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A couple of months ago, I left the following comment after reading Jen Robinson’s review The Pigman by Paul Zindel.

This is SO timely for me, Jen, because as I’ve written a lot lately, Amanda (10 — 5th grade) is really crossing that threshold and reading a lot of YA stuff now — Hunger Games, Uglies, etc. I have my reservations, but I want her to continue to love reading.

The reason this was such a good reminder for me is that I read that novel, and others like it, and it didn’t make me want to go into strange men’s homes and drink while underage. It just opened the door to understanding more about people and their circumstances and the world around me.

I was taken back to my middle school years by Jen Robinson’s review of The Pigman by Paul Zindel. I don’t even think I was shocked or titillated by that book when I read it in middle school. I might have been, but I don’t remember having that reaction (Judy Blumes Forever, which I encountered way too young as we passed it around in about 6th grade, is a different story).

The issue at hand right in my home right now is Twilight. “Everyone” in the fifth grade is reading it (except of course several of her closest friends who I directly asked about).

Being educated (and continuing to explore kids’ lit on my own) is my offensive and defensive strategy of monitoring Amanda’s reading. Because I had read lots of reviews on Twilight (including Lisa’s as linked here), I took an offensive position — bringing it up before it came home in her backpack. However, I can also play defense by suggesting alternatives*.

Twilight aside, I am letting go. I used to tell her that she shouldn’t even read books that feature protagonists who are over about thirteen years old/junior high age. But now she’s reading some books that are outside that range.

For example, we just both read Wings (linked to my review) together, but separately. There’s probably some content in there that I would have wanted her to avoid, but she finished it before I did. I actually ended up using it as an example of why I thought Twilight was inappropriate for her age. I told her, “You know how Wings had maybe 4 or 5 sentences about yearning for love? Well, from what I understand, that’s what the whole Twilight series is!”

Characters “yearning and burning for love” has actually become a bit of a joke between us, but it’s been a valuable tool in giving us a vocabulary to use to talk about that theme. I also think that because we have discussed it I am helping her establish criteria for evaluating a book’s content (and it’s my hope, to help her avoid content that is too emotionally mature for her).

The bottom line, as I commented on Jen’s post, is that I DO want her to read. I want her to love reading. I know that a sure way for her to lose interest in reading is to become bored with it. She’s an advanced reader and she logs a lot of time reading each week, so I want her to be able to explore new themes and new styles.

She still just “wants to know what all the fuss is about” concerning Twilight, and I’m still going with my gut and saying no right now.

I don’t mind being a mean mom. I have to do what I believe is best for her, but I have to earn her trust and give her the opportunity to earn mine as well. It’s a fine line, and I hope I’m walking on the right side of it.

*RESOURCES:

I keep a toe in the kidlitosphere mostly through the awesome gate of Jen Robinson’s Book Page. She not only reviews a lot of middle grade and young adult fiction, but does great round-ups linking to other reviews and discussions within the blogosphere.

The Kids’ Picks carnival held here the third Tuesday of each month is also a great resource. I love discovering new books and authors that other tweens and teens (or their parents) have enjoyed.

This line of thought opened the floodgates for me. You can read some of the thoughts I had to edit out of this post for length at my blog Snapshot.

The tween years, specifically between eight and twelve, are vital in determining whether or not a child will be a lifelong reader. By this time, even a weaker reader could be fairly comfortable reading books. If she is supplied with books that really interest her, she will hopefully see it as an enjoyable pastime. Even children who enjoyed reading when they are younger, sometimes stop reading as much as other interests compete for their time. I began to see this in my ten-year-old daughter’s choices this summer. She still read hundreds and hundreds (thousands even) of pages this summer. She read on vacation, she read in the car, she read while watching TV, she read outside and upstairs and downstairs, but. . . .

But she also watched a lot of tween Disney TV. She spent time at sports camps and on playdates. She played video games and surfed the net. She started a blog with some friends. She cooked and drew and played with (or tormented) her little brother.

These are all good things. Some of them are great things, but had I not continued to encourage her to read by turning off the screens, and by taking her to the library (where she participated in the summer reading program and appreciated the incentives given as prizes along the way), I know that she would have read a lot less this summer than she had in the past.

Like me, reading is first in her heart, but other interests can easily crowd it out. What trumps things like friends, TV and other hobbies? A good book will do it every time.

In my adult life my reading has waxed and waned. If I’m reading a great book, I will almost always choose it over mindless TV, or housework (well I’d also choose a mediocre book over housework if I’m being honest here), or computer time. But in the past I’d read a great book, and perhaps follow it up with a great book, and then maybe not read much of anything for a few months. For the past two years, I’ve again become a confirmed bookworm, but there are still times when I’m between books, or the book I’m reading doesn’t really grab me, when my page count does fall off.

So I do relate to the many things that are vying for Amanda’s time: trumpet practice, her Bible study lesson, homework, time with friends, TV, chores, but I make sure that the reading happens.

As I write this, she’s gone up to bed an hour early to read. This used to happen quite often, but with Zack and Cody and iCarly calling to her in the evenings, she often watches TV right up to bedtime and then complains that I only let her read for ten minutes before bed. But she had read a few chapters of a book that we recently picked up at a used bookstore, and she’s enjoying it so much that she doesn’t want to set it aside.

I can make sure that she reads at home, but I have to give credit to her school for providing many hours each week for her to read — whetting her appetite each and every day.

This happens in a variety of ways:

• The school librarian is a big fan of the Accelerated Reading program. She has apparently always encouraged participation, but this is the first year that it was built into the language arts curriculum. I know that some are not fans of this, and some schools are heavyhanded in the way that they execute it (restricting reading choices rather than encouraging reading), but this program encourages my daughter to set a reasonable goal and to keep on turning the pages.
• In addition to that, the librarian has made the library a place to read. Each class spends one period a week in library. During that 45 minutes, they are expected to read. The library is a beautiful light-filled space with a two-story wall of windows overlooking a wooded area. The children are encouraged to find an inviting place to read — on a floor cushion, on a padded bench, in a rocking chair, or at a table, and must spend the bulk of that period reading.
• Another part of her school day is “learning lab.” This is another 45 minute period each day when children are encouraged to use their brains. It is not study hall (though a child will occasionally use that time to get extra help). They use this time for music lessons (once a week), playing chess, doing extra math challenges, drawing, or reading. I think that some diversity of choice is encouraged, but except for the one day when she has trumpet lessons, Amanda is reading.

I write this partly to provide a practical answer to the question that my friend Katrina has posed when I’ve published Amanda’s reading feats in the last two Kids’ Pick carnivals: How does she read so much? The second reason is to remind myself that I can’t take it for granted. It’s the combination of time set aside for reading and getting the right books in her hands that keep her reading.

What obstacles do you see in encouraging an ongoing love of reading in tweens and teens? What solutions have you found?

Managing Editor Jennifer Donovan also blogs at Snapshot about life with her tween daughter and preschool son.