Family (Reading) History

The family that reads together, can also eat together ... at Texas Roadhouse or Friendly's.

But to do that, you have to register for Family Reading Month at the Pottstown Regional Public Library by April 13.

The objective of the program, according to Leslie Stillings, the youth services director at the library, is for children to read with a family member for 20 minutes a day for 20 days, until May 4.

A child who succeeds in meeting this goal are guaranteed a meal voucher at either a Texas Roadhouse or Friendly's.

All books must be borrowed from the library to qualify and the library provides a sheet on which an X can be marked on each day a child reads for 20 minutes with a family member.

She also advises kids to keep a list of titles and to watch their list grow.

To be eligible for prizes, the completed calendar must be brought to the library by May 4.

Did we say prizes? (Plural?) Yup.

Each time you visit the library and check out a book, you can fill in a prize drawing ticket for a chance to win a "special prize."

Those prizes are currently under lock and key and guarded by spells and a three-headed dog, but word on the street is that they might include "hideout" gear, like sleeping bags, flashlights and, what else? Books.

But don't do it just for the prizes, reading to your children, or having them read to you, has far more valuable rewards than restaurant tickets or sleeping bags.

The goal is to get kids to read on their own as well.

"Reading to young children is one of the very best things that parents can do for them," write family education experts Peggy Gisler, Ed.S. and Marge Eberts, Ed.S. on the Family Education web site.

"Infants will delight in being cuddled and hearing the calming voices of their parents even though they don't understand the words. Soon they'll associate reading with attention, love, and pretty pictures."

They added: "Reading to young children is excellent preparation for formal reading instruction in school.So much of the intelligence children will ultimately have is developed before they even get to kindergarten. When you read to them, you are building pathways in their brains needed for successful reading experiences."