(20) Books left unread since around age 5 were the shortest route to becoming a 'child who reads' ~To the mom I met 10 years ago~

Continuing the letter.

"Building a habit of 'reading' with books at home before getting hooked on digital media"

...is what I am talking about.

Until the lower grades, children can spend time happily at home without videos or games.
Putting aside the 'everyone is watching' and 'it's that kind of era' for a moment...
I want to cherish the time when they can easily encounter the joy of reading.


- Click here for letter (19).
(19) Books left unread since around age 5 were the shortest route to becoming a 'child who reads' ~To the mom I met 10 years ago~ | Emi Suzuhara (note.com)


Today is

"When a child becomes a book lover, there is a famous series book there"

...is what I am talking about.


Now, Shiori-san.

If a child feels for themselves that 'reading is fun' and starts picking up books on their own during their free time at home... I think that isa state of being quite 'finished' as a book lover.

Is it like the state I mentioned in letter (19), where they can ride a bicycle smoothly, or have reached the point where they can ride a bike to go see beautiful scenery?


To reach this point, you definitely needbooks that the child can read while absorbed for a certain period, and I think thisstrong ally is the 'series book'.

The charm of a series book is, above all, that if they read volume 1 and think 'that was interesting,' thehurdle to reading volume 2, 3, and so on becomes quite low.

Basically, it's thesame protagonist and the same worldview, so from volume 2 onwards, they can slip into the world from the first page, and as a parent, you don't have to experience the nervousness of testing them every time by wondering, 'I wonder if they'll like this book...?' So for a parent recommending books, it isextremely easy (honestly).

To borrow my second daughter's words, 'I want to know if this protagonist will be happy, so I can't wait for the next volume...'—that is exactly it, isn't it?

If they get hooked, it really helps!


So, for my eldest daughter, with whom I started the 'Book Lover Strategy' together from her library visits at age 5, I especiallyfocused on recommending 'the first volume of a series they might like' rather than 'a single book they might like'.

This, of course, depends on their taste, the timing, and the family, so I cannot assert that 'this series is definitely good!'...


—Still, for reference, I would like to write down the lineup of series books we read, showing how


my child came to turn the pages while absorbed.

1.
The 'Milky Sugiyama's You Are Also a Detective' series, including 'Maybe a Detective' and 'Suddenly a Detective'.

"Milky Sugiyama's You Are Also a Detective" series

(Written by Ryo Sugiyama / Illustrated by Daisuke Nakagawa / Kaisei-sha)

...The series that became the bridge for transitioning from picture books to children's books, which I talked about in letter (9). I will leave the detailed episode for letter (9), but it is a famous series that created the trigger for my eldest daughter to'feel the fun of reading text'.

2. "Science Detective Nazono Mami" series

The first volume is 'Science Detective vs. The Seven Mysteries of the School' (Written by Midori Sato, Koji Ishikawa, Rima Kitaki, Tomoaki Tanaka / Illustrated by Kigi / Asahi Shimbun Publications).
...I will leave this episode for letter (10) as well, but it was a book selection thatmore strongly emphasized the direction of my eldest daughter liking 'mystery solving'.
The amount of text is higher than the 'Milky Sugiyama's You Are Also a Detective' series. She read this around her second or third year of elementary school.

3. "Harry Potter" series

(Written by J.K. Rowling / Translated by Yuko Matsuoka / Say-zan-sha)

...I will leave the detailed episode for letter (10), but she read through all 11 volumes over 3 months in her fourth year of elementary school. It seems my eldest daughtergained the feeling of 'I can't wait to know what happens next!' for the first time.

She read all the volumes without having seen the movies, so she said, 'When I read volume 1, I didn't know Harry's face or voice' but... 'that might have beengood in reverse.' Because she didn't know what was ahead, she seemed to turn the pages while absorbed.

By the way, reading through all 11 volumes of just text seems to have led to her 'confidence in reading' later on, and even now, when I say to my eldest daughter while she is reading, 'You're reading something really thick...',
'Harry Potter is longer, so this much is fine' she replies.

After all, it seems the experience of 'Since I could read that, I can read this. If I try reading it, I'll understand the fun' has become the foundation.

4. "Urban Tom & Sawyer" series

(Written by Kaoru Hayamine / Illustrated by Keiko Nishi / Kodansha)

This is the series she got absorbed in after Harry Potter.
About two years ago, it was a hot topic because of the movie adaptation, so when we tried reading volume 1 first... she got hooked. At that time, about 16 volumes had already been published, so she didn't struggle with what to read after that, and she is still enjoying it quite a bit.

There are some illustrations, butin terms of text volume, it is no different from a general novel.

I recognized the author's name, Kaoru Hayamine, and when I looked it up, I was surprised to find it was the same author as the 'Detective Yume-mizu Kiyoshiro' series, such as 'And Then the Five Disappear.' He was an author who has been active for a very long time. He is a master of juvenile mystery and a prolific writer, so it was a happy discovery to find 'there is plenty more to read!'

Recently, I recommended ''Will Monami End the World?'' (Written by Kaoru Hayamine / Kadokawa Shoten), which features a high school girl as the protagonist, to my eldest daughter who has entered adolescence, and she was reading it while absorbed.

