I was chatting with a friend recently about our love of The Baby-sitters Club books—growing up, we both devoured the series—when she brought up an interesting condition. "We had a rule in my house that for every Baby-sitters Club book we read, we also had to read a Newbery Medal book," she told me. The result? She read the entire BSC series, as well as every single Newbery winner.
Jeff Wilhelm and Michael Smith, co-authors of Reading Unbound: Why Kids Should Read What They Want--and Why We Should Let Them, would likely argue that, Newbery Medal or not, any book that captivates a young reader plays an important role in getting him or her to love to read. The power of choice is an integral part of that.
The talk with my friend got me thinking about not only the reading resolutions we make, but also the reading rules we establish. Maybe those conditions are inherited, or perhaps we create them for ourselves; either way, I'm fascinated by the way such rules help shape us.
"Growing up, our mom always had us read 20 minutes every night," said Alex.
"My parents had us read during our long car rides (we had over an hour commute each way to school). I never get carsick and I think it's because I always HAD to read in the car," added Megan. She has a self-imposed rule about quitting books: "I used to feel really guilty about [not finishing them] (and of course I'd finish a book if it was assigned it for school!) but then I stumbled upon a quote from Chris Brogan that changed my attitude: 'Don’t settle... If you don’t like the menu, leave the restaurant. If you’re not on the right path, get off it.'"
These days, my rule is that I must be in the middle of a book at all times. (Not literally, but no more of my waiting-in-between-books nonsense. Any time I finish one, I like to immediately start another.) Even though the grammar bothers me, I like to repeat the motto Always be reading.
I'm curious what your reading rules are! Share them in the comments below!
