Emma Walton Hamilton, author of "Raising Bookworms".      Guest Column from Author Emma Walton Hamilton Editor's Note: We are delighted that Emma Walton Hamilton, best-selling children's book author and daughter of Julie Andrews, wrote the following guest column for our newsletter. Emma will provide a discount to any Coalitions or Sites who order 10 or more copies of her brand-new book, "Raising Bookworms," and she will donate a portion of the proceeds from the book directly to ROR! Additionally, Emma is willing to speak at ROR Coalition events, such as large conferences or fundraisers. If you have any questions, please contact communications@reachoutandread.org. The Secret to Raising Readers: Keeping the Joy Alive For the last 50 years, reading has suffered a precipitous decline. Blame has been widely assigned to the advent of electronic entertainment, but there is perhaps a subtler, more subversive force undermining the reading landscape: the association of reading with chore. Ideally, our earliest reading experiences are warm and fuzzy. We snuggle up with loved ones while listening to enchanted tales…Reading = JOY. Then, we go to school. Little by little, our parents stop reading to us, feeling it more important to promote our independent reading skills, and those underlying connections between reading and pleasure begin to be replaced by feelings of pressure, responsibility, frustration, even boredom. To build, restore, or maintain a love of reading, we must continually reinforce the subliminal association between books and pleasure. Some suggestions: Surround kids with, and expose them to, great books. Provide a warm and inviting reading atmosphere, minimizing distractions like background noise or harsh lighting. Cuddle up and read together as often as possible - even with older kids. Provide books that cater to individual passions - whether baseball, ballet or horses, great fiction and non-fiction abounds. Make regular trips to the library or bookstore to explore the tactile, sensual pleasures that books provide. Give books as gifts and encourage others to do the same. Don't force completion of a book that isn't resonating. Help kids find the ones that speak to them. Don't use book as weapons ("If you don't ___ , then no reading tonight.") Make practical connections with books. Cook recipes, listen to music, see a film or play, explore art, make crafts, etc. inspired by great books. The challenge is to keep the JOY alive by continually asking ourselves, "Will this reinforce - or erode - the connection between reading and pleasure?" Emma Walton Hamilton is a best-selling children's book author, editor, and arts and literacy advocate. Her latest book is "Raising Bookworms: Getting Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment" (www.raisingbookworms.com).   Return