5. "The After-Dinner Mysteries" series

(Written by Tokuya Higashigawa / Shogakukan)

This is something she read in her fifth year. We happened to watch a rebroadcast of the drama on TV together, and when I asked, 'The original novel is also interesting, do you want to try reading it?' she said 'I'll read it!' so we bought it. We had watched a little bit of the drama first, but it seemsthe image of the actors and the worldview of the novel matched perfectly, and she was reading it happily.

Actually, this isthe first mystery 'not a so-called children's book' that my eldest daughter read, but when I told her that, she gave a lukewarm reaction of 'Hmm.'

Since she was already completely used to 'only text' and 'long' books from 'Harry Potter' and 'Urban Tom & Sawyer,'it is obvious, but this made her understand that 'if it's interesting, it doesn't matter if it's for children or adults'.

6. "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" series

(Written by Fuse / Illustrated by Mitz Vah / Micro Magazine)

My eldest daughter is a huge fan of this anime, and after finishing the second season, she asked, "I want to know what happens next! When is season 3?" I replied, "I don't know about that, but... if you want to know what happens next, why don't you try reading the novels?" She said, "I'll read them!" so she started from volume 7 of the novel version, which continues the story from the end of anime season 2, and is still reading through them.
The novel version seems to have 20 volumes published as of September 2023, and my eldest daughter is eagerly awaiting volume 21...

This "TenSura" is in the light novel genre, but it is a full-fledged novel that is "substantial" and "dense" enough to make even adults hesitate if they aren't book lovers.

In my eldest daughter's case, it seems that because the world of the anime was already built in her head, she was able to easily enter the world of the text when she turned the page to volume 7seems to have helped make it easier to read.
It's as if she is relying on her own imagination to create the third season of the anime in her mind—that must be the fun of it.

Usually, it can be difficult for children to read the novel version of something they have already seen as a video work (movie or anime) from the beginning, but in this case, "a story I don't know yet in a world I already know" seems to have helped make it easier to read.

Even though I was the one who recommended it, I was strangely impressed that there is such a way to read...

7. "Jikanwari Danshi" (Timetable Boys) series

(Written by Mitsuba Ichinose / Illustrated by Enokino / Kadokawa Tsubasa Bunko)

At the same time she was reading "TenSura" (5th grade), my eldest daughter started reading this "Jikanwari Danshi" which she borrowed from a friend.
I didn't know about it, but it was very popular with children, and by this point, about 8 volumes had been published.
Compared to what she had been reading, I thought it might be a little childish... but since the main character is also a 5th-grade girl, my eldest daughter was reading it while empathizing with various things.

Around this time, when I asked my eldest daughter about her book preferences again, she answered, "If it's interesting, the genre doesn't matter!"

I had originally thought she liked mysteries and fantasies with fairly dense structures... (Jikanwari Danshi is a fantasy if you call it that), but as a result of getting used to "reading," she seemed to have reached a point where she could start reading without thinking too deeply, "I wonder if it's interesting... I don't want to fail," and just move her hands quickly.

If "reading" is a skill, then this is a state where the skill has improved.


From this time on, my eldest daughter became a "speed-reading enthusiast," and when I asked, "This book seems popular with kids, could you read it and tell me what you think?" she would say, "Sure, okay!" and read it (like a job) and tell me her impressions.


And around this time, my second daughter, who was in the first grade, started flipping through the "Jikanwari Danshi" that my eldest daughter was reading.
If left alone, she would read the whole first volume and say, "It was interesting!"

When I asked, "It's mostly text, but were you able to read it?" she said, "The pictures are cute, so I could read it!".

And when she told me, "There are furigana (reading aids) for all the kanji!" I took another look at it myself and realized that there are furigana for even the simplest kanji learned in the first grade, there are many illustrations that match the sensibilities of modern children, and the content is fun to read with a focus on dialogue...


Now, belatedly, I thought, major publishers' children's libraries are amazing, and I thought that my second daughter might be able to read books like this too.


So, looking at the leaflet tucked into "Jikanwari Danshi," I saw that it was very popular

8. "Yotsugo Gurashi" (Quadruplet Life) series

(Written by Himari Hino / Illustrated by Orico Sakura / Kadokawa Tsubasa Bunko)

...I bought the first volume of that, and decided to casually line it up on the bookshelf. Then my second daughter picked it up too and read it silently, so when I asked, "Is it interesting?" she answered, "Yeah, it's interesting," so I ended up collecting all the volumes of this one too.


From this time on, my second daughter's tendency to prefer stories where the main characters are "girls with the same perspective as herself" became stronger.
And she also started borrowing children's books from the school library by herself, and every time she would show me, saying, "I borrowed this..." so I made sure to praise her, saying, "That looks interesting. You're good at choosing books."

By the way, I don't think there is any need to praise a child who likes books by saying, "You're great for reading books" (it's the same as no one praising someone by saying, "You're great for liking soccer... You're great for liking idols..." Since they like it, they aren't great, right?).

