A fun, sing-song tongue-twister of a book that celebrates the sounds of words. It can be a challenge for a tired parent to read aloud, but your toddler will love it!

Amazon link

A fantastically-illustrated picture book about a boy who doesn’t collect stamps, or coins—he collects words. The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds has a similar theme. The two books together would definitely inspire a new word collecting habit!

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An oldie-but-goodie book that indulges in surreal wordplay to delight both kids and adults.

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This collection of poems by Billy Collins was chosen to give high school students one compelling poem for each day of the school year. You could buy a used copy for cheap, take a razor and cut the pages to put a new one on the fridge each day. (Heresy, you say? I think Billy Collins would say that not reading poetry each day is a bigger heresy!)

Amazon link

Hangman is a great word game to pass the time, but the idea of a gallows is pretty creepy. For a more kid-friendly version of the game, try drawing a Snowman—three circles, eyes, a nose, arms and hat. Or draw a Spaceman—a stick figure with a spaceship.

You don't have to wait for the flyer to come home from school. Scholastic.com has a great collection of books for kids from pre-K to high school. If you have a little kid just learning to read, their leveled reader bundles are excellent.

https://www.scholastic.com/home

Don't forget that your library is not just for getting books. Often they host events and activities for children. Your librarian is a great source of ideas about what books are popular for different ages. You might even have access to more libraries than you realize. Some places may have access to both city and county library systems.

This video series (available on PBS and YouTube) has homey interviews with authors and illustrators that reveal their interesting personalities and their inspiration for creating their books.

YouTube link

For older kids, this series takes a hip but sophisticated, analytical look at aspects of literature, with title like “How Do You Write a Bestseller?“ and “How Manga Took Over American Bookshelves”.

https://www.pbs.org/show/its-lit/

If your kid gets hooked on a great book series, you won’t have to nag them to read—they will be nagging you for the next book! Ask your librarian or kid’s teacher for recommendations, or try some of these:

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan

Warriors series by Erin Hunter

Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger

I Survived series by Lauren Tarshis

Zoey and Sassafras series by Asia Citro and Marion Lindsay

Magic Treehouse series by by Mary Pope Osborne and Sal Murdocca

The 13-Story Treehouse series by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton

Big Nate series by Lincoln Peirce