flitting from book to book without finishing any of them!

[tigermoth]

Anyone else have a child who does this?

My 9 year old son is a good reader but can't seem to settle to any book for long apart from Harry Potter, the Goosebumps series and a few others. He has read them ad infinitum. He can now skim reads them very quickly. Some of you may know this already - but I am starting a thread because this is getting getting worse.

All this term we have gone to the library every weekend, so he has ample opportunity to see a wide range of books and I have tried to point him in the direction of books recommended by other mumsnetters here. I have tried to wean him off his favourites, and he has enthusiastically started Lord of the Rings (a rather too ambitious choice I think, but he would not be talked out of it) and did get to bit where Frodo and party enter Rivendale (so did manage quite a lot) but then gave up. Said it was too boring. Said 'The Hobbit' was too boring. The same with 'Firesong' - a book by the author of 'Windsinger' which was read to his class at school and he raved about.

He is now reading 'Pigheart boy' (think that's what it's called) and says he likes it so far.

I have written something about this in his home reading record for his teacher to see and have spoken to her about this at parent's evening, but still don't feel I am doing enough.

He seems to resort to skim reading in order to gallop through books - boy of little patience that he is - then I think, he misses the plot, gets lost and so the book stops making sense and gets too boring for him. I have heard him read out loud and he can read the words - it's just taking them in he can't/ won't do.

He is reading, obviously, but hates talking about the books or writing the shortest reviews, indeed if I ask him simple questions like 'who is your favourite character?' or 'why did the beginning of the book make you want to read on?' he changes the subject fast.

I want his reading to feed into his writing and general literacy development, but I am worried that with skim reading, this isn't happening enough. I also want him to love books, not see reading a book as a race to be won.

Is this a phase? how does it pass? what can I do to help?

Hmmm ... I have been thinking about this thread for a few days, but not had chance to post.

Children spend 2-3 years at school 'learning to read'. During this time they do get 'brownie points' for each book read, and whilst reading may be enjoyable for some, for many it is a long hard slog. Then suddenly they succeed - bingo, they can read fluently ... so what happens next?

At our school, IMO, children are still viewing school reading as a chore, rather than a pleasure. When I ask yr3 children about their favourite books or authors they look at me blankly. Many cannot summarise 'the story so far' in their current book. We need to inspire them more.

Tigermoth - I'm not sure any of this will help you, as you know my ds1 is only 6 (though is an exceptional reader), and therefore more malleable/easier to manipulate than a 9-yr-old! But some of these ideas may help others.

We have always held 'reading in bed with the light on' as a special privilege. He reads to us from his 'school book', but then we read to him, and he reads in bed from his 'own choice for pleasure' book. When I read to him, I always ask him to summarise the story so far. Books are held in very high regard in this house, and we nearly always buy books as presents for other children. It therefore seems quite natural that ds1 often chooses to spend his (saved up) pocket money on a book, rather than on a heap of plastic. What else? If I'm unfamiliar with an author, or want to censor a book, I will often read it myself first, and then I give him a personal recommendation ... at the moment this is an inspiration for him to read it, rather than a turn off! (Not sure how long that will last though).

Aloha - I don't share your dislike of review-writing. I think it is an excellent habit to get into, to reflect a little on a book you have read: Even if it is simply a list of books and authors, dates, and a few comments. DS1 has a book from school in which he can draw a picture, if he wants, and then write 3 or 4 sentences about the book: Sometimes about a particular character, or why he chose the book, or the plot, or what he liked or didn't like. This has been sold to him as a special privilege (because he reads more substantial books from a different library than others in his class), and he has taken it on board.

I know Tigermoth had big battles with her son over review writing for homework in the summer holidays, so it's certainly not appropriate for everyone.

The other thing I try and encourage ds1 to do, and the children I listen to at school, is to talk to their friends about books and authors. As adults we do this, and children can be encouraged to do this too: To swap favourite books with their friends, and talk about them afterwards.

Interesting thread tigermoth - just want to add that, as I think aloha mentioned, to be able to skim through a text and find what you want quickly (as well as quickly get a sense of what the author is talking about) is a really valuable skill that will stand your ds in good stead as he gets older.

Also your remark about his exhaustive knowledge of pokemon tells me that he is evidently able to read and assimilate information in depth if it is of sufficient interest to him ... sounds to me like you have absolutely nothing to worry about at all - your son is reading, and enjoying reading, which is all too rare to find, especially in boys these days. I would definitely agree about backing off - if ds picks up on your anxiety about his reading it will only put him off or make him feel he is not doing it right and have a negative effect.

My ds is 10 and he has never really read "proper" books for pleasure - in fact he was well behind in terms of his reading age until about a year ago (he's now about a year ahead). Deep down I feel disappointed that he does not share my love of books and reading, and yet he does read quite a lot - he enjoys dipping into reference books, he loves reading the football results in the paper, and he enjoys playing computer games, many of which demand a substantial amount of reading in order to progress in the game. I'm happy with that - and one day I hope he will discover the joy of reading a good book, but, if he doesn't, it won't be the end of the world!

KMG1 - agree, writing reviews is great if you like it, but I do suspect that review writing as homework is a way of checking that children have read a book 'properly' and for some people (eg ME!) even the suggestion that a book is work or duty is enough to put you off. I think you are absolutely right that discussing a book is fascinating and I think school versions of book clubs where the class read a book and then have free sessions (subtly guided by a teacher) to discuss it might be a better idea.

