5 Tips to Help Reluctant Readers Fall in Love With Books

Tips to help reluctant readers fall in love with books

1.       Listen to audiobooks.

2.      Choose visually appealing books.

3.      Take turns reading.

4.      Choose books with white space (that means avoid densely packed/wordy pages). Your child wants to feel successful turning each page. Slow page-turns can make reading feel weighty.

5.      Help your child choose books with subjects that are fun and interesting to them.

THE TRUTH ABOUT 5th GRADE (HarperCollins), written by award-winning author Kim Tomsic and award-winning cartoonist, Mark Parisi, is ideal for 2^nd-5^th grade readers who love humor, sloths, wild science, and a funny touch of poetry. This laugh-out-loud story is written as "he-said/she-said" diary entries by two BFFs with different perspectives about the "truth" about fifth grade. For avid readers, reluctant readers, and for fans of Invisible Emmie and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Critical praise:

"The truth is: readers are going to LOVE this HILARIOUS he-said/she-said diary!” — Sarah Mlynowski, author of the NYT Bestselling Whatever After series

 

"The book includes plenty of humor, such as a memory of a ladybug flying up Alex’s nose... The illustrations are appealing and break up the text, making it accessible to reluctant readers. ... “Lively, fun, and deeply relatable."  — Kirkus Reviews

 

"As the besties struggle to get on the same page, [Alex and Charli] navigate friendship rivalries, pranks, and violations of privacy via fast-paced chapters that highlight their differences—and similarities—and offer laugh-out-loud moments."  — Publishers Weekly

“This illustrated diary-style novel delves into the changes and frustrations fifth grade can bring … [It’s a] comical tale of fifth grade that fans of Diary of Wimpy Kid and similar books will enjoy.” — School Library Journal

A family curse. An “innocent” prank. A magic candle THE 12TH CANDLE

THE 12TH CANDLE by Kim Tomsic 

(October 8, 2019 Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins) ISBN 978-0062654977

Since birth, Sage Sassafras has been plagued by the Contrarium Curse, aka the Curse of the Opposites, and it has pitted her against tall, rich, basketball star, Priscilla Petty. When Priscilla lands dunk shots, Sage throws bricks. When Priscilla has a good hair day, Sage gets tangles, and when Priscilla’s father lands a big promotion at work, things go really sour for Sage’s daddy.

So when Noodler, the biggest search-engine company in the world, challenges students at Goldview K-8 to the Doodle for Noodler art contest, Sage is determined to win fame before Priscilla can, and thereby change her reputation from infamous to famous. Plus, with a little help from the magic candle she received on her 12^th birthday, she believes she can do even more! The candle brings pizza, art supplies, and new clothing—maybe it can change the curse, too, so Sage makes the ultimate wish—she asks for a curse-reverse.

When the consequences of her wish take a terrible turn, she has to team up with her frenimies and figure out how to break the curse and its reverse for good, she’ll be doomed to a life of opposites forever!

CRITICAL PRAISE:

“A thoughtful look at curse versus choice and an encouragement to youngsters to make their own paths.”—Kirkus Review

“Friendship, magic, and pink lightning—this book is a wish come true!” —Lauren Myracle

 “This sweetly magical novel is a lesson in kindness. There is magic in all of us.” –Kristen Gilligan, owner, Tattered Cover Book Store

“A heartfelt and humorous story about the ups and downs of middle school, touching on the ways acts of forgiveness can change an entire community. The 12^th Candle is a wish come true!” –McCourt Thomas, Head of Youth Services, Lyons Regional Library District

“An enchanting and heartfelt story for anyone who has ever tried to wish away their problems!” –Ida Olson, Library Media Specialist, McCormick Junior High School

If you would like a signed copy, please order through the following bookstores and let them know you'd like your copy personalized:

Changing Hands Bookstore: https://www.changinghands.com/book/9780062654977

Tattered Cover Bookstore: https://www.tatteredcover.com/book/9780062654977

BookBar Denver https://www.bookbardenver.com/book/9780062654977

Boulder Bookstore: https://www.boulderbookstore.net/book/9780062654977

PUBLIC EVENTS:

October 8th, 7:00 PM Tattered Cover Bookstore, 2526 E. Colfax Avenue, Denver

October 12th, noon, SCBWI Rocky Mountains

October 26th, 2:00 PM Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 S. McClintock, Tempe AZ

November 9th:  Boulder Connect, Boulder Colorado

School visits (not listed here) have been scheduled through:  BookBar Denver, Tattered Cover Bookstore, Boulder Bookstore, and Changing Hands Bookstore. 

