Last week I asked for your suggestions on what to
do when your children reject your favorite books.
Many thanks to D. Marcotte who sent in a good one -
letting your children select and read the abridged
versions of classic stories.
Here a few of my thoughts:
1) Give them time.
Every day brings a flood of posts
about other people's second graders reading Harry
Potter or Lord of the Rings. And some kids w autism
may do that. But most kids with or without autism
will not. That is OKAY. If you introduce a favorite
that is soundly rejected, wait a year or two and try again.
2) Be sneaky.
My father had beloved books that he would offer with
a kind of righteous urgency usually reserved for green
vegetables at dinner (he hated vegetables so he had a
lot of urgency to spare). This meant I avoided Kim and
King of the Khyber Rifles for months - but when he stopped
talking about them and just left them in my way, I read and
loved them. Don't make a speech about the book, just
hand it over when they're in the back seat of the car
or looking bored.
3) Be direct.
Get it out and start reading it at bedtime. Put the
audio version on at home or on the road. If they
hate it, go back to number one.
4) Watch the video.
If you want to share the story, but the book presents
a barrier, there's probably a movie or tv version
somewhere. Find it and share that way.
Now I know there are more and better suggestions
out there. Make them! Make them here!
(please).
