Here's Liz Atwood with this week's installment of Tween Tuesday

School is almost out and while my kids probably fantasize about sleeping late and playing video games all day, that’s not going to happen. I didn’t buy the summer work packets this year, but I’m a firm believer in another tradition — summer reading.

I wish I could say my boys love to read, but they don’t. They start into books, but always seem to get bored and want to give up. I’m sure that it’s because books just don’t move as quickly as movies, TV shows and video games. The trick is to keep them interested.

The National Summer Learning Association, based in Baltimore, has a lot of great resources, including these tips on how to find books for the summer read.

Libraries across the country are sponsoring programs to encourage the kids to read by adding in contests, crafts and games. The theme for many libraries this summer, including the Enoch Pratt in Baltimore, is One World, Many Stories.

Scholastic has joined with PBS Kids to sponsor another reading competition and has lots of resources and suggested books. Many schools also offer reading lists — some suggested and some required.

If you have any other ideas of how to motivate the reluctant tween reader, I’d like to hear about it.

Posted by Hanah Cho at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Goodnight Moon. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. These are classic children's picture books. Baby J. loves them as much as a baby could love a book -- he seems to enjoy gnawing at them more than looking at the drawings.

But picture books are starting to fade as parents seek out more text even for kids in kindergarten and first grade, according to The New York Times.

It is not going away — perennials like the Sendaks and Seusses still sell well — but publishers have scaled back the number of titles they have released in the last several years, and booksellers across the country say sales have been suffering.

The economic downturn is certainly a major factor, but many in the industry see an additional reason for the slump. Parents have begun pressing their kindergartners and first graders to leave the picture book behind and move on to more text-heavy chapter books. Publishers cite pressures from parents who are mindful of increasingly rigorous standardized testing in schools.

This is an interesting shift, but not surprising. Parents in New York City are sending their 3- to 4-year-old children to test preparation companies so that they can secure spots in the city's gifted and talented public kindergarten classes, according to another recent New York Times story.

Picture books aren't for dummies, as the story points out, and text-heavy books aren't neccesarily more complex.

What do you think of this shift? When did you transition from picture books to text-heavy books?

Posted by Hanah Cho at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Books
        

(Amazon.com handout photo) 

I got a Kindle recently, and I'm obsessed. It's lightweight, doesn't take up space in our small apartment and downloading e-books cost less than buying paper- and hardback books.

But I also love going to a bookstore or library, browsing through the endless collection of classics, romance novels and best sellers.

When baby J. is old enough to read, will there even be paper-bound books available for him? Or will only e-readers like Kindle or some new product exist in the future?

A new survey by publisher Scholastic has found that children want to read books on digital devices. The New York Times reports:

About 25 percent of the children surveyed said they had already read a book on a digital device, including computers and e-readers. Fifty-seven percent between ages 9 and 17 said they were interested in doing so.

Only 6 percent of parents surveyed owned an e-reader, but 16 percent said they planned to buy one in the next year. Eighty-three percent of those parents said they would allow or encourage their children to use the e-readers.

After worries about video games, computers and other technology distracting children, the paper notes out that educators and parents hope to use the new devices to introduce children to reading. It makes sense considering children are so tech savvy now.

What do you think about the potential of digital readers encouraging children to read more? Have you introduced these devices to your children? Do they like it? Or do you prefer that they stick with traditional books? 

Posted by Hanah Cho at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Books
        

What can I say? Eeeeeuuuuwww.

My Read Street colleague, Dave Rosenthal, points out that the news that Mackenzie Phillips (formerly of "One Day at a Time") now says she had a 10-year affair with her father, John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, is also appropriate fodder for our parenting blog.

I suppose it is, though what we apparently have here is not parenting at all, but its darkest opposite.

I guess the interesting thing for us is that in telling the story, Mackenzie Phillips tells the world not to "hate" her father, who died years ago.

Associated Press file photo

Posted by Kate Shatzkin at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Books
        

Our Read Street blog has a post on the classic "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," which my children have had several copies of over the years, turning 40 today. The Google logo is a Carle design today.

Did your kids love this book as much as mine?

Posted by Kate Shatzkin at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Books
        

Yes we can, babies. A new Barack Obama board book is out to tell the page-tearing set all about our 44th president.

Kids can learn about Obama's parents, see a map of places where he grew up and went to school, and check out the vehicles that the president uses. Best of all, your little politician can put his picture in a pseudo-frame on the last page, under the words "future president." All for only $10.95.

Like Obama, this book seems just a bit, well, precocious. Kids typically outgrow board books by the time they're 3, don't they? Yet this one isn't exactly "One Fish, Two Fish." (To wit, this sentence: "Obama graduated from Harvard with a Juris Doctor degree in 1991.") And there are passages from the Constitution to explain the president's powers.

Posted by Kate Shatzkin at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Books
        

I got a press release recently about a new DVD of Beverly Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle, coming out from Scholastic this month. It reminded me of all the time I spent during summers with Beverly Cleary books as a young reader, eating up the antics of Ramona the Pest.

Now lots of classic tales are being presented as DVDs, and I'm wondering what effect that might have. On one hand, if kids are going to watch "TV," it might as well be a great, educational story with themes to help them grow. On the other, does this make them gravitate to the DVD at the expense of the book? Or could an argument be made that it might it get them interested in reading the book, too, when they might not have otherwise?

I'd love to know how your kids have reacted to classics on DVD, and how it has affected their interest in reading the stories.

