Okay. For those of you that know me well, it may come as no surprise to you that moving to CA and having a lapse in our library access was challenging for me. I made sure to pack a few books that would keep me busy (Bill Bryson's
Short History of Nearly Everything has done the job pretty well!) but I was not prepared for Emily's sudden, very dramatic upsurge in reading. We've been buying her a bunch of books from Savers and other used bookstores, but I've been getting tired of paying money for books that she would read once and then never look at again. And the other bad thing about this whole thing? I cannot STAND the books she loves. I remember my dad talking to me when I was her age about reading quality literature and even non-fiction every once in a while and I would have nothing of it. Now I'm getting my comeuppance. Have you ever heard of these books?
The Rainbow Magic Fairy books. Ugh. There are literally hundreds of them, all with the same plot, and all ghostwritten by Daisy Meadows. (
Frankie the Makeup Fairy, anyone? No? How about
Mara the Meerkat Fairy or
Kathryn the PE Fairy? I've got more!) But they are what Emily reads, and some reading is better than no reading, and since these books are ubiquitous we pick a few up nearly every time we are out at a thrift shop. I've tried my hardest to make her branch out, even stooping so low as to push books like
Just Grace,
Cam Jansen, Daisy Dawson, Princess Posey, Magic Pony, Frankly Frannie, and others of dubious quality but still a step up. (I can't bring myself to pull out the Junie B. Jones stuff though. I just can't.) I've read some Roald Dahl, Little House, Indian in the Cupboard, Harry Potter, Narnia, and others aloud to her, but she just won't pick them up and read them on her own unless they are on par with the fluffy brain-candy that is those fairy books. I am hoping
The Wizard of Oz does it for her, once I can find my copy. Or maybe
Fablehaven. Anything. I just need her to progress and be exposed to some better writing!
Okay. Rant over. In other news, I needed a water bottle to run with (I hate carrying stuff when I run, but 13 or 14 miles seems to be about my limit with no water) so I hit up the local running store today. I had a choice between FitGeek and Zombierunner. Geeks or Zombies?? I chose Zombies. It was a great store and I love my water bottle. :)
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| Waiting for the elevator. |
4 comments:
Paige is the same way. She wants to read princess books and fluffy pink blather most of the time.
I would maybe try Anne of Green Gables, Pippi Longstockings, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, or maybe those Amelia Bedelia chapter books. I really liked Harriet the Spy, but I can't remember if I was older.
I can offer you some hope that it does get better! Leah used to love those series books as well, but now she's onto bigger and better things. I think that age just loves the predictability of the plot - esp. when they're reading by themselves. A better quality series you might want to try is Vet Volunteers by Laurie Halse Anderson. It's at least a step in the right direction :)
Some other authors/books you might try: Lynn Reid Banks, Jennifer Holm (babymouse), Sarah Pennypacker, Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon series), The Castle in the Attic, Lenore Look (Alvin Ho--i love these!), Howe (Bunnicula, etc), Levine's Fairy Tale retellings, and lots of international folk tale collections. Good luck. I have been in your shoes...
i'm having the same issues here. my kids will rarely read the books i recommend. and they pick pink cutie trash and comic books
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