The Cariboo-Chilcotin Partners for Literacy is collecting gently used children’s books for the Bright Red Bookshelf Program.
Next time you are at Boitanio Mall, the arena or another public building in the city, check out one of the big red bookshelves filled with engaging children’s books.
You may see a child and adult quietly enjoying some reading time together, or choosing a book to take home to share.
We asked local teacher-librarians and The Open Book what is the most popular reading material for children and teenagers.
Picture books give us the charming combination of words and illustrations, so children are still fascinated by Dr. Suess and Beatrix Potter.
Robert Munsch, Jan Brett, and Eric Carle continue to produce entertaining books to share.
Ian Falconer’s Olivia stories, Marie-Louise Gay’s Stella stories, Karma Wilson’s Bear stories and Julia Richardson’s The Guffalo’s Child are wonderful read-alouds.
For beginning readers, Frog and Toad, Amelia Bedelia, Berenstein Bears, Fancy Nancy and Spat the Cat are popular.
Readers in the eight- to 12-year age range have an amazing array of series stories from which to choose, with a wide variety of time periods, topics and characters.
The interest in trilogies and series continues in teen reading with The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, the Twilight novels and of course Harry Potter.
Research indicates that children who enter school with a variety of literacy skills are better able to benefit from the reading instruction they receive when they begin school.