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What would you do to get your kids hooked on Books.

Give them some really good High Fantasy (J.R.R. Tolkein, or J.K. Rowlings)
Given them Suess
Leave them alone with "Hooked on Phonics" computer games
Leap Pad learning toys
Favorite Comic books
drop them in the deep end (Does Atlas Shrugged count as Child Abuse?)

Tolkien isn't easy reading for young children. I've never read J.K. Rowling but given the popularity and success her work I'd give it the benefit of the doubt, as far as being the best way to make kids want to read.

Get em started early. Two years old isn't too young to learn how to read.

Give them some really good High Fantasy (J.R.R. Tolkein, or J.K. Rowlings)

I'd start them off on The Hobbit but I'd definetely give them some good books.

Given them Suess

Hell yeah. Suess is a genius.

Leave them alone with "Hooked on Phonics" computer games

No way.

Leap Pad learning toys

Again, no way.

Favorite Comic books

Depends on the comic books

drop them in the deep end (Does Atlas Shrugged count as Child Abuse?)

No, and porbably.

It sounds simple, but it's just a start:

Read to your children while they're young. (Teaching them as the grow older.)

Let them read to you, when they're learning.

Please, no Hooked on Phonics. That is the most insulting thing in the world, next to ebonics.

Seuss. I always loved Seuss. Then lead them to fantasy. Harry Potter, A Wrinkle in Time, Lion Witch and the Wardrobe. Those were some of my favorites. Of course, when I was 4, I was reading the newspaper from front to back.

Kelly Antilles wrote:Please, no Hooked on Phonics. That is the most insulting thing in the world, next to ebonics.

Seuss. I always loved Seuss. Then lead them to fantasy. Harry Potter, A Wrinkle in Time, Lion Witch and the Wardrobe. Those were some of my favorites. Of course, when I was 4, I was reading the newspaper from front to back.

You forgot The Hobbit!/size] Shame on you. Best juvenile fantasy novel ever.

*I* have never read the Hobbit. I cannot make that assumption. However, I cannot read the LOTR trilogy. It's way too complex. Not my style.

Slowly work them up. Add more books into reach at at increasingly higher reading levels.

Kelly Antilles wrote:*I* have never read the Hobbit. I cannot make that assumption. However, I cannot read the LOTR trilogy. It's way too complex. Not my style.

The Hobbit isn't anywhere near as complex. It doesn't talk down to the kids either. It's an all around goood book, I can still read it now as an adult even though it was written for children.

...I loved Hooked on Phonics!

Cyril wrote:...I loved Hooked on Phonics!

Huukt on fonix wurket for mi!

I always loved A Wrinkle in Time. Those were the best books.

Hobbit and Harry Potter would be good starting points, after learning the basics. As a kid, I loved fantasy books. Still do.

Just . . . let them read whatever they want to. I went from flipping through car magazines at three to SWEU novels at six. (No, really.) Sadly, that EU novel was Crystal Star, which besides being insanely long for someone my age was also rather dull. I stopped reading novels for a while after that.

Just out of total curiousity, when would be the right time to introduce them to novels that contain sex, drugs, or other such "immoral" stuff. I think I had my first exposure to an erotic work at around 10 years of age, but the funny thing is I'd been seeing titties on TV for at least a couple years previous to that.

aerius wrote:Just out of total curiousity, when would be the right time to introduce them to novels that contain sex, drugs, or other such "immoral" stuff. I think I had my first exposure to an erotic work at around 10 years of age, but the funny thing is I'd been seeing titties on TV for at least a couple years previous to that.

Well, it depends on how they're depicted. I started reading books with that sort of stuff in my teens. It wasn't anywhere near as hardcore and obvious as it is in what I read now.

Stormbringer wrote:Give them some really good High Fantasy (J.R.R. Tolkein, or J.K. Rowlings)

I'd start them off on The Hobbit but I'd definetely give them some good books.

Given them Suess

Hell yeah. Suess is a genius.

Leave them alone with "Hooked on Phonics" computer games

No way.

Leap Pad learning toys

Again, no way.

Favorite Comic books

Depends on the comic books

drop them in the deep end (Does Atlas Shrugged count as Child Abuse?)

No, and porbably.

I think he's said it best. But Jordan is also good. And don't forget to throw in some sci-fi.

verilon wrote:
I think he's said it best. But Jordan is also good. And don't forget to throw in some sci-fi.

Well thanks. I'd wait on Jordan untill early teens at least (maybe he'll have it finished by then) since it's a rather difficult read. And some of the sex and violence wouldn't really be appropriate for kids.

And what sort of good begginers sci-fi is there?

Stormbringer wrote:

verilon wrote:
I think he's said it best. But Jordan is also good. And don't forget to throw in some sci-fi.

Well thanks. I'd wait on Jordan untill early teens at least (maybe he'll have it finished by then) since it's a rather difficult read. And some of the sex and violence wouldn't really be appropriate for kids.

And what sort of good begginers sci-fi is there?

Michael Crichton

verilon wrote:

Stormbringer wrote:

verilon wrote:
I think he's said it best. But Jordan is also good. And don't forget to throw in some sci-fi.

Well thanks. I'd wait on Jordan untill early teens at least (maybe he'll have it finished by then) since it's a rather difficult read. And some of the sex and violence wouldn't really be appropriate for kids.

And what sort of good begginers sci-fi is there?

Michael Crichton

Hell no. I like Jurrasic Park, Congo, Sphere, and Eaters of the Dead. But none are really sci fi and none are exactly introductory.

Stormbringer wrote:

verilon wrote:

Stormbringer wrote: Well thanks. I'd wait on Jordan untill early teens at least (maybe he'll have it finished by then) since it's a rather difficult read. And some of the sex and violence wouldn't really be appropriate for kids.

And what sort of good begginers sci-fi is there?

Michael Crichton

Hell no. I like Jurrasic Park, Congo, Sphere, and Eaters of the Dead. But none are really sci fi and none are exactly introductory.

Did you read the Lost World or the Andromeda Strain? TLW was good, heard many good things about TAS, Sphere, and EOTD...but never read them...

I'd recommend Heinlein juveniles for starting sf readers.

verilon wrote:

Stormbringer wrote:

verilon wrote:
Michael Crichton

Hell no. I like Jurrasic Park, Congo, Sphere, and Eaters of the Dead. But none are really sci fi and none are exactly introductory.

Did you read the Lost World or the Andromeda Strain? TLW was good, heard many good things about TAS, Sphere, and EOTD...but never read them...

The Lost World was ok but really slow. The Andromeda Strain was just slow. Sphere and Eaters of the Dead are good but not really kids books.

The more I think about it, the more I'm inclined towards Heinlein's juvenile novels. They're the sci-fi equivalent of The Hobbit, thoughtful and well written with out going over and under kid's heads.

Raxmei wrote:I'd recommend Heinlein juveniles for starting sf readers.

He quit stealing my idea as I'm posting it!