Is Reading Boring?

For parents who have not stepped into any of the public libraries for quite a number of years, perhaps it is time to step into the one nearest to your home.

Image: English Corner Publishing Pte Ltd.

Libraries nowadays have magazines and audio-visual items that are meant for children. For instance, you may want to pick up this magazine titled ‘The young scientists. Level 1’ that is published by Young Scientists Pte Ltd. Each issue of the children magazine contains short Science comic strips that appeal to children, thereby encouraging them to read the written contents. There are also nuggets of facts about Science stated at the bottom of most pages. This allows children to increase their knowledge about Science while they enjoy reading the Science comic strips.

If you wish to view a Young Scientist Level 1 Sample, refer to the links (via website of English Corner Publishing Pte Ltd) as follows:
Level 1 (Pri 1-2): englishcorner.sg/samples/young_scientists_level_1.pdf
Level 2 (Pri 3-4): englishcorner.sg/samples/young_scientists_level_2.pdf
Level 3 (Pri 5-6): englishcorner.sg/samples/young_scientists_level_3.pdf

Note: Links were last accessed on 15 Jan 2011.

Does it mean that there are no interesting books in the libraries?

Let us put it to a test.

Image: New York : Scholastic, c2010.

Hit the shelves and look for this rebus book titled “The peculiar pumpkin thief” written by Geronimo Stilton. In fact there are many more titles under the same series titled “Geronimo Stilton”. But wait … what are rebus books? Basically these are books which have pictures in place of some of the words. They can be fun for beginning readers to explore with little assistance.

That’s not all. What about reading books about superheroes? Yes, I am talking about fiction books, and not comic books. Your nearest library should have a couple of these children fiction titles about superheroes if you search the library catalogue using search term such as “Superheroes Fiction”. One example of fiction titles about superheroes is “The shrinking city” written by Michael Dahl.

Summary (“The shrinking city”)

Thirty years ago, Brainiac shrank the city of Kandor and sealed it inside an unbreakable glass container. The evil supercomputer is still exploring the universe, collecting cities from hundreds of planets. Superman must stop Brainiac from bottling up Metropolis, and then save Kandor the last remnant of his home planet, Krypton.

Image: Minneapolis, Minn. : Millbrook Press, c2008.

Last but not least, you may want to introduce your child to books about riddles and jokes. The book titled “The laugh stand : adventures in humor” (author: Brian P. Cleary) allows children to increase their vocabulary through plays on words. I personally like the chapters as follows: “Anagram Crackers” (pp.4); “Poetry of Notes” (pp.26); and “Use Your Headlines” (pp.40).

So why hesitate any longer? Bring your child to the library in your neighbourhood NOW and ask the librarian for some interesting reads!

Posted by Wei Meng.

p.s. Have a nice day. = )