However, I made sure to often say, "You're reading another interesting-looking book! You're good at choosing books." Then the child can gain

the confidence that "I can choose the books I like myself." This is because being able to choose books for yourself is important for staying a book lover for a long time.

--Now, back to the story, what my eldest daughter started reading after this was also a very popular one

9. "Ascendance of a Bookworm" series

(Written by Miya Kazuki / Illustrated by You Shiina / TO Books)

This also ended up being a case of reading the novels in the same flow as "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime".
Yes, she was watching the anime, but after the third season ended, she asked, "I want to know what happens next! When is season 4?" and I suggested, "I don't know about that, but... if you want to know what happens next, why don't you try reading the novels?" and she said, "I'll read them!" (the exact same development...).


In terms of the story, she started reading from volume 8 of the novel version, which is the continuation of anime season 3, and she is still reading it now, but the original novel has over 30 volumes, so even if she re-reads from volume 1 someday... it seems like she will be able to enjoy it for a very long time.

Even for an ordinary person, it is difficult to write one interesting book, but
the authors who can write such stories that keep children's hearts excited with such long texts are wonderful—I have nothing but gratitude.

Now, next is...

10. "The Apothecary Diaries" series

(Written by Natsu Hyuga / Illustrated by Toko Shino / Hero Bunko)

This is what my eldest daughter is reading concurrently with "Ascendance of a Bookworm: I'll Stop at Nothing to Become a Librarian". We found it when we went to the bookstore together and bought the first volume as a trial. When she read it, my eldest daughter said,



"This might be the biggest shock since Harry Potter!" and immediately became obsessed. When I asked why, she said, "The protagonist's character is interesting." I am reading it now too, and

beyond the fun of solving the mysteries, the character designs, the complexity of the character relationship map, the hidden motives based on each person's background and position, the way foreshadowing is laid out over several volumes, and the balance between humor and cynicism in the dialogue... are all magnificent, and I felt that this is definitely not for reading beginners. At present, it seems 13 volumes have been released, and while it is classified as a light novel, the reading experience is by no means light. The writing style is matter-of-fact, but the context has depth, requiring a fair amount of reading comprehension—and somehow, it is incredibly addictive.

Once you



start to feel the fun of context in your body, reading becomes a brain-stimulating entertainment that you just can't quit. My eldest daughter, who surely realized that "books are fun" once with Harry Potter, has


gone around again and entered a second lap of "feeling the indescribable fun and richness of context" after reading various other things. The reason why


her entry into reading is different from "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" or "Ascendance of a Bookworm" is that she hasn't seen the adapted works first (she has intentionally avoided the manga as well). It seems that a story spun entirely from one's own imagination from the start is truly special. Since it will be adapted into an anime this autumn, we are both looking forward to it.



By the way, what I recommended to my children on a daily basis was,

11. Shinichi Hoshi's Short-Shorts

Since they are published by various publishers in various formats, I can't say which one, but I would take a few from my collection and hand them to her.

These are quick to read and make you chuckle (yet they are highly polished), so they are favorites of both my eldest and second daughter.

They aren't exactly a series, but since he was a person who is said to have written over a thousand stories in his lifetime and has many works, they are a strong ally for reading in the sense that "no matter how much you read, they never run out".


—Now, lastly, my eldest daughter has recently started borrowing works by Yoru Sumino from the school library.

At first, it was the bestseller "I Want to Eat Your Pancreas".
Following that, "K-a-k-u-s-h-i-g-o-t-o", "I'll Forget This Feeling Someday," "If You Cut Open My Belly, Only Blood Will Come Out," and "I Had That Same Dream Again," she began borrowing and reading them one after another, and sometimes she cries after finishing them, saying, "It was so good..."


—I felt her growth.

Yoru Sumino is the first "author" my eldest daughter has ever liked.
It is the first time she has chosen a book based on the author. And I was glad that she had the experience of picking a book from the shelf based on her own senses, reading it, and being moved by it... all without any intervention from me (her parent).

I have talked about how series books are recommended to keep the "reading switch" from turning off until a child is "finished" as a book lover, but in the same way, I think it is very effective to make "prolific authors" your allies.


Yoru Sumino might not be considered prolific yet, but since more than 10 books have been published, my eldest daughter is currently working hard to keep up with them.


Moving from "I can read this series" to "I can read this author" and "I want to read more of this author"... perhaps that is how one gets deeper and deeper into the swamp of books.


By the way, the author who got me so hooked that I was "finished" as a book lover when I was in elementary school was... Jiro Akagawa. He is super prolific!


—This has become long.
Thank you for reading.
I hope this is at least a little helpful.


Next time, I would like to talk about how I was able to understand my child's personality and character through their reading tendencies...

The letters continue.

〈When told it's amazing to have read everything, she said, "I was just living inside the book with Harry."〉

・Click here for letter (21).
(21) Living with "piled-up books" since age 5 was the shortest route to becoming a "book-reading child" - To the mom I met 10 years ago - | Emi Suzuhara (note.com)

・Click here for letter (1).
(1) Books piled up since age 5 were the shortest route to becoming a "book-reading child" - To the mom I met 10 years ago - | Emi Suzuhara (note.com)