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Macaroni Reads with Ms. Jayme

By Jayme Kostandinu - Children's Assistant, Martin County Library System October 17, 2014
Since 1998, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has celebrated Teen Read Week in October. Though a sub-theme is chosen each year (this year's theme is Turn Dreams Into Reality), the overarching theme for this literacy initiative is Read for the Fun of It. But, as a study released by Common Sense Media earlier this year shows, most teens are not reading for the fun of it. With so many options for the use of their free time such as sports, video games, or television, teenagers are not choosing to spend their time reading for pleasure. This raises the question of how to get young adults, who may have been ravenous readers as 9 or 10 year olds, re-interested in picking up a book that isn’t for a school assignment. Parents can use Teen Read Week as a springboard to inspire their teens to pick up a book just for the fun of it.

One tip to get kids reading that I’ve read time and again is to lead by example. If your child or teen sees you reading, they are more likely to be readers themselves. Another course of action is to introduce books that you know they’ll be interested in. Many teens are avid movie goers so an easy way to do this is to choose young adult books that have been made into movies. Almost every month a movie adaptation of a teen book is released at the box office. In November Mockingjay Part I of The Hunger Games trilogy will be released. Earlier this year the first films of two other popular dystopian, young adult trilogies, Divergent and The Maze Runner, were released. If your teen enjoyed these movies, they may be more willing to try out the books. And these are just three recent examples. Vampire Academy, Beautiful Creatures, If I Stay, The Giver, Ender’s Game, The Mortal Instruments (the movie wasn’t well received but it will be soon made into a tv series) are all great options for a teenager who has lost their passion for reading.

Need more suggestions? Stop into any of the Martin County Libraries and we can help you choose a title that could ignite a lifelong desire to read in your teen.




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