This week I really wanted to video my son reading so I could officially begin my experiment. Unfortunately it didn’t happen this week, so I will try to get a video next week and post it with the next book post.
I had a great weekend looking over many wonderful books at the Home Educators Association of Virginia convention. Homeschool conventions are one of the few places I go where I wish I had unlimited funds! So many of the books look wonderful and I want to buy them all! I didn’t buy too many this year, since our bookshelves are overflowing and we have a great library system. I did purchase a few audio books though. I love that these books are now in MP3 format. My older child with reading difficulties loves to listen to audio books, so now he can use his iPod to listen to some great literature before bed.
Speaking of reluctant readers a few years ago we stumbled upon a series that is sure to capture the attention of any young boy. If your son has not read My Side of the Mountain, reserve it at the library today! This is the story of Sam, who runs away and ends up living in a hollowed out tree. His new friends are a falcon and a weasel and he has to learn to survive with limited resources. This book took my son from a reluctant reader to someone who was reading any and every book he could find on falconry.
He even wrote the author, Jean Craighead George, an email, and much to our surprise she responded! There are two other books in the trilogy, On the Far Side of the Mountain
How about you? Do you remember a book from your childhood that got you hooked on reading? For me it was Nancy Drew, I loved those books! I wanted to be Nancy so bad! Anyway, I always liked to read, but those books got me hooked!
It is time to link up with your book basket posts. What are you reading this week? Please link up with your actual post, not your blog’s homepage and visit other book basket participants to see what they are reading.
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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, hands down it was Anne of Green Gables. I love LMM to this day she is still my favorite author
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For me, it was the Little House on the Prarie books. I would read the series from beginning-to-end, over and over again. I wonder where my old books are….
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Little Women—hands down! My aunt gave it to me when I was in third grade and told me it was her favorite novel… I ripped right through it and still read it almost yearly (20 years later)…
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my ten year old son loves these books as well. He’s read the 1st and 2nd books and waiting on the 3rd from the library. Another series he loves is “The 39 Clues”. He can’t seem to put the books down. I think there’s 4 in the series.
Some other good books are the Judy Blume “fudge” books, and Wayside School, which has 3 books in it’s series.
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nancy drew and ella enchanted
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I read almost all the series mentioned in the comments, I was REALLY into reading as a kid. I do a LOT less now days. I also got into reading thanks to the Nancy Drew books. I even ventured into the “young adult” section as a 10-11 year old once I read the original ones, but most of the newer books were a little too young adult for me at the time.
I am surprised no one mentioned the Boxcar Children. I only read some of the series (I was a little old for the books when they came out plus our local library didn’t have all the books), but I still loved them.
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Oh My Goodness! Your post brought back so many memories!
When I was in elementary school (circa 1977) Jean George came and presented to our class – she told a story about nature and created a chalk illustration as she spoke. I can still remember the picture that she created and how it was hung in the school’s cafeteria! Of course, My Side of the Mountain became a much sought after library book and all of us talked about running away and living in a tree.
It’s neat to know that she is still as gracious as I remember her 30 years later.
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I liked mysteries, but I can’t tell you which ones I liked the most.
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We just read There’s An Owl in the Shower by Jean Craighead George. It was wonderful.
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okay, I admit it, I was hooked on babysitters club.
My brother and I would also trade Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys back and forth. We were so excited when they came out with the adventures together.
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Man oh man, Nancy Drew was my favorite! I would curl up in a chair and read an entire book. It would draw me in! LOL!
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As a child, I hated reading books. It wasn’t that I couldn’t read or that I struggled to read. I loved words, just hated reading. Oddly, I spent my summers and any free time typing or writing my own stories.
The book that got me hooked, I would not read until I was 26…Left Behind, the first book in the series. I devoured it and the 5-6 other books in the series that were already out at the time. Jerry Jenkins made me an avid reader. I now have to get a book fix quite often.
On another note, if you have not, you should rent the 1939 Nancy Drew movies. There are only 4 (2-discs w/2 each). The actress who plays Nancy, Bonita Granville, also fits perfectly into your Disney series. Her and her husband, Jack Wrather, made Walt Disney an offer he couldn’t refuse. Walt had built Disneyland and was basically out of funds. The Wrather’s felt that Disneyland needed a hotel, so they offered to build it & Walt agreed.
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Oh my goodness all those series mentioned bring back memories.
I think it started with the Boxcar children since we had just moved to the country ourselves, followed by
The babysitter club
Little House on the Prairie
Nancy Drew / Hardy Boys
Anne of Green Gables
Goosebumps came around 3rd grade,
and those choose your own story books where so much fun. I would spend hours back tracking and trying to make the story last its longest possible, with a happy ending.
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Farly Mowat – Owls in the Family was another hook book for me. Our family loves it and it is a great read aloud for the younger kids as well.
The Narnia series was also a big reason to read when I was younger.
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I have a question. You said that these books made your reluctant reader a reader. What age was this? I have a 7yr old that I am trying to get into reading. We homeschool and we finished 1st grade this year. Right now he enjoys the Hank the Cowdog books, but I have to read them to him. I am looking for books that he could read and that would make him want to read. Am I trying to do this too early? Do I need to just keep reading to him?
Thanks for any advise you have.
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I have loved to read for as long as I can remember–read anything I picked up, including cereal boxes! I’m pretty certain I memorized the Little House on the Prarie series. This book fascinated me: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_Who_Owned_a_City
I did lots of encyclopedia research following the read (I waaaaay predate the internets!)
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ooh, I remember reading “My Side of the Mountain” when I was young! I forgot all about that book. I loved it! Thanks for the reminder!
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I can’t say that there is one book or one series that got me hooked on reading… I’ve been compulsively reading since before I can remember! There are some series I remember very fondly though… the Boxcar children (for awhile, I did get tired of that series), & Little House on the Prairie (still love it!) are two of them. Great books.
Have any of your kids ever read “Where the Red Fern Grows?” If they haven’t, I would really recommend it! An older gentleman comes into the 4th grade classes where I grew up, and read that to us. I still love re-reading it… That will ALWAYS be one of my favorites!
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