“Books that are delightful for ten-year-olds are not necessarily delightful for six-year-olds, and too often both parents and teachers encourage children to read books that are too old for them, or discourage them from reading books we have deemed “too young,” thus guaranteeing that reading will always feel like a chore.”
In my view, exposing kids to books that are a little beyond their level helps get them to the next level. It is easiest to do this when children are young and want to be read to. If you always read books that are easy for them, they may enjoy reading now. But what about later on? Will a child still be interested in reading, if they haven’t advanced enough in reading to actually understand books written for their age group? About 70% of American children read below grade level. I can’t help wondering if ideas like this are a factor.
There is also a concern about the meaning going over the heads of younger kids. I think this is why parents should continue reading books to their kids for a long time. They can help with meaning. But a child can still enjoy a book even if they don’t fully grasp everything in it. Just like they can enjoy a movie, even if they don’t fully understand everything. The articles expresses concern about kids being exposed to things like love and death if they are reading advanced books. But kids are exposed to these things in Disney movies all the time. It seems like there is a tendency to apply different standards to things seen as “intellectual” like books than to fun things like movies.
I actually did not think that this article is saying that chapter books are not suitable for younger children. It seems to be addressing the emotional content of what we allow our children to read (and I would think based on what she is saying that she would probably also not want our children watching movies with too advanced emotional content either) My issue with the movies is that they manage to make books that are suitable for younger children into movies that are far too scary for the same age.
In grade 2 I was an advanced reader and instead of reading the class readers my teacher picked books from the library for me to read - they were at about a grade 6 and above level and while she tried to get content suitable for me, I found the books quite disturbing as the two I remember well were about cruelty and abandonment and I still wanted adventure and happy endings. I could read the books easily and understand them well, but I didn’t enjoy them as much as I did later when the topics bothered me less. This I think is what she is referring to.
I have been reading chapter books to my daughter since she was 3 but I try to pick books that are not emotionally disturbing and also have things in them that she can relate to which is hard when even the simplest chapter books are often aimed at children already at school or losing their teeth or speaking in a language spoken by children in elementary school and not by 4 year olds.
I think basically that this article warns us to watch what our children are reading and to read to them. It reminds us that there are topics that children do not need to be exposed to too early - there is no point allowing a young child to read about excessive violence, sex, or topics that deal with adult troubles. Emotionally a child who reads at 2, 3, 4 is still that age even if they are reading like a 12 year old. What we need is books that use the advanced vocabulary they can read but deal with topics that they will still enjoy. There is a list of books at Hoagies gifted website that are suitable for early readers from an emotional side. Sonlight a homeschool curriculum also tried to get readers for advanced readers with content that is still suitable for younger children.
I do plan on keeping an eye on both the movies my child watches and the books she reads for quite some time. My mother told my sister (who was reading at 2) that if she read the whole of Oliver Twist then she could read a particular book she had asked to read (and I think it may have been Catcher in the Rye) - I am not sure Oliver Twist is good material to allow a 6 year old to read but the idea was that she would not read it and so would not get to read the other book either. Luckily it worked.
I agreed with some points the article made. I agree that if a book is scary or disturbing, it wouldn’t be good for a young child. I agree that there are a lot of really good picture books. I don’t think children should be forced to read books that don’t interest them. I don’t think parents should have academics in mind with every book choice made for their kids.
But I felt that the article went beyond that into criticizing parents for wanting their younger kids to read higher level books in general. There are plenty of good books aimed at older kids that are often far less upsetting than an average Disney movie. And even picture books can address themes that may be troubling to some children. I’ve read attacks before on introducing young kids to chapter books and this seemed like another to me. Although the criticism was more implied than direct.
Common sence media recommend bridge to Tarabithia for nine year old? And the author suggests Miley Cirus for an 8 year old! Clearly they have no idea what they are talking about. It appears to me that these selections contradict what she is trying to convey in the article. Is it really OK for a 9 year old to read about a grade 5 girl who dies? Or an 8 year old to be lost in the commercialism that surounds Miley Cirus? I personally don’t think so. I have sent back over 10 school readers that my daughter has read that I deemed inapropriate. One she read at age six was a short chapter book in which the main character abandons her 9 children and her husband kills them all in grief and commits suicide! It wasnt as direct as that but that is what happened and my girl was smart enough to get it and was quite upset. Another we sent back at age 7 had a real photo of a human dead body! It was a non fiction story.
I think like in all areas of our children’s life we need to be aware and make conscious decisions. Personally we avoid violence and commercialism but I will happily let her read about fantasy and even relationships up to a point. She is quite nieve a lot goes over her head. Her younger sister isn’t as nieve and is easily upset and I will be extra diligent with her as in the next few months I think she will realize she can read chapter books too. All of my children still love to read picture books and I encourage this by making beautiful stories available for them.