Buying Link: Indie Bound https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062654977

Would you like to know about the author:

Please visit Kim Tomsic's Website:  http://kimtomsic.com/

ISBN 978-0062654977

The Great Hibernation by Tara Dairman

Author Tara Dairman (All Four Stars series) has another great book coming out this fall. 
In The Great Hibernation, (Wendy Lamb Books/Random House Kids, September 12, 2017) all the parents and teens in the town of St. Polonius fall fast asleep in a mysterious state of hibernation, and science-minded Jean Huddy can’t help but wonder if there’s a strange illness…or worse, a curse—a curse that Jean has brought upon the town.

With parents and teens out for the count, Magnus, the son of the Mayor, proclaims the town charter requires the children of St. Polonius must take over their parents’ jobs, especially since St. Polonius is remotely located on a fjord and a blizzard has hit thereby preventing access to help. Naturally, the twelve and under crowd step up and start running things.

Almost everyone is excited: The daughter of the librarian wants to throw out the Dewey Decimal system and file books by color; Axel Gorson, who is only eight, now drives the snowplow; and six-year-old Annemarie Hammerstein (the daughter of the local doctor) starts practicing stitches on her dollies! But it’s not all fun and games, because Magnus the Mayor is ready to run things with a Mafia-esque iron fist.

Jean, her brother Micah, and a sheep named Rambo lead this story in adventure and hilarity, but also woven in are a handful of beautiful yet subtle devices in which this story deals with cultural differences and prejudices. For example, after a horrible kitchen incident where Jean doesn’t know what to do or how to act, Isara, the now proprietor of the restaurant whose family moved to St. Polonius from Thailand, comes to rescue. He offers a kind hand and says he knows what it’s like to, “be in a place where nothing makes sense. Were you don't know the rules. Sometimes, you need someone to show you the way.”

The Great Hibernation delivers page-turning doses of intrigue, adventure, and humor with one fun-filled complication after another, a truly can’t-put-downable book!

Buying Links listed alphabetically:

Amazon  

BookBar (a beautiful independent bookstore)

Second Star to the Right (a beautiful independent bookstore)

Boulder Book Store (signing event at this bookstore in September!) 

Barnes and Noble

The Great Hibernation fall book tour

Books of Wonder – New York, NY
Sunday, September 17, 1 pm
Middle-grade panel and launch party! (with Jessica Lawson, Tracey Baptiste,  & Allison Cherry)

The Voracious Reader  – Larchmont, NY
Monday, September 18, evening (time TBA)
Science & magic! A middle grade event with Sarah Albee, & Corey Ann Haydu

Trident Booksellers & Cafe – Boston, MA
Tuesday, September 19, 6:30 pm
Super middle-grade panel! (with Debbi Michiko Florence, Ammi-Joan Paquette, Jen Malone, & Katie Slivensky, moderated by Dana Alison Levy)

One More Page Books – Arlington, VA
Saturday, September 23, 3pm
Kidlit panel! (with Tracey Baptiste, Caroline Carlson, & Jessica Lawson, moderated by Madelyn Rosenberg)

Boulder Book Store – Boulder, CO
Tuesday, September 26, 6:30 pm
Middle-grade book launch party! (with Jeannie Mobley & Melanie Crowder)

BookPeople – Austin, TX
Sunday, October 8, 2 pm
A Triple Launch Party! (with Christina Soontornvat & Jeannie Mobley)

Author:	Tara Dairman
Publisher:	Wendy Lamb Books / Random House Childrens Books
Date Published:	September 12, 2017
Street Date:	September 12, 2017
Format:	Hardcover
Length:	272 pages
Language:	English
ISBN:	1524717851 / 9781524717858
Categories:	Kids & Teens / Fiction & Literature / Family & Social Issues / General
	Kids & Teens / Fiction & Literature / Health / Illness & Injuries
	Kids & Teens / Fiction & Literature / Family & Social Issues / Friendship
Audience:	Children's - Grade 4-6, Age 9-11

Plopping, Zooming, Slashing and Other Horrendous Happenings in THE TUMBLEWEED CAME BACK

THE TUMBLEWEED CAMEBACK by Carmela LaVigna Coyle (illustrated by Kevin Rechin) (Rico Chico Books for Children, release September 2013) is a charming tall-tale story of two determined kids and one Granny matched against the antagonist—the pesky tumbleweed. Those plopping, zooming and slashing tumbleweed double and triple on every page turn, ruining pools and farmland. And no matter if the kids send them away down the Rio Grande or by time machine, the tumbleweed come back. But not to worry—the kids in this story have grit. They rely on problem solving and ingenuity to rid themselves and their Granny of the multiplying nuisance. 

