Are you frustrated with the lack of pleasure reading your tweens or teens are doing? Parents and teachers have all heard the excuses:

I have too much homework.

I’d rather play sports.

There aren’t any books I like.

I’ll just read what’s on my phone.

Battles ensue and no one wins. Thankfully, help has arrived in a 170 page guide written by Kaye Newton. She made it through the wars and found peace with her three children, age ten, eleven and fourteen.

Kaye covers all the whys of this reading problem and what to do about it in your own home. Part one covers Understanding Reading Motivations and Challenges. Part two is an in-depth look at Carrying Out a Reading Project.

Her suggestions are wide ranging depending on the child. Backed  by research and her own experience, the methods give you an excellent chance of turning kids into self motivated, independent readers. It wraps up with a chapter on how to get your schools to promote a reading culture.

Throughout, she answers questions from other concerned adults. This one has crossed my paths several times: I’ve read that boys’ reading-comprehension skills are dropping faster than girls’. Any advice about encouraging boys to read? Her answer is spot on and includes book choices for video gamers, humor loving kids, and sports fans to name a few.

Other book recommendations cover the ages from ten to sixteen. The key here is a broad selection of  books whether it’s for a sixteen year-old social media loving girl or a ten year old who will read nothing but graphic novels.

A helpful set of book and web resources are listed in the back pages and included one I have used often: Reading Rockets.

Another plus is a handy glossary of reading terms educators and publishers use. Understanding confusing words like Accelerated Reader Software, Lexile level, hi-lo books, and DEAR will put you on an even playing field.

Even if you already have a home of book loving kids, you’ll still find creative ways to increase their pleasure in reading through these inspired words.

View snippets of HOW TO GET YOUR SCREEN-LOVING KIDS TO READ BOOKS FOR PLEASURE @ Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

Happy Reading!

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Coming up next week is another…

If you would like to join in the MMGM fun, all you have to do is blog about a middle grade book on a Monday (contests, author interviews and whatnot also count–but are most definitely not required) and email me the title of the book you’re featuring and a link to your blog at gpcolo (at) gmail (dot) com

 (Make sure you put MMGM or Marvelous Middle Grade Monday in the subject line so it gets sorted accurately–and please don’t forget to say what book you’re featuring) You MUST email me your link by Sunday evening (11 PM Eastern Time) in order to be included in the list of links for the coming Monday.

Thanks for spreading the middle grade love and for being a part of this awesome tradition begun by Shannon Messenger and carried on here at ALWAYS in the MIDDLE! (CLICK HERE FOR PAST MMGM POSTS)

*Please note: these posts are not a reflection of my own opinions on the books featured. Each blogger is responsible for their own MMGM content and I do not pre-screen reviews ahead of time, nor do I control what books they choose. I simply assemble the list based on the links that are emailed to me.