
Our family loves to read, but one thing that is lacking in our reading repertoire is a good dose of classic literature. Do you have the same problem? Every summer I have instituted some sort of reading program. My boys have always loved this, and would often be lost for hours in a grand adventure or thrilling mystery.
To encourage summer reading in your house, set up a cute book nook area for your kids with a basket chock full of some of the books on their list. How about a gift card to your favorite book shop to help them kick things off? Set up comfy spots in every room with oversized pillows or inexpensive backrests. No reading program is complete without incentives! Here’s some that have worked for me:

1. Money. I paid a penny for each page read, and after they turned in a brief (one page/100 word) book report they could collect their earnings. Throw in a buck if they list and define ten to twenty unfamiliar words from the book.

2. Privileges. Short on cash? Give something else that will boost their reading enthusiasm: stay up late, have a sleepover with friends, have a day off, earn more screen time…

3. Treats. Movie night with popcorn, mini-golf, favorite dinner, home spa or make-over for girls. Foot massage machine was unbelievably popular. I wonder if we still have that in the basement? Individualized coupons, date night with daddy or mom, afternoon tea, no chore day…so many options.

4. Praise. Never cease to tell your children how proud you are of what they have accomplished. Enthusiastically cheer them on. Leave them little notes of encouragement. This will motivate them way more than any other incentive, I guarantee it.

Reading list for advanced readers (12+)
*Means for grades 9+
Hamlet Shakespeare*, William (208 pages)
Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare, William (280 pages)
Count of Monte Cristo* Dumas, Alexander (608 pages)
Poems Frost, Robert
Tales of Mystery and Imagination Poe, Edgar Allen
Across Five Aprils Hunt, Irene (192 pages)
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman Gaines, Ernest J. (272 pages)
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights Pyle, Howard (300 pages)
Treasure Island Stevenson, Robert Lewis (300 pages)
The Hound of the Baskervilles Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan (190 pages)
A Boy’s War Michell, David (170 pages)
Calico Captive Speare, Elizabeth George (288 pages)
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl* Frank, Anne (300 pages)
Number the Stars Lowry, Lois (137 pages)
Good-Bye, Mr. Chips Hilton, James (144 pages)
The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt by Day Scott O’Dell
How Green Was My Valley* Llewellyn, Richard (450 pages)
In His Steps Sheldon, Charles M. (300 pages)
The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Part 1) J. R. R. Tolkien (432 pages)
The Two Towers (LOTR Book 2) J. R. R. Tolkien (450 pages)
The Return of the King (LOTR Book 3) Tolkien (544 pages)
Rascal North, Sterling (190 pages)
The Miracle Worker Gibson, William (128 pages)
The Moonstone* Collins, Wilkie (528 pages)
An American Plague Jim Murphy (176 pages)
Lincoln: A Photo-biography Russell Freedman (160 pages)
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Howard Pyle (331 pages)
Onion John Joseph Krumgold (256 pages)
The Last of the Mohicans*(or other selections) Cooper, James Fenimore (437 pages)
Gulliver’s Travels* Swift, Jonathon (314 pages)
And Then There Were None* Christie, Agatha (288 pages)
Watership Down* Adams, Richard (500 pages)
Profiles in Courage* JFK
Hunchback of Notre-Dame* Hugo, Victor (480 pages)
Les Misérables* Hugo, Victor (1,488 pages)
Ivanhoe* Scott, Sir Walter (544 pages)
The Once and Future King* White, T.H. (639 pages)
To Kill a Mockingbird* by Lee, Harper (336 pages)
King Solomon’s Mines* Haggard, H. Rider (304 pages)
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (The Wolves Chronicles) Aiken, Joan (168 pages)
Old Yeller Gipson, Fred (192 pages)
Gentle Ben Walt Morey (192 pages)

If they read an hour or more a day, I estimate they will accumulate about $100 each. But whatever the pay off, they will be prepping themselves for higher learning, and gain a priceless addition to their education.
Happy Reading, and I welcome your comments and additional titles or incentive suggestions. ~Kathy
