RAR #64: Helping Resistant Readers Fall in Love with Books, Laura Martin
Before Laura Martin ever authored her amazing Edge of Extinction series, she was a middle school language arts teacher. And her specialty was helping kids resistant to reading fall in love with books.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- some of her favorite tips to get your kids not just reading more, but really loving books
- ideas for organizing books by genre and helping your children create a “someday list.”
- and why kids who want to be writers should be listening to more books than they’re reading
Plus: a couple of my kids make an appearance in this episode. They are the ones responsible for introducing me to this fabulous series, after all!
Click the play button below:
Books from this episode:
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We are reading Edge of Extinction 1 as a read aloud. I read it first. Kept my attention. There is a little bit of reference to millions of years, which we as a family don’t ascribe too, but its an exciting read. Great girl heroine.
What books would appeal to my 12 year old daughter who hates to read? She won’t read on her own. She will listen to audio books or do a puzzle/draw while I read aloud. We have decided she likes historic fiction. (She liked Number the Stars and a library book about Marie Antoinette.)
Laura was singing my song here. I’m a 7th grade language arts teacher and found myself agreeing with her again and again. She’s spot on with middle grade readers and the struggle with keeping them reading or turning them into a reader. I’m totally stealing the jelly bean thing!
Thanks for your great podcast!
Even though I loved this podcast and got some great ideas for books, My kids and I were disappointed with the book the Ark Plan. Did Laura even consider the creationist view of dinosaurs? No. She chose to look only at the evolutionary side of dinosaurs. Feathers on dinosaurs? 65 million years ago? Even those this provided great discussion for my children and I, I’m disappointed that this recommendation came from RAR :( I really respect Sarah’s book recommendations, but sadly she missed the mark on this one. Wish there would have been a disclaimer about the evolutionary content.
Thanks for sharing your viewpoint, Courtney. <3
I always come away with something after listening to the RAR podcasts but today’s really changed me. My whole life I’ve loved the idea of reading but just never liked taking the time to sit down and read. Now as an adult with a 7 month old I’ve been itching to read but often feel that I don’t have the time to sit and read. I’ve always felt guilty for listening to audio books, like I was cheating and it didn’t count. Hearing you both talk about how beneficial and helpful it can be to listen to audio books was so helpful and has really helped me be excited to listen to audio books more and more as I clean house. I loved the idea of listening to books in the car with your kids too. I’m so thankful for the RAR and am so sad the season is over. Can’t wait for the next one!
Holly! This is so amazing to hear! Happy listening!
I started listening to this podcast yesterday morning and heard about Edge of Extinction. We’ve been doing a Dino unit recently so we grabbed this from the library yesterday and read the first chapter. Perfect timing for finding this book! Thank you.
Love those books that come at just the right time!
What is the name of the book mentioned by Laura about King Arthur’s knights driving Lamborghini’s. My son would love that. This episode was awesome. My favorite takeaway was finding out what genre the child enjoys. Thank you!
I believe it is The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp (per Amazon description: Packed with car chases, knights, and secret agents, this thrilling first book in New York Times bestselling author Rick Yancey’s series is one that fans of James Patterson and Anthony Horowitz won’t want to miss)