Picture Credit: Shutterstock/HappyTime19

The current generation of youth does not read much for pleasure these days. According to the National Literacy Trust in the UK, only 26% of children under 18 read on a daily basis and the percentage of those who say they enjoy reading has decreased in recent years. 

No doubt much of this change is due to the growth of other media and entertainment options over the last decade. With internet enabled computers, mobile devices, watches, multiple social media platforms, video games and content streaming, kids have a lot of things preoccupying them. 

While I enjoy and value all these forms of entertainment and technologies (tech junkie by the way), I want to make the case for reading plain old books. For me, books are an escape. They are a window into another world. They give me new perspective. I can put myself into someone else’s shoes. I can learn about a different time, a different place, even magical made-up places. Books make me laugh, cry, scream, and forget my worries. 

I have always loved to read – since 2011. I once read every Harry Potter book in 10 straight days. When I was in third grade, my personal goal was to read every single Who Was book (a biography series of famous people written for kids). Every day, I would come home from school and would immediately start reading the newest Who Was book that my mom had borrowed for me from the library.  By the end of the year, I had read 118 of them because that was all the books that my local library carried. I didn’t reach my goal, but what I gained was knowledge and understanding. Even now, I am surprised by how much information I have retained about historical and modern day politicians, athletes, artists, scientists and religious figures.

Books have fueled my curiosity about the world and increased my empathy and passion for many things, topics and people. That same curiosity is at the heart of News by Kids. With curiosity, information and a bit of empathy, I believe kids can make a difference in the world. What are you waiting for?  Here are some instructions on how to get started:

How to Read (for pleasure)

Be comfortable. Sit and relax.

Have temperature and lighting at 

Comfortable levels-not too warm or

Too cold. Not too bright or too dark.

Choose a book that calms you-books

Are a machine, they control your mind

And thoughts, so choose well. Open 

Your book to the most appropriate position,

Balancing it in your lap. Sit on your favorite 

Fluffy chair, and dive into the magical

World of words. 

Read. Scan the pages

With delight, and suck out every detail.

For hours on end, read. Read from sunup to

Sundown. From breakfast to dinner and dinner to 

Breakfast, read. 

And when the book is through,

You will know how to read, because to

Read you must have completed many books

Using this checklist.