Boys and Reading

I never thought I'd be recommending a book with the title Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading, but this book by Tommy Greenwald is a must read!!  The author is the father of 3 boys - Charlie, Joe and Jack - who always complained that they hated reading.  He decided to write a book about not reading for his boys to read. 

In the book, Charlie Joe has pride in the fact that he has made it to middle school without reading a single book.  He explains how he was able to do this without flunking by bribing a friend to read for him.  But when his friend decides to back out of the deal, Charlie is left scrambling for a new way to avoid reading.

 Charlie has a lot of complaints about books that he tries to change with his book.  The book is filled with his tips i.e.:  "Tip # 1 If you have to read a book, make sure it has short chapters."  Charlie Joe points out that this way you can tell your parents you've just read 3 chapters and they'll be happy - they don't know that 3 chapters might only be 3 pages.  In this book, he tries to keep the chapters very short.  Other tips cover how to avoid reading and how to show parents that you actually DO read - ie menus, video game instructions, texts, etc.

It's a perfect book for your reluctant reader - funny and filled with "tips" that are sure to get laughs.  But don't worry parents, even though it's a book about not reading you're child is actually READING!!!!