Tigermoth, I think you might have it in buying the books for him. When I was young and went to the library, I did get a million books and sometimes read them all - but it's so public and everyone knows what's being checked out. Huge pressure to be cool. And LOTR (whatever anyone else says, ahem) are cool. (or whatever the new word for "cool" is now -- I'm dating myself, I'm sure.)

My most loved and most read books were the ones we had on the bookshelves. It would take me a while to read them, but I always did. The same goes for me now. I buy books I know I want to read, but sometimes it takes a while. I'm not in the mood for a complicated book every night, but I want it there, just in case. I'm a huge rereader and never lend out books (I give them away, but reorder almost immediately.)

It might be time your son needs to read books. Keep them in his room and let him slowly get into them. And rereading is a comfort thing for me. Whenever I'm stressed or need a break, I go back to the same sets of books.

I've not really got any bright ideas for you, TM, just wanted to join in the conversation as I love reading!

I recently read that it can be better to skim read than to labour over every word, the reason being that it's easier to get the big picture, which can be very hard if you're just taking in a little at a time. I've tried this myself (it was taking me longer and longer to get through a book and I was forgetting from one day to the next what I read the previous night) and it really does work. Obviously, there has to be a balance but skim reading in itself needn't be bad.

Out of my children, ds1 and dd1 are avid readers, while ds2 (who's just been offered the chance of a PhD, so it hasn't held him back!) and dd2 are less so. Dd2, 7yo, is changing though. At her parents evening a couple of weeks ago her teacher was astounded when I told her dd2 didn't read much at home, because she is such a fluent reader at school. But dd2 has turned me into a liar as she has almost overnight become a bookworm. She didn't get up until 11am yesterday because she was reading in bed for two hours after she woke up. She has never shown that enthusiam before. She has suddenly got into writing poetry - I think she has aspirations to be the Poet Laureate because her poems are like a social commentary on what's happening in the world.

I notice several people remarking on reading ages. Is there a way to work this out? It isn't information that schools give you here.

suedonim, there are "reading age" tests and some schools give you the result - or they do some of the time - ours didn't, and then it did, but the tests it uses now are marked on an index - 100 being average for age.

AFAIK the tests are just a string of unconnected words and they read as far up (or down) as they can until they stumble - no comprehension involved - not from what my children have told me, anyway, but am ready to be corrected!

Your family splits the same way as mine! 1 and 3 are "proper" readers, 2 and 4 aren't. (And FWIW 4's current teacher, who has now had the pleasure of teaching all of mine in Y6, reckons that 4 is definitely the best of them at English.)

Hi Tigermoth, how is it going with the reading? Just a few things. Firstly, your ds is obviously a sparky child. If you think about it, you don't really need to read a whole book to find info so skimming is a really useful tool to have. Why do we need to read? Well, it helps us. We don't only read for info or to read a story. Shopping lists, ceefax, newspapers and so on are all relevant and useful reading materials in everyday life. Sometimes stories are what children want to read sometimes not, but in the big scheme of things they are not the most important to some people. Does your ds see any males reading books? Maybe he thinks reading is not cool.
Websites about subjects that he is interested in are invaluable and can spark off the thirst for knowledge and reading that is life-long. Children do read a lot in literacy hour and nearly always in 20 minute stints. Short, snappy activities.
One child I know reads the books along to a cd of the story. He loves it and doesn't have to try too hard or get discouraged when he gets to a tricky bit, then picks up the story the next day. I don't know if he understands better or reads more, but to hear it read in an enjoyable way really helps him.
It has been researched to death as to why boys don't enjoy reading. They do seem to prefer non-fiction and when they do read fiction, they seem to stick to one kind of genre or author. Are there any local children book talks? Meeting the author can do wonders!
Some other authors you might try are Garth Nix, Eoin Colfer, Terry Pratchett and Michael Morpurgo. But the key is to encourage enjoyment of books not just reading.
Oh, just another thing. I encourage children to ALWAYS read the first page of a book before buying or getting a book out of the library. That way they get a better idea of the story and don't just go for the gorgeous covers.
I hope this helps.

jj, I think you are spot on when you say in public places you might choose a book with a cool title to impress. I think my son did this with LOTR, although he did like the films so that was another reason.

The more I hear about the benefits of skim reading the happier I feel, so thanks for the positive comments. I don't skim read much. I read 'properly' but I am only a sometimes reader of books. My son probalby reads more books than I do. My dh on the other hand devours books - he's either very fast or he skim reads too.

But it's so odd this reticence to talk about books. I know nothing about pokemon, don't encourage it, only show the vaguest passing interest in it, yet my son is obessessed and papteintly explains the finer points to me when I let him. Same thing wuith song lyrics - my son sat in the car this morning, reading the lyrics to a Van Morrison collection. He loves them. Again no encouragement from me.

Yet last night he went to bed early with a book he had chosen so he could have some reading time - lots of encouragement from me. He didn't read a page of it.

It makes me wonder if reading encouragement is totally worthless now he can read reasonalby well. Perhaps all I can do now is provide access to books and a reading light.

I think you're spot on tigermoth - your ds sounds like a very bright boy who doesn't need any encouragement to read. I know I'm looking at it from an adult's point of view, but personally I would find it a bit annoying if someone kept encouraging me to do something I already liked to do of my own accord!

SueW - I don't skim at all; I love indulging in every descriptive sentence and hanging on every word ... but I STILL forget the ending instantaneously. I re-read cliff hangers for the 3rd or 4th time and the final revelation is still a surprise to me!

I have to admit my skim reading ability is put to good use on mumsnet. I have limited time here usually. I don't stop to preview my messages, and sometimes skim read entire threads. Don't like doing it but such is life.