See the whole article here:
http://tinyurl.com/Independents50BookListFor11s
My thoughts?
First, I think it is important to realize that this article was written by a British journalist. The five people who were approached to create the list of 50 books are all British. Therefore, the titles are overwhelmingly British also.
In theory, it's a great idea. The books I recognized from that list are pretty meaty though, in prose or length. Remember, some kids get little homework, others have loads each night. That doesn't even take into consideration social activities such as church or scouting. What about sports? Just because kids may not read 50 books a year or they aren't reading at that high a level, it does not necessarily mean they are not using their time well.
Of course I'd love for it to be a reality that 11 year olds would read 50 books such as these every year. I see it as more of a reality for homeschooled kids (and we've homeschooled so I've been there and know the reality of homeschooling vs public schools).
Three of our five kids really enjoy reading. Two will likely continue to prove to be prolific in their reading. One of them is dying to have an ereader and that will likely further encourage his joy of reading. Our youngest already owns a child's ereader:
Our Initial Impression of the VReader < click here
VReader and extra memory < click here
I have also signed our kids up with accounts at www.librarything.com where they can track and review their reading.
The article mentions the unfortunate closure of libraries too.
Can any country really hope their kids will read if we close libraries? (Especially with the current economy?)
I am intrigued by the list. I had surgery this week and am recovering so my body is telling me I need to take a break now and take a nap. I will be returning to the list though to take a deeper look at it myself. I may read some of the selections myself! I haven't heard of some of them.
As for our kids, I will continue to encourage them to read. I've told them I will always find money for books if they ask me to buy them. I try to make our house a comfortable place to read and I often read to or with our kids. I'll keep doing that. Of course I want them to read a lot but I don't want them to focus on the number of books they read more than the benefit or pleasure they receive from reading.
I'm just happy when they read and that they tend to enjoy reading.
