To Read or Not to Read 50 Books A Year!

British parents are in an uproar right now. Apparently, the country's education secretary came back from a trip to the U.S. in March (uh oh) and announced that every child over the age of 11 should be reading fifty books a year. On average, that equals out to about a book a week. For some kids, this is happening already. In fact, I know some children who read a book a day sometimes.

But what people are protesting about, is the fact that "requiring" reading may not equal a "lifelong love of reading." As British journalist Robert McCrum put it:

Of course our kids should read more (and better), but cramming them like force-fed battery geese is no way to promote the idea of reading as a lifelong joy. Reading should be a private pleasure. Children should be encouraged to try different kinds of book. To browse the shelves of the library (assuming it has not been closed). Reading for personal satisfaction and fulfilment should take place at whatever speed works best for them.

I agree with him completely, in theory. Our children do need access to books that are interesting to them. And they need frequent visits to the library to browse the shelves and see what's available. They also should read at a speed that works best for them.

But even when these things are present, are our kids today even really reading? Some are and some aren't. Unfortunately in many cases, technology is getting in the way -- television in particular. In fact, television has become the central focus in too many homes. Research shows that children today watch entirely too much TV on average.

Consider for a minute that in many homes the television is on for 7 hours and 40 minutes each day and that 56 percent of American children between 8 and 16 have a television in their bedroom! Is it any wonder that reading is declining?

So what's the answer? While 50 Books in a year may be too much (or too few) and it may be the completely wrong approach to addressing the need to get kids to read more; it was at least an attempt to get people to wake up and take notice. Kids everywhere should be reading. And as parents it is our job to try to cultivate a love for reading at a very early age. How we do that probably has a lot to do with our parenting style and our child's temperament and reading ability.

So whether you want your kids to read 50 books (or more) in a year, I do encourage you to start kicking the television habit this month. In fact, Scholastic has designated April as National Turn Off the TV and Read Month. So there is no better time to start. We won't fix the problems with children's literacy overnight, but we have to start someplace. And this seems as good a place as any to me!

If you need book ideas for an 11-year-old little girl ... Here are the next 10 books my daughter hopes to read (in alphabetical order):

Claim to Fame by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Confetti Girl by Diana Lopez (she is currently reading this one)
Cupcake Diaries: The Cupcake Cure by Coco Simon
Finally by Wendy Mass
Lynn Visible by Julia DeVillers
My Best Frenemy by Julie Bowe
The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet by Erin Dionne
Thirteen by Lynne Myracle
Twelve by Lynne Myracle
Warp Speed by Lisa Yee

If you want to read Robert McCrum's entire article, you can access it at this link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2011/mar/22/michael-gove-children-reading-week