see why it isn't much use to yours but for some it will be their first visit to the library which could start something amazing