From: Robin Gibson <gibsonr_at_denison.edu>
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2010 22:44:25 -0400

Ditto on what Karen said (re: public library availability and helping parents understand that picture books are for a wide range of readers)

Someone else mentioned those 20 minutes a day. We hear that so often these days. Has this requirement made reading become a chore? Because it's not a chore, it's a delight. One of my favorite quotes about reading is from Mem Fox in /Reading Magic/:

/When I say to a parent, "read to a child," I don't want it to sound like medicine. I want it to sound like chocolate. -- Mem Fox//

/Fox reminds us that this is fun! You get to read aloud to your child/with your child. It's a privilege, it's exciting, it's giggly together time. This is how we need to present it to parents. I haven't figured out how to get around those AR points yet. Except to say that you can still read picture books for fun, and keep reading joyful.

Yes, for some parents, picture books are a real expense. Whether or not that should be (compared to the price of toys), that is still the perception for many, and the reality for some.

As far as packaging books, /Children's Book of the Month /Club does something like this. They offer good quality hardback books (not smaller in size, or lesser quality) and often have buy one get one half off or bundled specials, so that two "real" hardbacks are less than the listed retail bookstore price. I don't know that they have a starter collection like Marc suggests, but they do have pretty good recommendations for parents who take time to look (age groups, boy books, classics, editor's choice). (I'm not recommending them necessarily, just noting their existence here.)

Happy reading! Robin
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Robin L. Gibson Youth Services Librarian Westerville Public Library Westerville, OH 43081
Received on Fri 05 Nov 2010 10:44:25 PM CDT