I like the comment above that not every book you choose for your children needs to have educational value. Let them read for the love of reading at any age!
The big problem I had with the article is you can’t make a general statement that advanced books are bad and age appropriate books are good for a child. Parents need to be careful with every book they pick. And that means knowing their child. What will upset one won’t bother another. I remember being devastated as a child reading an age appropriate picture book The Fox and the Hound. I cried and cried for days. Yet plenty of more advanced books didn’t bother me. My 6 year old reads a lot of American Girl history books, which are advanced for her age. She loves them. I read a lot of classics to her that she has loved. Yet it was an age appropriate picture book Hansel and Gretal that gave her nightmares and still disturbs her months later. I also bought a collection of picture book stories for 3 year olds. There are a few stories I wouldn’t read in there because they have some disturbing elements. So, why make “reading ahead of grade level” the point of the article rather than be careful about what you let your kids read? Picture books with disturbing content can actually be far worse than chapter books because the bad parts are so much more visual.
reading ahead of your grade level is not necessarily a good thing.
I agree with your concern over reading.but i think the choice of a good book is much more necessary.before choosing book for your toddler ,first check it as child proof or not.then go through it.Expose her to various area of knowledge.So book is very necessary.As you are going to invent your child,so carefully choose the books and include all the subjects.your biggner may finds her happiness and joys from books.
Kids love color,so dont forget the colors.more colorful moreactivity book means more enjoyment.Just you start you enjoy her readig with her.
Reading above grade level is no different than being “able to watch television above grade level.” Just because they are ABLE to view inappropriate TV doesn’t mean we LET them. Books need to be monitored the same as television and if you are a careful parent, you can give your child the gift of early literacy while sheltering them from inappropriate material. As this author states, the antidote to “bad books” is “good books” (or age-appropriate books in this case). While I can see there are challenges in sourcing the right books, I believe it is more than worth the trouble and in no way should this deter a parent from encouraging their child’s advanced reading skills.
She mentioned picture books and coloring with crayons. No one said that children cannot continue to enjoy picture books and coloring if they become advanced readers, it’s not an either/or proposition! What kid doesn’t like coloring with crayons? All kinds of art can be encouraged at any age, crayons included. My daughter reads a wide skill range of books depending on her mood, as does my niece at nearly 13 years old. They have book reading challenges in her class at school and the teacher will only give kids “credit” for books at their individual grade level or higher (based on their test scores). Sometimes my niece will skip the “credit” and teacher recognition because she wants to read what she loves just for the joy of reading, other times she may read books above grade level.
Keep in mind this piece was written by a children’s author and it is only one person’s opinion. I can point you to other adults who learned to read multi-syllable words fluently by age 1 and feel blessed every single day by their amazing reading skills that began when they were a small infant. So, take her opinion with a grain of salt.
Articles like this may be very discouraging for parents who are considering early reading, if they are being told that their kids won’t have anything appropriate to read. I wonder if an article like this would have given me pause when I started teaching my first child at 9 months. I knew little about children’s books at the time and may have worried about what she would actually be able to read. Now I know that age appropriateness is often based on the assumed reading level of the reader, not on the actual maturity of content. But many parents of babies and toddlers may not realise this.
Many librarians, reading specialists, and teachers have adopted the 5 finger rule, & it’s very easy to teach to kids. It’s not perfect, but it’s a nice way for students to pick books more independently. Most of you are probably familiar with it, but for those that are not, here it is:
Open a book and read a page. Put up a finger for every word you don’t know. After finishing the page look at how many fingers you have up…
1 finger - easy
2-3 fingers - just right
4 fingers - challenging
5+ fingers - too challenging
We encourage students to pick mostly “just right” books. That way they aren’t focusing so much mental energy deciphering unfamiliar words that they lose the meaning of the text, but they also learn new words in the process. This does not mean, of course, that challenging and easy books are not aloud! You get a sense of accomplishment from being motivated to read a challenging book & working through it (but motivation, not pressure, is key). You can get a lot from an easy book too. When your mind isn’t tied up identifying words, it is free to make predictions, inferences, connections, etc.
As for age appropriateness, it’s important to note that just because a 1st grader is reading on a 3rd grade level does not mean you can find good books by simply looking at a 3rd grade book list. It is by no means impossible, however. Bookstores, libraries, and Amazon have tons of books that are not only appropriate, but interesting for advanced readers.
I get a combination of easy and just right books for my child. It doesn’t make sense to get advanced books unless the parent is doing the reading. Kids aren’t good at figuring out meaning from context, so they don’t benefit from material that is too hard for them. That’s why parents should continue to read to already advanced readers for as long as possible. It helps to get them to the next level.