She likes some
of the Chicken Soup books -- probably because of the short stories -- but I
would like to get her interested in fiction books.

She lives on a farm but
she's apathetic about the animals and can take or leave them. There are
woods and lakes and Native American artifacts underfoot and all sorts of
natural phenomena around but she never explores any of it.

In article <10o0jlnhhfa223d@corp.supernews.com>,
"Volfie" <volfie@ccrtc.com> wrote:

She lives on a farm but
she's apathetic about the animals and can take or leave them. There are
woods and lakes and Native American artifacts underfoot and all sorts of
natural phenomena around but she never explores any of it.

Can I trade places with her?

I wonder if some day she will end up elsewhere not so spiritually
fulfilling and regret not paying attention to the beauty around her.

Well, with the stuff kids are forced to read in school these days, it's no
wonder that more of them don't turn out like this. However, never fear,
you've still got some options before you throw up your hands in defeat.
Here are some things to think about. What are her interests? Does she do
any extracurricular activities at school? What kind of television
programs
does she like? What kind of music does she listen to? Where does she
hang
out after school &/or on the weekends? All of these can be good
indicators
of the kind of books she might enjoy.

You mentioned she seemed to like some of the Chicken Soup books. Which
ones? Have you asked her why she liked them? Her enjoyment of these
books
might indicate that she likes stories about real people with present day
problems. If this is the case, you might try giving her a Judy Blume
book,
or maybe something by Louise Rennison or Ann Brashares. For something
with
a slight fantasy twist, maybe the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot?
Also, the fact that the Chicken Soup books are short might have something
to
do with why she reads them. Try looking for other short story collections
that might hold her interest. Here are some suggestions: When I Was Your
Age by Francesca Lia Block, Places I Never Meant To Be by Judy Blume,
Necessary Noise by Michael Cart, Thirteen Stories That Capture the Agony
and
Ecstasy of Being Thirteen by James Howe, Doing Time by Rob Thomas, The
Teen
Ink series by Stephanie H. Meyer & John Meyer.

Another thing to consider is that because she's not much of a reader,
she's
most likely not up to par when it comes to reading at her age level. And
since you mentioned she doesn't have much of an imagination, I can
imagine
how difficult it might be for her to get into a full-sized book. Have you
tried graphic novels? They come in a wide variety of interests and age
groups and there are now several American companies producing them now.
Both Viz and Tokyopop, for example, are very good about giving each title
an
appropriate age rating, which I find very useful when making
recommendations
to parents. You can take a look at their sites here:

http://www.tokyopop.com/books/manga.php
http://www.viz.com/products/shojo/

I have some book lists that I made last year while working in a
middle/upper
school library. If you like, I'd be more than happy to post a few to give
you some ideas.

On an ending note. . . Don't Panic! With someone like you dedicated
to
helping her find her reading niche she's bound to discover books
eventually.
My brother was the same way at that age (he's 20 now.) When I finally
convinced him to read something, the only books he'd pick up were Star
Trek:
The Original Series. For over a year that's all he read. From there I
just
had to work in stages. I decided my next challenge would be to get him to
read a Start Trek book from a different series. It worked! He read and
enjoyed it. From then on he steadily began to trust my judgment in books.
And now he's reading Tom Clancy, J.R.R. Tolkein, Clive Cussler, and so
much
more. On a side note, he's also a graphic novel fan. Anyway, my point
is,
once you help this girl find her reading niche, it should just get easier
from there.

Good luck!

Miranda :-)

What would you recommend to get a 13 year old girl reading? She says she
"hates reading" and, as you can imagine, that means she reads slightly
below
par and only when forced to do so for school assignments and such. I, on
the other hand, am a bibliophile but I'm stymied on what to give this
child
that will get her interested. If it doesn't grab her attention
immediately
(within a few *pages*, not chapters) she doesn't continue. She likes some
of the Chicken Soup books -- probably because of the short stories -- but
I
would like to get her interested in fiction books. She has absolutely no
sense of... oh, I'm not sure how to express it... *enchantment*, maybe?
Very little imagination, very little wonder. I'm not sure she even
understands that fictional stories can be *fun* to read and not punishment
or a school assignment.

If anyone has any book suggestions I'd surely appreciate it. Like most
teen
girls her current interests are boys, boys, boys. She lives on a farm
but
she's apathetic about the animals and can take or leave them. There are
woods and lakes and Native American artifacts underfoot and all sorts of
natural phenomena around but she never explores any of it. I'm at my wits
end here on how to get her enthusiastic about reading and becoming aware
of
the world that is all around her.

Giselle (oh, and she's not my child but a relative by marriage so I only
have *limited* influence)

I think "shallow" is it, then....and we're raising a generation of them.
TV,
video games, internet, everything "quick and instant", shopping's at
Wal-Mart (all in one store, with all of it disposable) and even the new
childrens' books look like video games to me.

Are you stuck with her permanently, or is this just a visit?

She didn't find the fairy ring odd or mysterious or at all intriguing. If I
asked her what it was she'd shrug her shoulders and walk away. If I asked
her to find out what it was, she ask everyone in sight for about five
minutes and then forget about it.

Thanks, Miranda, you've given me a lot to chew on here. I'm going to have
to print this out and work my way through it by stages. Am I right in
thinking graphic novels are what I used to call comic books?
snip

"Kris Baker" <kris.baker@prodigyy.net> wrote

I think "shallow" is it, then....and we're raising a generation of them.
TV,
video games, internet, everything "quick and instant", shopping's at
Wal-Mart (all in one store, with all of it disposable) and even the new
childrens' books look like video games to me.

Are you stuck with her permanently, or is this just a visit?

Hi Kris, fancy meeting you here.

She's now part of my family through marriage. I see her almost daily if I
go up to their house (she doesn't leave it voluntarily) or if we're all
doing something together. Honestly, trying to find something that
interests
her is driving me nuts.

I guess I was lucky growing up with a father who
found EVERYTHING fascinating and taught me to see it like that, too.

Like I said, I thought the fairy ring was pretty darn cool. I even
took photos of it. She must think I'm really the crazy aunt, eh?

Giselle (let's hope they never figure out how to read newsgroups, eh??
oops

Thanks, Miranda, you've given me a lot to chew on here. I'm going to have
to print this out and work my way through it by stages. Am I right in
thinking graphic novels are what I used to call comic books? (I have
followed the links yet. I did start one child reading by letting her
read all the MAD Magazines she could get her hands on. I just haven't see
this one show any interest in anything besides the Chicken Soup books and
even that was a lukewarm interest at best.

In article <10o31h68lcmk3b9@corp.supernews.com>,
"Volfie" <volfie@ccrtc.com> wrote:

She didn't find the fairy ring odd or mysterious or at all intriguing.
If I
asked her what it was she'd shrug her shoulders and walk away. If I
asked
her to find out what it was, she ask everyone in sight for about five
minutes and then forget about it.

This sounds like a lot of kids. They want to be spoonfed.

Graphic novels look much the same as a comic, but are typically longer
with a more complete story line.
These are available for both existing comic characters, and more
importantly in your case, graphic version of existing novels.
They are a great way to introduce reading to kids, I think this was an
excellant idea by the OP.

Good Luck,

Adam