The fun word choices in this story make it a delight to read aloud, and further enhance the tall-tale storytelling and the western setting. The colorful and comical illustrations by Kevin Rechin both punctuate the yarn as well as open the door for the child’s imagination to go wild. Parents, grandparents, and teachers alike will enjoy the pluck and resourcefulness of Carmela LaVigna Coyle’s characters.

THE TUMBLEWEED CAMEBACK was this year's winner of the Colorado Book Award for Children's Literature. It is fresh and original, and it’s funny while also showing kids that imagination and determination can payoff.    

DESTINY REWRITTEN a book review

Destiny Rewritten by KathrynFitzmaurice (Harper Collins Katherine Tegen Books) is a charming and absorbing tale. This book will capture the imagination of your eight to thirteen-year-old readers. It’s chock-full of fun quests and unique characters.  But let’s start at the beginning, where the epigraph sets the tone:

          In this short Life

          That only lasts an hour

          How much—how little—is

          Within our power

          –Emily Dickinson

How much do our decisions influence our future, or is everything up to destiny? It’s a fun premise to consider, and that’s what I love—a book full of possibilities.

 

JACKET FLAP: Eleven-year-old Emily Elizabeth Davis has been told for her entire life that her destiny is to become a poet, just like her famous namesake, Emily Dickinson. But Emily doesn't even really like poetry, and she has a secret career ambition that she suspects her English-professor mother will frown on. Then, just after discovering that it contains an important family secret, she loses the special volume of Emily Dickinson's poetry that was given to her at birth. As Emily and her friends search for the lost book in used bookstores and thrift shops all across town, Emily's understanding of destiny begins to unravel and then rewrite itself in a marvelous new way.

Twelve-year-old Emily approaches her quest with a spirit of pluck, creativity, and contagious mania. And in her hometown of Berkley, California, there’s a whole pack of interesting characters to meet—her spy-obsessed younger cousin Mortie (who may or may not be on some sort of reconnaissance mission), her friends at school, thrift shop owners and the local tree huggers.

Katherine Tegen Books, February 2013
Realistic Fiction
352 pages

ISBN-10: 0061625019
ISBN-13: 9780061625015 
Recommended for grades 4-6

What's the Mafia doing in Middle School?

The Fourth Stall by Chris Rylander has been named the 2012 winner of the Sid Fleischman Award for Humor, a yearly award granted by The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrator’s (SCBWI).

Why'd it win? Picture the mafia, the Godfather, and folks saying, “I’m gonna make you an offer you can’t refuse.” Now pictures those folks, the mafioso, as sixth-graders with names like iBully, Prep School, and Kitten!  THE FOURTH STALL is hilarious (hence the award), but it’s also a clever tale about a kid who uses mafia-ish tactics to help schoolmates solve their problems. And just like in The Godfather, this story has intrigue, betrayal, and a level of mystery that would make Francis Ford Coppola smile. You’ll guess and re-guess about the twists until the end.

RATING: 5 out of 5 lollipops

If you want to buy a great book for a boy or a girl, THE FOURTH STALL is a sure bet. (And in case you're still wondering, it earns a five out of five lollipop rating).

The Triumvirate

Author:  Chris Rylander

Editor:  Jordan Brown

Chris Rylander receiving award

Agent:  Steven Malk (Writers House)

Reading level: Ages 8 and up Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Walden Pond Press (February 8, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 0061994960 ISBN-13: 978-0061994968

Past Sid Fleischman Award  Winners:

Year*	Winner	Book Title	Publisher
2011	Alan Silberberg	Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze	Aladdin
2010	Allen Zadoff	Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have	Egmont USA
2009	Donna Gephart	As if Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough My Mother is Running for President!	Delacorte Press
2008	No award given.
2007	Sara Pennypacker	Clementine	Hyperion
2006	David LaRochelle	Absolutely Positively Not	Arthur A. Levine Books
2005	Gennifer Choldenko	Al Capone Does My Shirts	G.P. Putnam's Sons
2004	Lisa Yee	Millicent Min, Girl Genius	Arthur A. Levine Books
2003	Sid Fleischman