The Share A Story Shape A Future Tour is going out with a bang today! Jen Robinson of Jen Robinson’s Book Page is hosting Day 5 – “Reading for the Next Generation”.  Each of the contributors will be talking about how to approach reading when your interests and your child’s don’t match. Maybe because you don’t like to read but your child does, so how do you raise the reader you’re not, and dealing with the “pressure” of feeling forced to read.

I have to say when it comes to this topic, I loved Lee Wind’s post on Monday, “Dads! The 3 Secrets to Reading with Your Daughters“. He talked all about his aversion to glitter and pixie dust, repetition with kids and how it can send you to dream land, and how to “experience” a book with your child. Every bit of this article was amazing and informative.

For me, I’ve only just begun to deal with this problem. My own son has been, from day one, an avid truck/car lover. Well, I can’t say I’m not, because one of the reasons my husband originally was drawn to me was because of my propensity to work on a car here and there. But working on them and reading about neon colored ones are completely different.

What I’ve found, through trial and error is that it’s not so much about whether you like the book, but how you make your child feel about it. You obviously don’t want to promote something you find offensive or harmful, but how many children’s books are? Engage them. Share with them and show them that you are passionate about a book or subject too. That doesn’t mean it has to be the same, my taste in books is quite different from my mother’s, but she’s who I remember reading as a child. It stays with them and as they get older the impact will be lasting.

Make sure to stop by the contributors for Day 5 and learn a little more about “Reading for the Next Generation”:

• Sarah shares “Let the Sillies Out: Reading to Babies and Young Children” at In Need of Chocolate.
• Melissa shares “Help! My Child’s Stuck!” at Book Nut.
• Mary Ann Scheuer shares “How do I help my child learn to love reading if I am not a great reader myself?” at Great Kid Books.
• Dawn Morris shares “Am I a failure if I don’t read with my kids?” at Moms Inspire Learning.
• Joyce Grant shares “Getting Your Video-Kid Reading” at Getting Kids Reading.
• Caroline Lennox shares “Princess Books? Give Me a Break!” at Learning Parade.
• Dawn Little shares “Resisting the Urge to Create a Reading Superstar” at Literacy Toolbox.
• Kate Messner shares “The Trouble with Great Expectations: Should kids be pushed to read more difficult books?” at Kate’s Book Blog
• Esme Raji Codell shares “After the Love Has Gone: Read-Aloud for the Young and the Restless” at Planet Esme.
• Amy Watson shares “Help! My Reading Interests are Different from my Child’s” at Literacy Launchpad.
• Mary Lee Hahn shares “Trusting Your Child to Make It through His/Her Current Reading Phase” at A Year of Reading.

Also, make sure to check out Tif’s site Tif Talks Books where today she will be sharing, in honor of the event, the favorite fairy tales from childhood of the participants in her event “Fairy Tale Fridays“. One not to be missed for sure!

As well, you only have until tonight at midnight to cast your vote for The Itty Bitty Bookworm Giveaway and make a difference in lives of many children! Please click on the link to cast your vote!

Susan Stephenson, the Book Chook, made the above logo for Share a Story Shape a Future at ToonDoo.com

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