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SALT LAKE CITY — If I said you should read 100 books with your preschooler or kindergartner in the next couple weeks, what would you think? I’ll tell you what I’d think: That’s crazy. More importantly, I'd wonder if it was even possible.
Well, one Utah mom did it in just seven days.
In February, Cyndi McMillian, attended the UVU For the Love of Reading Conference. Sitting in a breakout session given by reading expert Nancy Livingston, in which Livingston presented the New York Library’s list of 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know, McMillian got a spark of inspiration.
“In my mind, I knew I was going to read all 100 books with my 5-year-old and 2-year-old,” she said.
It was so much fun to see the piles change size, and my kids were proud to show their dad our progress at the end of each day.
–Cyndi McMillian, parent
Originally planning to check out all the books from her library in small groups, McMillian got the daring idea to try and get all 100 books at the same time. “I wanted to make stacks on the floor so my kids could see what 100 books looks like and could visualize our goal and progress.”
Utilizing the library card of everyone in her family, McMillian spent nearly two hours tracking down all the books and hauling them out to her car. She asserts that all the work was worth it. At home, she made a tall stack on the floor with all the books.
And then the reading began.
McMillian’s two small kids would take books from the 100-book pile, bring them to her to read and when a book was finished it would be deposited in an “already read” pile next to the 100 pile. She said, “It was so much fun to see the piles change size, and my kids were proud to show their dad our progress at the end of each day.”
“We decided together that we’d read the books in 10 days, but we were having so much fun we finished in seven.”
Yes, my jaw dropped too. At about 14 books a day, that is some serious reading-mom dedication and an awesome achievement for her and her kids.
When they had read all 100 books, McMillian took a picture of her 5-year-old son next to the teetering pile with a sign proudly displaying the number 100.
“When we were putting the camera away, we walked past the basket of books we always keep by the couch. My son picked up a book and asked, ‘Mom, what would happen if we read this book?’ I said, ‘Then we would have read 101 books!’ He got a huge smile on his face.”
Kids love cause and effect. The idea of the stacks of books is what makes this challenge so kid-friendly. Seeing their progress got McMillian’s kids excited and kept them interested. Riding on the success of her younger children’s challenge, she now plans to have her older children do a 100-book reading challenge during the summer.
So I put the challenge to all of us to integrate some form of fun reading challenge into our homes, whether with young kids or older kids. I can’t possibly get all 100 books on the New York Library list from our small library, so my plan is to gather all the kid books we own (there might be 100), add some library books and make a pile on our fireplace. Then the challenge is for the kids and my husband or I to read every single book in the stack — one by one. Each book we read will go back on the bookshelf until the shelf is once again full.
When I informed my children of this plan, with much enthusiasm, they looked at me like I was crazy, but I know, like McMillian’s kids, that once we get going they will love it and won’t want to stop. Of course, I’m pretty sure my 2-year-old (and possibly 4-year-old) will be more interested in knocking down the stack of books, but we’ll make it work somehow.
Want to do a challenge too? I’d love to hear about your ideas and plans. Share them on the Book Matters Facebook Page or comment on the Book Matters Blog.
Good luck and happy reading!
Book Calendar
- Davis County Library South Branch: Hosting a book sale, April 7, 10- 2 p.m., 725 S. Main, Bountiful. 801-295-8732
- Provo City Library: Hosting lots of fun book and family events.
- Central Point Fine Arts: Sponsoring a poetry contest. Poems of 21 lines or less on any subject and in any style will be considered for 50 prizes totaling $5,000. Entries due by April 15 through freecontest.com
- Thomas R. Williams: The author of "The Adventures of Dod" is offering a free 500-word essay contest for children K-12.
- The King's English Bookshop: Hosting several book and poetry events.
- Weller Book Works: Hosting lots of fun book, author and poetry events.
- Dolly's Bookstore: Hosting some great book events.
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Teri Harman writes and reads from home amid the chaos of three young children. Her bi-weekly column, Book Matters, appears on ksl.com. She also contributes a monthly book club segment to Studio 5. For more book fun, visit book- matters.com*
