The Harry Potter Incentive

Getting boys to *love* reading can be a tricky business. Having the Harry Potter series in the house makes it easier. The most crucial time is the mid-grade-school years. If kids don't develop a love of reading by then, it may never happen. Enter Harry Potter. I have read this entire series to my 10-year-old boy already, and he asked me to start it again. But this time he began reading ahead. I come back for the next evening's bedtime story and we have skipped 3 chapters. I can't describe the feeling of exultation that this brings. Like watching a child swim across the pool alone, or wobble on their first solo bike ride. When a child reads for pleasure, and not because it is an assignment, a huge chasm has been crossed. And this affects the child's future. The best writers I know are people who love books.