At the moment, we're reading The Wizard of Oz (which we picked up because we heard the story of how it came to be written on "The Rest of The Story") and Winnie the Pooh, which is actually very clever. My boys are 2,5 and 6, for reference.
Isn't it strange that people think boys aren't suited to reading, especially considering that so much of the world's greatest literature was penned by men?

One could find similar stories about math abilities for both genders, including the way hom-schooled children don't have that problem.

These are the fruits of the public "education" system in this country.

Well...depending on whether we're talking about the teens or the younger ones, they're reading Aeschylus's trilogy, Bulfinch's Mythology, Herodotus, C.S. Lewis, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Robert Frost, Emily Dickenson... and Harry Potter. So, is HP brain candy? I used to think HP was that, and worse ... that it was soul poison... but now that I've actually read the books, I realize I was mistaken. The HP story is a classic hero's journey, with clearly defined good and evil; it's uplifting and inspiring, and has countless references to Greek mythology and the Bible. No apologies for reading HP in this house anymore. I agree, the HP books aren't great books, in the usual sense, but they're good.

We homeschool, too.

And I hope this won't start an all-out HP battle here; I've seen them,and they're not pretty. :-)

My brother (who is 16 and homeschool) is about to finish The Iliad and move on to The Odyssey. The only thing that makes it challenging to get him to read is first getting him to put the guitar down :-)

Ralph Moody's "Little Britches" series was so enticing for my oldest son that when I borrowed it to read ahead, he'd have it back in a flash - it became a contest to see who could finish it first, and I enjoyed that first title as thoroughly as he did. I read quite a number of them after that, but that was years ago. "Father and I were Ranchers" is one we liked as well. (I'm pretty picky about reading material - so I think you will like!)

Dr. W -

Your words are always appreciated, and your blog is a daily stop. As a parent of two young ladies, I found myself agreeing with you but wanting to extend the argument.... it's not just what kids read (or have read to them in the case of our 2 year old), it is all the things that compete with reading. Odds are good that the kids being "lured" with Harry Potter have HDTV and Halo 3 as alternatives. Harry Potter must seem like "heavy lifting" since the reader has to visualize on their own instead of absorbing. I also wonder about ordering - how many read the book before seeing the movie(s)? I suspect HP, Narnia, LOTR films push some people to the books who might never have picked them up, but I worry about the kids who might have waded through the books unaided by visual and audio cues. Few random, cranky thoughts.

Also, a nit to pick... "Charge of the Light Brigade" is by Tennyson. Kipling wrote a poem lamenting the poor treatment of the Light Brigade veterans years later... and of course Kipling is good stuff in his own right.

My girlfriend and I were recently discussing this... when she was 9 she read Beowulf and when I was 12 my most exciting Christmas present was Darwin on Trial by Philip Johnson, which I read in under two weeks. And we were laughing at how nerdy our children will be, if we have any control over it.

Tony,

Excellent thoughts. I personally would rather my child read something like Narnia than Harry Potter, just because the writing is so much better.

One nitpick: Charge of the Light Brigade is Alfred, Lord Tennyson, not Kipling. Kipling, however, did write a fantastic poem, "If".

Whether a child is homeschooled or not isn't (or shouldn't be) an indicator of whether or not a child will be well read. I was a product of PS and was a voracious reader. Still am. Of course I know that's not your point, but I think what's more important is that the parents set a good example for their kids by reading themselves. I'm pretty sure (based on my knowledge of human nature) that even HS kids could consider reading the fair discussed here a chore if they don't have that good parental example. I'm sure you agree.

As far as HP goes, yes it's fluff and yes our boys and girls should read better things, but if it encourages those who are not otherwise reading (whatever the reason) to do so then I'm all for it. I sincerely hope that it acts as a "gateway drug" and leads to better things that other airport/beach books. If it doesn't then I think the parents are more to blame than schools or the current state of the publising industry (both of which are deplorable).

Oh jeeze, come on already with the Harry Potter knocking. I'm 39 years old and I've read every volume, in addition to just about every "high brow" literature mentioned thus far in the comments. HP isn't Homer and thank God for it, but it isn't fluff either (and personally I think the writing is better than in the Narnia series). Everything of redeeming value doesn't need to be encrusted with the vocabulary of the ancients or packed densely with words seldom used in daily life. I wonder many parents who encourage their children to read Homer (for example) do primarily for their own (the parents) sense of self-worth? Next someone will tell me that all the Uncle Scrooge comics I read growing up rotted my brain. Bah!

