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When we go to our local library, I have the kids go to children’s section and pick out books to bring home. We get items from the story book and early reader sections, and while it’s hit or miss, we’ve found some good ones like Rosemary Wells’s books or Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type that had my husband and I in stitches (the kids liked it too and it’s been big favorite since).

While it’s rare to find a book that we all love and want to read over and over again, we recently came across one - Scarecrow Pete by Mark Kimball Moulton and illustrated by Karen Hillard Good. First it’s a gorgeously illustrated book on thick, creamy paper with a slightly padded cover (the library binding is available on Amazon). But it’s the story I love - a scarecrow shares his love of reading classic stories with a young boy and explains:

"Why, I can go most anywhere by reading a good book."

Boy, did this ring true with me. However, it made me a little sad about the current state of affairs at our house. You see, Nathan is quite a good reader. He enjoys reading out loud when he has an audience since he likes to show off. But does he have a love of books and reading? Does he get into the stories or characters? Honestly, he could care less. Like making his bed or putting his dishes away, reading is another chore to get done as quickly as possible.

His teacher has him reading aloud every day for 20 minutes as part of his summer school homework. Nathan zooms through the stories and keeps asking, "Is that 20 minutes?" When he’s read for the required time, he exclaims, "Yay, I’m done!" He thinks it’s all about getting the assignment done as quickly as possible, and not about enjoying the act of reading or escaping into a story.

As a mother whose perfect day would be reading undisturbed in bed all day, it’s painful to realize that while I have a son who can read well, he’s not a good reader. No matter how much I fill his room with books, model good reading behavior, and take him to the library, there’s nothing I can do to change his horrible attitude. My only consolation is that his sister Lucie loves books and is eager to learn how to read.

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