THINGS P ARENTS C AN DO : 
• Provide access to a variety of reading materials. Have books, magazines, and 
newspapers available in your home. 
• Make visits to your local library branch part of your schedule. In addition to loaning 
books, videos, CDs, etc., our local library system offers a variety of programs for 
kids of all ages. Most of the library branches in Monroe County have someone on staff 
who specializes in children’s and/or teen services. 
• Let them see you reading something you enjoy. It doesn’t matter what you read 
(novel, magazine, newspaper, blogs, etc.), just let them see you reading for fun. It is 
especially important for boys to see the men in their lives reading, because somewhere 
along the line many of them pick up the idea that reading isn’t “manly.” 
• Value their reading choices. It’s okay if they want to read the same book over and 
over; a comic book/graphic novel; a magazine; or a book that’s below their age/grade 
level. Reading is reading is reading; the more reading experience a child has, the better 
reader s/he will become. 
• Take advantage of their Internet obsession. Many 
authors have blogs, Web sites, Facebook/MySpace 
and Twitter pages that allow them to interact with 
their readers. Some books even have their own Web 
pages with downloadable content, games, and interviews 
with the author. There are also numerous 
online book discussion groups. 
• Find out what they’re reading and read it with 
them. Talk about the story with them. Ask them to 
describe what they think the characters look like. If 
there’s a movie based on the book, see the movie 
together. 
SUGGESTED TITLES 
FOR STUDENTS: 

¦ “Peeled” by Joan Bauer (Mystery) 
¦ “Waiting for Normal” by Leslie Connor 
(Realistic Fiction) 
¦ “Because of Winn-Dixie” by Kate Di 
Camillo (Realistic Fiction) 
¦ “The London Eye Mystery” by Siobhan 
Dowd (Mystery) 
¦ “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman 
(Science Fiction) 
¦ “Chains” by Laurie Halse Anderson 
(Historical Fiction) 
¦ “The Great Wide Sea” by M.H. Herlong 
(Adventure/Survival) 
¦ “Skulduggery Pleasant (Book One)” 
by Derek Landy (Fantasy) 
¦ “Savvy” by Indrid Law (Fantasy) 
¦ “The Giver” by Lois Lowry 
(Science Fiction) 
¦ “The Willoughbys” by Lois Lowry 
(Realistic Fiction) 
¦ “How Angel Peterson Got His Name” 
by Gary Paulsen (Nonfiction) 

¦ “A Long Way From Chicago” by Richard 
Peck (Historical Fiction) 
MONROE | AUTUMN 2009 33