{"id":25148,"date":"2018-04-06T08:00:56","date_gmt":"2018-04-06T12:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/?p=25148"},"modified":"2018-04-06T08:00:56","modified_gmt":"2018-04-06T12:00:56","slug":"cracking-open-the-6-minute-book-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/?p=25148","title":{"rendered":"Cracking the 6-Minute Book Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

I wrote a while back about the literacy program I have been participating in at my son\u2019s school<\/a>. Basically,\u00a0I stop by every week to read with two second grade readers who could use a little extra one-on-one time. Each reader joins me in the hall for 15 minutes.\u00a0The first reader\u00a0brings out a book from his or her backpack and reads it to me for about 6 minutes before we chat about it. Then I read from a book I\u2019ve brought for about 6 minutes and discuss. Then the kids switch and I do it again.
\nIt\u2019s been an interesting process for me. Obviously as booksellers we recommend books all the time for reluctant readers or their parents. But this is a completely different setting\u2014one that has proven both tricky and rewarding as a handselling test. I bring a handful of books each time, but the truth is that I don\u2019t always get it exactly right. Of the two kids, one is a far harder sell than the other. He\u2019s very sweet, but he\u2019s not always in the reading mood and just isn\u2019t grabbed by every story. This experience has\u00a0been a great reminder that while we give tons of tips and tricks to parents who want to engage their reluctant readers at home, that one-on-one work can still be hard even with a pile of terrific books at the ready. At the end of the day, though, the willingness to keep showing up to try something new goes a long way.
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