(Photo courtesy of Scholastic)

Posted by Kate Shatzkin at 7:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

It's summer reading time at local libraries. Many are kicking off their annual programs to get kids to read with activities this weekend and in the coming week.

The statewide theme is "Catching the Reading Bug." Some libraries have separate programs for teens, featuring Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis.

Some highlights, with links to the full schedule of events:

--Kickoff parties are scheduled tomorrow at most branches of Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library, with games, activities and the like.

--Baltimore County's program starts Monday, with events throughout the summer. Its web site has companion crafts you can do at home. Wacky Paper Plate Bugs, anyone? There is also a preschool program, with links to web sites for learning letters, numbers and beginning sounds.

--Anne Arundel County's kickoff events start the week of June 16, though you can sign up starting Monday.There will be several concerts by the group Milkshake at branch libraries during the summer, and students entering sixth grade and up can participate in a program on the history of hip-hop at the West County, Severna Park and Annapolis libraries.

--Howard County's celebration is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow at the East Columbia branch, featuring an "edible insects cooking show" and performances by Barry Louis Polisar and Flumpa and Friends.

Got favorite bug books to recommend?

 (Photo taken at the East Columbia branch of the Howard County Library by Saul Stoogenke)

Posted by Kate Shatzkin at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Books
        

This little book arrived on my desk a few weeks ago, and I thought it might be fun to excerpt some of the "secrets" for discussion. The authors, Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile, say they came upon the idea while interviewing moms for their first book, I Was A Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids.

"In some cases, moms mailed us their typewritten dirty little secrets to ensure their privacy -- they wouldn't risk being identified by their handwriting or sharing their e-mail address," the authors write.

We wouldn't do that on Charm City Moms, would we?

Anyway, on to some secrets. ...

(Click below to keep reading.)

Continue reading "Mothers' "dirty little secrets"" »

Posted by Kate Shatzkin at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Books
        

Here are six books for Edamommy to choose from for making our 300th comment. Have you read any of them? Which one would you choose, and why?

Here are the titles, from bottom to top:

1. "Making Up With Mom," by Julie Halpert and Deborah Carr;

2. "Mama Rock's Rules," by Rose Rock (mother of comedian Chris Rock);

3. "The Future of Your Only Child," by Carl E. Pickhardt;

4. "Mothers Need Time-Outs, Too," by Susan Callahan, Anne Nolen, and Katrin Schumann;

5. "To Catch A Predator: Protecting Your Kids from Online Enemies Already in Your Home," by Chris Hansen (the Dateline NBC reporter who specializes in catching Internet predators on the creepy show of the same name);

6. "Questions to Bring You Closer to Mom," a book of conversation starters for mothers and kids by Stuart Gustafson and Robyn Freedman Spizman.

As for you, Edamommy, after we've had time to hear some suggestions, comment below or send me an e-mail with your selection and I'll mail it off to you.

(Photo by me)

Posted by Kate Shatzkin at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Books
        

I've been meaning to get a chance to read the new book Parenting Inc. and tell you what I think about it. So I was glad to see this excerpt on NPR's website, which will probably be all I -- and you -- will have time to read this week. Judging from the beginning, the book looks promising, though just reading about the financial binds facing parents today is enough to make my head ache. And that's even knowing these problems quite well from my own experience.

I'm sure we'll talk more about the book in general, but there was one thing at the very beginning of the excerpt that interested me. The author, Pamela Paul, talks about anguishing over whether she should enroll her baby girl in baby sign language classes to help her communicate before she learned to talk. You'll probably remember that baby signing was all the rage a few years ago, but Paul reports that after doing lots of research, she concluded that having her daughter learn sign language wouldn't be worth the effort; some research told her it could even do more harm than good.

I've been wanting to ask about your experience with baby sign language classes. (Neither of my children took them, and fortunately both learned to speak on a normal schedule.) Did your children learn to sign, or are you considering signing up a baby? What went into your decision? Did you see benefits?

Posted by Kate Shatzkin at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Babies and Toddlers, Books
        

Web-surfing Sunday is taking a break this week so that I can bring you some old-media ways to learn about Ireland with your children.

My all-time favorite movie about Ireland -- and pretty much my favorite children's movie in general -- is The Secret of Roan Inish, a 1995 John Sayles film. The lead character is a strong-willed, whip-smart girl named Fiona, who's all about reuniting her family with a lost baby brother. (Warning: the scene when baby brother is "lost," while not violent, may be upsetting to some children, and even generate a tear in soft-hearted parents. But it's worth it in the end.)

The soundtrack is also wonderful, and never fails to get my daughter dancing.

The Parents' Choice Foundation, a national resource in Timonium that reviews a range of children's toys and media, has compiled a short list of classic Irish books appropriate for children.

I'd like to know about your family's favorite books and movies for learning about Ireland and celebrating St. Patrick's Day. Please tell us about them below.

Posted by Kate Shatzkin at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

If you can't get your teenager off the Web, maybe you can at least get her to visit a cool site about books. With a name like Favorite Teenage Angstbooks, this one has a chance to hook your high-schooler.

It's written by a woman in her late 30s, but it has fun graphics and reviews of lots of good books about the teenage experience.

The site owner tells me she's taking a break from posting new content while she pursues some other projects, but there's enough there in the meantime to pique some -- gasp! -- offline interest in a book.

What's your opinion of this site? And what are other favorite sites for teenagers?

Posted by Kate Shatzkin at 7:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Books, On the Web, Teens