Paging all readers: On the road to reading

The summer months are an ideal time to sell your child on reading. Your job: to entice your child into books, to structure the opportunity and to create an atmosphere that's reader-friendly.

1. Set an example. Read regularly in your child's presence and talk about what you're reading with him.

2. Read to your child - every day, and whether she's three or 13. Read to on a daily basis, a young child learns how language works and about how written texts are structured. A literate kindergartener can tell you that fairytales begin with, "Once upon a time," and end with, "...and they lived happily ever after." Family reading hours can be wonderful. I remember with fondness my family's introduction to Harry Potter. We were staying at a cottage in Cape Breton and each night before bed my husband or I would read a chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to our then-8-year-old. I don't know which I enjoyed more – the evenings I read, or those when I listened to my husband read.

3. Try reading only the first chapters of a novel to an older child and then letting him take over if and when he expresses the desire to do so. A good strategy is to read up to the point where your child simply must know what happens next and then getting up and turning off the light. Of course, you will leave the book within easy reach for some under-the-covers reading.

4. Think about books on tape. Ideal for long car trips, these can be short picture storybooks or novels such as The Indian in the Cupboard and the works of Charles Dumas. They are widely available through public libraries and can often be borrowed for extended summer loans. Just be prepared to find yourself sitting in the parking lot at your destination, listening to the end of the chapter. Be crafty: find copies of other books written by the same author for your child to read once you reach your destination.

5. Make a visit to the public library with your child a pleasant ritual. If the library isn't his idea of a treat, sweeten the deal with a stop for ice cream afterward. I spent a couple of years visiting a local Tim Horton's after each library outing with my son. We came to love our weekly doughnut, a drink, and dip into our books! At the library, let your child watch and learn how you look for books – how you use the library catalogue, how you check the New Books section, etc. – and help her choose reading materials. Walk her through the children's section and show how the books are arranged. Explain how she might select a book: by looking at the cover illustration, reading the title, and reading the summary on the front or back cover. Check the author's name: Has she enjoyed other books by the same writer?

6. Take an interest in what your child is reading, and don't slight her choices. Ever. Babysitters Club, Goosebumps, Archie comics... they may not be what you read at her age, but a healthy reading habit requires lots of feeding. And most kids need to begin with pureed foods before graduating to smoked salmon and asparagus tips.

7. If your child is slow to develop reading fluency, suggest books in which the written text is heavily supported by photos, maps, and colour illustrations. Since the illustrations carry much of the information, even a reluctant reader can experience reading success.

8. Encourage your child to share his books with you. It is important that young readers reflect upon their reading so that they can continue to develop their understanding of how written texts work. You might ask questions about the characters, the setting and the plot. But don't stop there. Try posing questions that require some synthesis, inference and evaluation: "What do you think will happen next? Why? Why did the character act that way? What would you have done?"

9. Ask your child to recommend one for you to read. I read Holes, by Louis Sachar, last fall after my son proclaimed it to be the best book he had ever read. I enjoyed almost as much as he did, and since our ages and experiences are very different we were able to indulge in some very pleasant debates about the book's finer points.

10. Finally, make time for reading. Rent a cottage without television or unplug the computer. Curl up with a good novel. I guarantee that time, a good book and your sterling example will have your child on the road to reading in no time.