When on earth did it get to be June? Now I not only need to choose books for me, but for the kids to take to camp. This is my opportunity to try to influence their love of learning new things and of trying something else. See, the camps my kids go to are sleepover camps, with no electronics allowed except MP3 players with no video and “quite” time each day when they are encouraged to read. The beauty of this is many layered, but the stress of finding something appropriate, and not embarrassing to the teens I am sending, places that bar very high on stress to get this right.
So, how do I get my kids to read things that are important, impactful, and not embarrassing? I trick them.
Last summer my daughter was preparing to enter high school. I am aware of the things they are surrounded with, and the temptations that are there. Without being too preachy about the perils of drugs, I selected Go Ask Alice for her. She was thrilled that it was a grownup theme that she could relate to, and that was still relevant in this world. I know I read this in high school, myself, and I still remember some scenes vividly. It opened a conversation for us, which had been my goal.
My son, however, was going through an “I hate reading” phase, so I found as many I Too Funny books and comics to send as I could. My belief is that I don’t care what you are reading, just read. And sometimes I need breaks from the heavy reads too.
I digress, however. I am now struggling with what to send, and what to tell Grandma to send as packages. My boy, now 13, loves fantasy and action. A friend of his read The DiVinci Code, so he read it too, surprising himself by enjoying it. Based upon that, my mind went right to Tom Clancy. My boy will be receiving The Hunt for Red October from my parents within the first week of camp. I am thinking along the lines of The Last Days of Summer, by Steven Kluger. An entertaining story of a fatherless boy reaching out to the all star 3rd baseman of the NY Giants, as told from the letters to each other. This story of persistence and generosity, all with a sense of humor, can teach about how you can learn from each other and how important it is to choose who you rely on.
My daughter, however, will be getting Speak from Grandma. Since this content is hard, I am hoping that getting it from Grandma will help. Regardless of how strong she thinks she is, and how far the world has come, the violence against women and girls remains a fact. Just read the headlines. Learning when and how to speak for yourself is a lesson we all need to be reminded of. So that means something a bit lighter from me, just to balance off. That leads me to any one of the following (still not sure which to choose): Anna and the French Kiss, The Help, Just one Day, Since You’ve Been Gone or Cinder.
Please comment with any suggestions you may have. If not now, there are plenty of opportunities to put them around the house to be picked up….
The Source 4 Books 