|
As a parent, you are the best judge when it comes to the appropriateness of a reading selection for your child, so consider the categories to be guidelines. In many cases, picture books can be enjoyed by teens, and an intermediate selection can be read aloud to younger children.
Feel free to modify a book to suit your family’s needs. If the content is excellent, but the book is too long for your child to sit through, consider condensing the text into a sentence (or even a word) per page. For example, you can use pictures with younger children to start a discussion about hair loss or feelings.
For difficult subjects such as cancer, it is especially critical to give children books at or below their reading level, so that the reading experience itself is successful, and not a source of frustration.
If your child doesn't like to read, or seems resistant to reading about cancer, simply leave the books in view in a place where they may sit; by their bed or on the kitchen table. They often will pick up a book and browse when they think you aren't looking!
|