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 The Many Reasons Your Kids Should be Reading There are many reasons your kids should be reading, aside from the simple enjoyment of it. “What enjoyment?” you might say. “My kids would rather play video games. Getting them to read is like pulling teeth. I’m a parent, not a dentist!” (Unless you are a parent and a dentist) Getting your young gamer to read may be as simple as introducing them to books based on the games they love to play. (The books based on the games Halo or Minecraft come to mind) Why encourage your kids to read? We live in a very stressful time. That’s even more true for kids. Reading is great for reducing stress and tension. For me personally, reading was the ultimate form of escapism. Books are also less stressful on parents. They’re much quieter than TV and video games, and the batteries never die. (ebook readers aside) There are proven academic benefits to reading. Studies have shown that even a twenty minute a day reading habit can result in improved cogni
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  There are a few Classic Adventure Books that were my introduction into fantasy. At around ten, my parents gave me The Hobbit. I couldn’t read it fast enough. I then went on to read the whole Lord of the Rings Trilogy. ​ I lost myself in a world of Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Wizards, and more. I loved every page and would go on to re-read them a few times. My Book Nowonderland was heavily influenced by my love of fantasy adventure books. ​ Books were a form of escapism that TV or movies just couldn’t compete with, except for maybe Star Wars. (Star Wars to little old me was amazing and got me into my other favorite genre, science-fiction.) I didn’t have to rely on someone else’s interpretation of what the characters looked or sounded like. My imagination took care of all of that. I devoured many great classic adventure books as a kid. Read a Book! Have an adventure! M. C. Gladd
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  The Choose Your Own Adventure Books is a series of wildly popular interactive books that were released from 1979 to 1998 by Bantam books. They sold over 250 million copies. I remember reading quite a few of these myself when I was a kid. They are written in the second person and in them the reader takes on the role of the protagonist who might be a detective, race car driver, explorer, time traveler, and so on. Once the story gets going, the reader is faced with choices as to how to proceed. This leads to multiple paths and endings, some good, some bad. The great thing about this is that these books can be reread many times with a different experience every time. The number of endings in the series varied from 7 to 44. Kids loved the fact that they were active participants in the adventure. The format was so popular that almost twenty other similar series were launched soon after. The genre became known as ‘Gamebooks’. This ‘interactive fiction’ type of non-linear story telling made
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 Minecraft Adventure Books These books are based off of the Minecraft video game, which is a wildly popular game that was first released in 2011 and now has 140 million active users. It now has a couple of variants and a mobile version. It's a deceptively simple looking game that many kids love to play. Like many other video game properties, Minecraft has bled over into other forms of media, including books. "Minecraft the Island" is the first in a series of twelve very popular books based off of the game. Look for the whole series here, Minecraft Adventure Books . ​ If you have a kid that's into Minecraft, but you'd rather he or she spent more time reading than staring at a computer screen, Minecraft adventure books might do the trick.
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  My review of " Furthermore " by Tahereh Mafi. Magic runs throughout this amazing story. The author's style of writing is magical in itself. A girl who's never fit in must go on a dangerous journey to rescue her father with an enemy turned traveling companion. Although the ending felt a little abrupt, the trip there was worth it. Loved it. Read a book. Have an adventure! M. C. Gladd
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  My review of " The Wizards of Once ", by Cressida Cowell. When Xar, the mischievous son of the greatest wizard ever (with no magic of his own I might ad), collides with Wish, the not so warrior-like daughter of the queen of the warriors, adventure ensues. They should be sworn enemies, but things aren't always as they seem. Well written with language that really brings the story to life, and with a dearth of fun magical characters of all shapes and sizes. I really enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to the next three books in the series. The 8 to 12 year olds this book is aimed at will love it. So will some of you adults. I did. . . #middlegradebooks   #middlegradefiction
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  This is my review of the first book in the His Dark Materials series, " The Golden Compass ", which introduces us to Lyra and the fantastical world she lives in, a place where everyone's souls take animal form. Children are being kidnapped and Lyra must figure out why. I found this to be wildly imaginative and inspiring. Loved it.
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