Reading with Viral Energy

Something happened in the shop recently that got us thinking. We got Squishies. And if you have a kid, or have spent approx. five minutes around elementary aged kids lately - you probably know what happened next. 

I still field probably 10 calls a day on average and the questions aren't "Do you have this book in stock" but more like "Which ones did you get?" "Do you still have them?" "How many are left?" "Are you getting more?"

Kids knew exactly which ones they wanted. Parents came looking for specific ones. There was genuine excitement about getting to the shop before the favorite on disappeared. 

And listen - we get it. They're adorable. They're fun. We sell them. We'll keep selling "some" of them but we don't plan to go overboard with them. But watching that excitement made me start to wonder: 

What if we had the same sense of urgency around reading? What if Kids were afraid of missing the next great book? 

Imagine if a kid heard that the next book in their favorite series had arrived and immediately said: "We HAVE to go get it."

What if kids compared what they were reading at recess they way they compare the things they're collecting?"

What if finishing a book meant immediately finding a friend and saying: "You HAVE to read this next!" 

And what if we - as adults - helped create that kind of excitement? Because somewhere along the way, especially once kids are in school, reading can very easily becoming something you HAVE to do instead of something that you can't wait to do. 

There are reading logs. AR goals. Required minutes. Reading levels. Quizzes. All of those things can have a purpose. But sometimes, in the middle of measuring reading, we can forget to nurture the part that matters most: Actually loving it. 

The Goal isn't just to create kids who CAN Read. Of course we want our kids to become strong readers. Literacy affects everything they will do in school and beyond. Kids need to be able to understand increasingly complex texts, learn new vocabulary, comprehend instructions and communicate their own ideas. But there's another piece that we often overlook. We don't just want kids who can read. We want kids that choose to read. 

A child who sees reading exclusively as schoolwork may become perfectly capable of reading while rarely picking up a book unless someone requires it. But a child who discovers that books can make them laugh, scare them, teach them something bizarre, take them somewhere they've never been or introduce them to character they can't stop thinking about? That child has a reason to keep reading. 

Sometimes the Right Book Matters more than the "Right" Book. 

I see this all the time in the bookstore. A parent will tell me: "My kid doesn't like to read." And my first question is some version of "What do they like?" Not what reading level they are on. Not what book I think they should be reading. But what do they actually like? Minecraft? Basketball? Horses? Dragons? Graphic Novels? Space? Funny stuff? I want to know the facts about the reader so I can help choose a book that speaks to them because they already like those things. 

Sometimes a kid who "Doesn't like reading" simply hasn't found their book yet. And once they do, something changes. One book becomes two. Two becomes a series. A series leads to another author. And suddenly, the kid who supposedly didn't like books is asking when the next book comes out. 

Adults - you're part of this too. Here's the part we don't talk about enough. Kids notice what we're excited about. They notice what we make time for. They notice (sometimes too much) what we talk about. And they definitely notice when we tell them reading is important while they never see us doing it ourselves. 

I'm not saying you have the time to read a novel a week. But I hope you find time to read yourself. Whether that's a cookbook, listening to an audiobook, Pick up a biography, Read five pages before bed (or read to your child!) Let your kids hear you tell someone: "I just read the BEST book." Let them see you get excited when your hold comes in at the library or when the bookstore finally has the book you've been waiting for. Let them know that adults have TBR piles too. Because enthusiasm is contagious. 

So Yes, We're going to keep the Squishies. 

We love being a bookstore where a kid can walk in and find a book, a game, a puzzle, a weird little toy or something they absolutely did not know existed five minutes earlier but now desperately need. There should be joy in childhood. There should be silly things.

But we also hope we can create that same feeling around the shelves. We want kids who debate which book to spend their birthday money on. We want them asking us what they should read after The Wild Robot, Percy Jackson, or Hunger Games.  We want books to feel like something worth getting excited about. 

What if we changed the energy to protect the joy of reading? 

Let kids abandon a book they hate sometimes. Let them reread their favorite series. Let graphic novels count. Let audiobooks count. Let them read below their reading level because the story makes them happy. Let them occasionally pick the most ridiculous book with the cover that makes no sense to you. And then, when they find a book they love? 

Match. Their. Energy. 

Ask them about it. Find the sequel. Tell the librarian. Tell the bookseller. Let them recommend it to you. 

Can you imagine what could happen if we created a generation of kids who felt urgency about books? Not because there is a quiz. Not because they need more AR points. But because there's another story waiting...and they can't wait to find out what happens next.