The first book (all I've read thus far), completely fluff.

Yes, even I must say that in (what I would consider) a literary home, Harry Potter is a welcome addition to our library. It's fun, it's well written and the characters are entirely relatable. If it's fluff then I will gladly admit we love the fluffy stuff!

I read everything I could get my hands onto when I was a kid, but we never had a TV... much less, game boy, etc... so I dont let my kids watch much either, and as they are just learning to read, they are very much into it.

Ralph Moody is awesome!

I was reading a collection of Kipling recently & had to explain he wrote more than the Jungle Book (trashed by Disney). I am aware he is castigated as being a mouthpiece for British imperialism, yet his writings still leave me stirred in many ways; depending upon the story topic. Read 'On The Great Wall' from the "Puck of Pook's Hill" collection.
Soldiering at its most authentic. Set in a children's adventure.

I was always an avid reader, but for the life of me, getting my two boys of 7 and 9 to do 15-30 minutes daily is like pulling teeth. Not even 'brain candy' gets them going. Yes, they're publicly schooled, but our district is brilliant and nationally recognized, and does not fit your stereotype. Good for you and Caleb, Tony, but careful with your brush. It's somewhat broad here.

When I was a boy, I devoured science fiction like popcorn at a movie. Heinlein, Asimov, Clark, Burroughs (yeah, he did sci-fi too). Fluff? Probably (though the Foundation series Really Captured My Imagination). Engaging? Certainly.

My parents read to me before I could read. I remember it. I think this was the single most important factor in planting a love of reading in me.

I read constantly to my kids as they grew up. Out loud. Tolkien's work, several times. Narnia Chronicles -- at least four or five times. Some of my old sci-fi favorites.

Know what I discovered? Even if you read a book out loud, you can easily read 50 to 60 books a year. You won't watch much television, of course; so that may be an impediment to some.

Then, I got my kids to reading books out loud to the rest of us. Know what THAT does? It develops in them a wonderful vocal maturity in speaking. Yes, it sounds awful at first. But, they grow into it, and now they're fantastic conversationalists and speakers. I credit their endless hours of reading out loud as kids.

Ditto on the comments above re: Ralph Moody! Just wonderful, especially as family read-alouds.

To Lincoln S., I think it's awful that they require kids in school to read a certain number of minutes daily. That surely would kill the joy; "I must read 15 minutes, so let's watch the clock and not do a single minute more!" Instead, I suggest reading aloud to them.... much better, and Andrew Pudewa (google him, no time for linking now!) says that reading aloud to your kids is the single best thing you can do for their literacy (reading, writing, speaking, grammar, everything).

Also -- the first book of HP was the weakest. The second book is where it clicked for me and I realized this was something pretty darn good. But you have to get to pretty much the end of Book 2 (Chamber of Secrets) before that happens. Slightly fluffy, maybe, but really good stuff there nonetheless.

My almost 8 year old boy reads history, especially the Biographies of Ancient Civilizations series, If All the Swords of England, Augustine Came to Kent, the D'Aulieres' myth collections - some we read aloud and many he devours by himself. We home schooled last year but now he is back in school at a wonderful Montessori. He brings whatever he wants to read from home and they have silent reading every day. I was appalled when friends of his from other schools were reading things like Captain Underpants - and the school library stocked this stuff - so I've tried to keep his choices limited. He loves to read - we're very fortunate.

Tony, I've never commented before, but do appreciate your writing. We have three boys and a girl. Last year our oldest was in 3rd grade at the public school and they all had to read the Bailey School Kids series...if you don't know that this is, be glad. It is DEATH, deathly dumb, boring, awful. It made me so sad that this was all that was expected of third graders...as if those formulaic, idiotic stories were all that children could handle. Oooo, it really makes my blood boil. This year we have them in a private school, reading wonderful things. We've read out loud many of the things already mentioned and are currently reading The Secret Garden, which was one of my favorites as a young girl. I'm also glad to read in these comments some things I didn't know about and which I will find and try for our family!