• Have lots of books.

• Buy books at garage sales and flea markets.

• Take your children regularly to the library.

• Read books aloud, including comic books and poetry.

• Use your special talents to make reading come alive for your children. For example, give each character in the story a different voice or accent.

• Teach children to read to themselves.

• Have a special book-looking-at or story time on a regular basis.

• Treat your child as a reader; sooner or later he’ll be one.

• Make books part of the social scene (i.e., when friends come over, suggest reading stories or reading games).

• One way to help your children form a habit of reading, without trying to regiment their reading, is by encouraging series books.

• Provide reading material that is easy and fun for children. You want them to have the experience of effortlessly breezing through books.

• Increase your child’s self-confidence by treating him as a reading expert in his field. Ask your son’s opinion about the books he’s reading. Take his opinion seriously.

• Encourage daily reading by having irresistible reading material wherever your children spend a lot of time — in the kitchen, in their bedrooms, in the den.