Family Reading Challenge : Day 1 Guest Post &Giveaway

 

 

With Summer finally here my thoughts always turn to what books I'm going to read. This is a direct reflection of my experiences growing up. Books have always been a part of my life. My earliest memories are of my Mother reading to me at night. I can still remember my awe upon visiting the Public Library for the first time and getting my own card.

Summer meant unlimited visits to the library and more reading hours! With more and more media distractions statistics are showing that we are raising a generation that doesn't spend a lot of time reading for pleasure.

Though everyone may turn out to be avid readers, creating a foundation of reading at home will create the opportunity to raise a family of readers.

This week I hope to inspire Individual and Family reading sessions. I have some wonderful guests and of course some great books to give away!

 When I came up with this challenge I new Melina would be the first Blogger I would reach out to.  

Melina is a voracious reader who runs the Blog READING VACATION She is a quick reader and enjoys a variety of Middle Grade and Young Adult books . Here are her thoughts on  families and reading:
  

Inspiring Families to Read

My parents have a box of keepsakes from when I was a baby. Mixed in with my first pair of booties and tiny hair bows are books. Chunky board books by Sandra Boynton. My parents tell stories of how I loved Sandra’s “Going to Bed Book” and “Hippos Go Berserk!” I don’t remember any of it, but my parents say that I would go crazy with happiness whenever they read those books to me.

From there, I moved on to fairy tales. I had several books that were collections of fairy tales. They had large print, beautifully colored drawings, and short versions of all the popular fairy tales. Some of my favorites were Cinderella and The Princess and the Pea. My parents would read the stories to me, and eventually I got to where I could read them aloud myself. I was so proud!

Even though I got to where I would read books silently to myself, I never grew tired of reading stories out loud. When my little brother was a toddler, I would read to him from a collection of tales for young boys. He loved these stories about talking animals, giants, and rocket ships too. I haven’t stopped reading to my brother, and I still treat him to an out loud chapter from one of his big kid books now. He even gets in on the action and reads out loud to me – with voices!

My parents have helped us grow our love of reading. They have always taken us to the local library and the bookstore too. We go so often that the librarians know us when we come in. Even now, I get really excited when my mom says we are stopping by the library after school. More recently, the bookstore has become a place to hang out with other bloggers and meet authors too. It’s just an over-all happy place to be!

My parents have also made sure we have a quiet, well-lit, and comfortable place to read. In fact, we have a special room that we call the Reading Room. We all love to curl up in there and read together. There are no distractions and it is just so relaxing. Sometimes though, I like to read in my bedroom with my girlie things all around. My brother and I each have our own bookshelves to display our favorite books too.

I guess the best way to inspire families to read is to do it together and make it fun. My parents are interested in what we are reading and like for us to talk with them about our latest books. Reading makes memories and I am so thankful that my parents have made reading a priority for our family.

 

Thank You so much Melina!

Today I have two prize packs of Middle Grade Books .The great things about these books is that they can be read alone or a part of a Family reading session:

Prize Pack 1:

Prize Pack 2

There will be Two Winners!

RULES

USA ONLY

LEAVE A COMMENT &EMAIL ADDRESS

CONTEST ENDS

7/2/11