There are a whole bunch of unwritten rules when it comes to kids and reading that we would never stand for ourselves as adult readers.
Think about it: when was the last time you started to read a book but then abandoned it because the characters were flat or the dialogue was silly? How would you feel if someone stood over you and MADE you read that terrible-to-you book? Angry? Exasperated? Like you want to throw the book across the room?
Yet our unwritten rule for kids is "You must finish every book you start." Is it any wonder kids rebel and declare that they hate reading?
Or what about re-reading a favorite book? I am not ashamed to say that I have read Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" at least once every two years since 1994. Why do we insist that kids read something new (or ask you to read the SAME book over and over)?
This frustration is the origin of "The Rights of the Reader" by French author Daniel Pennac- ten simple statements that lay out the rights that EVERY reader, of every age, has:
- The right not to read.
- The right to skip.
- The right not to finish a book.
- The right to read it again.
- The right to read anything.
- The right to mistake a book for real life.
- The right to read anywhere.
- The right to dip in.
- The right to read out loud.
- The right to be quiet.
Pennac offers one warning to go with his rules: "Don't make fun of people who don't read - or they never will."
Laura Raphael, Children's Services Coordinator, Tulsa City-County Library