Kids often walk into the Palouse Library with a friend, to cool off, or because they are just plain bored. They stumble around and fumble with a few books, and then, unexpectedly, the right book grabs them and they are hooked. They plop down in a chair and read, by choice.

A resourceful parent can instigate a similar experience by bringing their kids into the library while they look for books for themselves. Just browsing a bookstore or library usually sparks an interest for kids. They are bound to stumble upon something of interest to them, allowing parents the opportunity to jump in to encourage them with related books, subjects and authors.

End of the summer reading helps kids get back into the rhythm of school. When kids are not yet in school, they are able to choose books or magazines about subjects that are fun and of interest them versus assigned reading. Letting kids choose the books and subjects makes reading less of a chore while covertly stimulating their minds. While browsing the bookshelves they may happen upon a subject that they learned about in the past school year, or delve into a topic completely foreign to them. Either way, their neurons are firing again!

Magazines are a great way to get older kids reading. Usually full of neat photos and relatively short articles, magazines provide condensed information on specific topics that can make reading fun for those who struggle with a long book.

One of the best ways to keep people reading, adults included, is to get them involved in a series. The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer or the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling are prime examples of getting kids and teens hooked on reading. More than once, young library patrons have told me that they dont usually choose to read, but have read all of the books in a series. Parents of struggling readers can get help finding a good series from their local libraries or by simply chatting with other parents about what their kids are reading.

Another fun way for kids to absorb a good book is to listen to an audio book as a family on an end of the summer road trip. Listening to a story and then chatting about it afterward may encourage a child to seek books on the same subject or by the same author. The library has a large selection of juvenile and young adult audio books that are fun for the whole family.

No matter which format is used for reading, fun reading is a great warm-up for the school year. Who knows, kids may accidentally learn something before the school doors open.

For more information, contact:

Kristie Kirkpatrick at 509-397-4366 or see the Whitman County Library website or the library's new events calendar.