Tidbits

When I picked Ella up from preschool today, I noticed a pamphlet on a table entitled, "Raising Readers". I thought it might be interesting so I picked it up. It is produced by the Mpls St. Paul Magazine. There were several things in it that I thought I would pass along. There was an article about boys and reading. The main point stated many boys lose interest in reading by middle school because its usually their mothers who read or they have female librarians and teachers picking out books for them. So generally, the books are not adventurous enough to entertain boys. The article also pointed out that girls/women are more hardwired to be readers based on neurological and biological differences. Somewhat interesting, but mostly common sense, nothing too earth shattering.

The other main article talked about children's book series and discussed the history of them and 5 classic series that have endured (Nancy Drew, Adventures of Tintin, Cherry Ames, Tom Swift, and Anne of Green Gables). Of course it talked about the blockbuster success of Harry Potter and revealed that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park is slated to open at Universal Orlando Resort in 2010!! I think that sounds like a great place to take the kids! :-) I'm sure it will be sooo overwhelmed with visitors when it opens that it will be a pain in the butt to visit. Maybe by the time Ella and Lily are old enough to read the Potter books on their own, the novelty of the park will have died down.

The last thing I thought was interesting: the digital mark-my-time bookmark (mark-my-time.com). It either counts down or logs your child's reading time. Might be a handy gadget for school-age readers who have to read a certain amount of time each day for class.

Other links listed in the pamphlet: literarychild.com (E-mag Literary Child has puzzles, games, and other activities related to the month's featured kids' book). Also, libarything.com seemed an interesting website. Log what you're reading and find others who are interested in the same books as yourself.

Just thought I would pass along the info! Enjoy the cooler weather by curling up with a book, blanket and a warm drink!