Comic Relief: Thirty-Nine Graphic Novels That Kids Can't Resist

Many of us have encountered a reluctant reader....the ones that no matter what cannot find a book that they would take the time to pick up and read.  I ran across an excellent list of books that are a perfect fit for that elementary reluctant reader in your life that I want to share with my readers.  All it takes is one book to hook those reluctant readers to set them on the path of reading for fun!!!  We might think that our children should be reading classics or thick chapter books....but I beg to differ - from my own personal experience.  The best advice I was ever given was to go ahead and let my child, a fourth grade at the time, read magazines or comics.  All that mattered was that she was reading something...even those "tween" magazines ~ although not completely convinced I took the advice and allowed her to read magazines and shorter books and now as a freshman in high school I have a child that enjoys reading and reads for pleasure.  Check out the link below that I ran across recently while researching books for reluctant elementary readers for a teacher at my
school~   

http://www.libraryjournal.com/csp/cms/sites/SLJ/Home/index.csp

Please post if you have other books to share....the more the merrier.

Inspiring Reluctant Readers

  
 How do we uncover the potential of reluctant readers?  Parents and teachers alike wonder what we can do to inspire them to become readers. The experts agree that there are different types of reluctant readers and that there is a vast range within the realm of reluctant readers.  A reluctant reader is one who does not show any interest or motivation to read. You may note that some reluctant readers just need a bit of encouragement to read or they may be the child that purposefully avoids reading in any form. Reluctant readers many times tend to deflect their ambivalence towards reading by exhibiting certain behaviors. Some common behaviors are avoidance of reading activities, acting silly, making negative choices, or shutting down completely.  Many times these reluctant readers have become masters at shadowing their adverse feelings towards reading. When parents and teachers start to see a pattern of these behaviors it is time to start looking closer at what is exactly at the root of the problem.

Possible Causes of Reluctance

*Learning difficulties or academic gaps could be definite reasons for a child to become reluctant. Communication between the teacher and parent will be necessary in order to identify or rule out possible learning difficulties or academic gaps.

*Mismatched reading levels and interests are another cause of reluctance. One of the main reasons students do not read or complete a book is that the child's reading level is not correctly matched to the readability level of the text (book/story).  Also, it is a must to consider a child's interests when helping them to choose independent reading material.

*Providing motivation to read also plays an imperative role in creating inspired readers rather than reluctant readers.

Motivational Ideas.....