Introduction

Welcome to my new blog. My name is Laura and I am a wife and mother of two wonderful boys, ages 4 years and 16 months. This blog is going to feature a topic that just doesn't get enough attention; getting boys to like reading. I'm going to address this issue by discussing what I am doing with my two boys. I will share some of our favorite books, literary "field trips" we take, and other fun literature-based activities we do. Just to be sure I'm not misleading anyone, I want to first tell you a bit about myself.

A nod to Dr. Seuss

Who are you and why should I take you seriously?
I have a bachelors degree in Elementary Education, but I am a very happy stay-at-home mom. My husband, Steven, has been incredibly supportive about that choice. I have taken a handful of library science courses but chose not to pursue that career path. Why do I care so much about children and literature? I grew up in a house filled with books and a love for literature. My father, Rob Reid (www.rapnrob.com), was a children's librarian as I was growing up. He was, and still is, a professional storyteller as well. He currently teaches Children's Literature and Young Adult Literature courses at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire (www.uwec.edu). He is a published book author, and writes for various literary publications such as Book Links (http://www.ala.org/offices/publishing/booklist/booklinks) and LibrarySparks (http://www.librarysparks.com/librarysparks/). My mother has been working with kindergarteners as an aide since my youngest sibling was old enough to go to school and knows just what makes those little guys and girls tick. There were always books and stories around while I was growing up. I went to storytelling festivals as a young girl, and there was always an author visit to go to. You should also know that I am not employed by a publishing company or anything like that. I am not an author. I am just a mom and I will probably have typos and grammatical errors. Please don't hold it against me.

P-man and Wes-Wes reading on the deck

What am I going to see in this blog?
To be honest, you are going to see my kids. I will talk about them a lot. P-man is turning five late this summer and is just finishing his first year of preschool. He will start at a cool preschool/kindergarten hybrid this fall. A huge family milestone is that he learned to read this winter. I will discuss that transition in a future post. My 16 month old, Wes-Wes, is a very different boy than his older brother. P-man would always sit and listen to books, even as a baby and a toddler. Wes-Wes will do so occasionally, but not nearly as much. I will be writing about how I am introducing him, and his wiggly self, to literature as well.
We live in the Twin Cities area, so we are close to many amazing literature-based events which I will be writing about as well. One of my first posts will be about an incredibly cool author visit we went to at a local bookstore. I hope to encourage other parents to bring their kids to events like this as well. Besides parents, I hope that this blog reaches authors, teachers, and publishers too because I strongly believe that there is just not enough literature out there to keep boys interested in reading as they progress through school. I would like to see that change. I'm excited to see what you think about it as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope you enjoy 'Raising Boys Who Read'!