Sunday 17 March 2013

Engaging the Reluctant Reader by Karen Pokras Toz #ChaBooCha




Engaging the Reluctant Reader
by Karen Pokras Toz

You love to read  - you always have. If you’re not busy with your family or other commitments, you’ve got a book in hand. Sometimes you read two or three different books at one time. You always assumed your children would grow into voracious readers also? Right. Wrong. Your kids barely want to read their assigned schoolwork, never mind anything extra. Does this sound like you? Well, this is me – and it’s one of the reasons I started writing chapter books for the middle grade reader.

So how do you convince that reluctant reader that reading is awesome? I went right to the source to find the answer – my own children. The response was unanimous: there is nothing fun to read. So I decided to prove them wrong. Before I knew it, Nate Rocks was born.

I keep several things I keep in mind when writing for the reluctant reader:

(1) Content – it needs to be easy to follow and on topic. If I lose the reader because they don’t know what’s going on or are bored with the subject, they are going to get easily frustrated, and move on to a different activity quickly.

(2) Tone – some authors like to jam pack their books with action. I think this is great. Kids love it. For me, however, I’m all about humor. My goal is to get your kids laughing. Have you ever seen a giggling kid leave the scene of something funny? Nope – it doesn’t happen.

(3) Parents/Educators – I want my books to be the books that parents and educators go to when trying to motivate their reluctant readers. Therefore, I try to make my books appeal to kids and adults. I (hopefully) accomplish this by keeping my books language appropriate. In addition, I always try to teach a lesson ... without the kids realizing I am teaching a lesson. For example – within my books you will find messages about anti-bullying, friendship, and respect.

In the end, if your child reads my stories, giggles, and asks for another book (whether one of mine or someone else’s), I have done my job.  Encourage the children in your life to read each and every day!


Karen Pokras Toz lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband and three children. Karen's middle grade children's novels: Millicent Marie Is Not My Name and the Nate Rocks series, have won several awards including First Place for Children's Chapter Books and the Grand Prize Overall in the 2012 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards, as well as placing first for a Global E-Book Award for Pre-Teen Literature. Karen is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI). Her first adult contemporary novel, invisible, will be released this summer. For more information, please visit www.karentoz.com.



And now for the prize announcement! I bought a copy of "Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly!" by Gail Carson Levine to giveaway with this post. First, in order to enter, you have to already be officially signed up for the challenge. Then the only thing you have left to do in order to gain an entry for the prize is to comment on this blog post. You have until noon GMT on the 24th to enter as that is when I will be using a random number generator to pick the two winners.

Now, I understand that, as so many ChaBooCha members already buy writing books, some of you might already have the books offered as prizes during this challenge. Because of this, if you are drawn by the random number selector as a winner for this prize, and you already have the book, you can do one of two things; you can choose to give the book as a gift to someone else in the challenge, either anonymously or with your name attached and it will be sent directly to them instead of you OR you can choose ONE of the following four things from the Chapter Book Challenge 2013 shop.

22 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for inviting me to your blog today!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This was a great post. Something I am constantly thinking about while writing. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Kate - lots of luck with your writing!

      Delete
  3. Well, wouldn't you know it, my MG hasn't got a drop of humor in it. Some stories don't. It's true, but then I think of the wonderful humor in Because of Winn-Dixie. Gosh darn it, gonna hafta add some humor. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It doesn't necessarily have to be a humor book - look at Harry Potter - it's got some really funny moments & yet it's full of adventure & darkness. I think overall, kids like to smile & laugh though no matter what direction your book takes.

      Delete
  4. Thanks for the post, Karen! Kids these days have so many more distractions, that it's hard to entice them to sit down for solid periods of time to read. Good for you for figuring out the secrets to keeping your and other children hooked!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you & I couldn't agree more. Parents, educators, and writers have many more challenges to face today trying to get our kids to read.

      Delete
  5. BTW Karen, thank you for this post. It brought back memories. My kids had reading disabilities so, like you, I tried to write stories for them so they could fall in love with reading. And yes, they were filled with child humor. Now, my son with the most severe disability is writing a YA fantasy fiction novel about another world. Such a blessing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow - that is awesome!!! I'm sure you are very proud :)

      Delete
  6. Great post. I know that my kids were reluctant readers, until they discovered books that stimulated their imaginations, now I can't stop them!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Melissa - I think once kids figure out that reading is really great, they just want to read more and more.

      Delete
  7. Hey karen i just bought and read millicent..it was great. i love what you have written here. thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Kelly!! I had a lot of fun writing Millicent Marie.

      Delete
  8. Thanks Karen, that is what my eldest one was like (still is a reluctant reader), trying again with the little ones. I will be checking out your books!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Karen! We all know how hard it is to get boys interested in reading--I have three and it has been nearly impossible. Thanks for sharing your tips for getting reluctant readers to pick up a book and keep reading. Your post is an inspiration! Humor--got it!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Very thoughtful. I have taught a few reluctant readers in my teaching career. They need something that is for them. I don't know how my children will be yet as they are young, but anything that helps is good for the world.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Very thoughtful. I have taught several reluctant readers in my teaching career, and books written with them in mind are so good for the world!

    ReplyDelete
  12. and just who is that little girl reading the book?

    ReplyDelete
  13. :) Well, Satori, it's my little Isabella. Growing up fast, isn't she?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great post, my girls love reading so it's just about finding the right level for them. I have been told by a few parents their kids who don;t read mych have enjoyed my books - no better compliment!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great post! I so love reading that it's hard to have 2 daughters that don't love it so much. (Although with them it's a bit language based, as they are Ethiopian.) One is drawn to drama and realism and the other to wild humor, so we've been working on it. It's so hard to write truly funny stuff! Thanks for a great post and for the chance to win this wonderful book. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks, Karen, for your reminder to use humor in our chapter books. I forget to do that quite often. Maybe I take myself and the story too seriously!

    ReplyDelete