If you have read my previous blog posts, I have talked about the process of picking a book for your child, and the steps they need to take before they choose a book.
If you haven't read it as of yet, please click on the blog post below:
So when your child has got an author/genre they really like or love! It is the best place to be as a parent. You may feel like you have hit the jackpot! And you can sit down, put your feet up and leave them to read at their own leisure!!
But as I said before, it is not that simple!
As children grow, their level of ability and interest start to change, so they may grow out of that particular author or genre. Just like they grow out of their favorite pair of trainers. Nothing stays the same forever.
So here are my top tips on how to explore different genres and authors with your child:
Compare Books With Friends
Now, this can be other parents or your child's friends, and hopefully, they are reading something that your child would like!
It's great to compare notes with our peers, to see if they can possibly recommend a great book for you and usually, we tend to socialise with likeminded individuals, so hopefully, you can get inspired with some new books for your child, or even yourself!
Pick Their Top 3 Genres
This is always a good way to benchmark their interests, by comparing their book choice to movies and programmes they like to watch!
Search on Google
This is an obvious choice but when you are using Google search, be really specific on what you would like to find. E.g "Top books for young teens age 12+"
You can find books from other sites and blogs that might recommend a good selection. You can also do this search on Amazon and get the most popular books for your teens along with user reviews.
My other blog post gives you my recommend reads. Please click on the link below for my last blog post which will show you my recommended reads for your child:
Try Your Local Book Shop
As we are still recovering from the pandemic, this might be a great opportunity to explore small book shops around your local area and to help small businesses at this difficult time.
They will also be able to spend more time helping you find the right book for your child and offer you their undivided attention.
Get Recommend Books On Audible
I have also mentioned this before, getting an audiobook might be a good starting point to help your child explore different genres and authors.
Audible is a great app for your child!!
There are also some good online sites where you can buy great books for your teenager. But they also offer free online books:
Free Online Books for Teens (13 to 16-year-olds)
Barnes & Noble Teen Fiction: The Barnes & Noble free ebooks Teen category includes over 1500 titles that can be easily sorted by genre. In my opinion, there is a better selection here than other popular sites.
Riveted by Simon Teen: Free Young Author books from publisher Simon & Schuster.
obooko Teen & Young Adult Collection: This collection features titles from largely independently published and/or lesser-known contemporary authors today.
Shorts – Young Authors section is worth a browse too. If you have a child that is an aspiring author themselves. Or may need a gentle nudge into reading consistently.
Project Gutenberg offers more than 57,000 free eBooks from the public domain. It is free to read and redistribute. There are no fees, and no custom apps required. You won’t find the latest bestsellers on Project Gutenberg, but you’ll find plenty of great classic books available 24/7 at no cost.
Google eBookstore has an option to access free books from the huge collection that features hundreds of classics and contemporary bestsellers.
To conclude:
Make sure you get your child to explore different genres and authors by:
Compare Books With Friends:
Pick Their Top 3 Genres
Search on Google
Try Your Local Book shop
Get Recommended Books On Audible
Check Out My List of Sites For Free Online Books For Your Child
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