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Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield

Reluctant Readers

YA Reader

Most parents wish that the above image represented their child, but the reality is, that many kids struggle with reading, aren't interested in it or just aren't comfortable with the traditional dense format of most books and many parents just aren't comfortable with what they do like to read, comic books and graphic novels.

Well, graphic novels aren't so bad, once you get to know them.  But I do agree that every reader needs to balance out their reading diet with other types of novels.  That's what this section is designed to do, offer you a list of authors that can often appeal to reluctant readers for one reason or another.


Remember, whether your child reads graphic novels, comic books, or magazines, he or she is still reading.  Pay attention to what they like to read and try to find books that match with their tastes.

Okay, I know you might be thinking that this is all fine and dandy when it comes to outside reading, but what do you do when it comes to required reading?  Here's a trick that might help them to learn to read better, and possibly faster, too.  Audiobooks.  I know it might sound silly, but the way I learned to read as well as I do came from those read-along story books that came with a cassette.  While regular audiobooks don't come with the chime that tells you when to turn the page, it can help make reading more fun.

How so?  Well, audiobooks aren't just a boring reading of the text, but performances that generally have emotion in them.  Convincing your child to listen while looking at the text, can help to reinforce what has already been learned and build upon that.  Most of reading is word recognition while reading aloud is word recognition with an understanding of how the word sounds, which is why I feel that listening to an unabridged audiobook while reading the actual book can be beneficial in many ways.   

I hope you find these authors and suggestions helpful.  By the same token, if you find some methods, books, authors, etc, that have helped your reluctant reader(s), please let people know, for they might help someone else!