Consumer

Taking Cue From MySpace, Sites Push Kids To Read

BOSTON (CBS) ― A recent report by the National Endowment for the Arts found kids spend an average of just seven minutes a day reading for pleasure.

Many educators and parents blame the Internet for luring kids away from books, giving them little chance to develop a love of reading. But some families are finding the Internet can actually help kids become enthusiastic young readers, reports CBS station WBZ-TV in Boston.

Taking a cue from social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, online book clubs are turning reading into a social event. Sites like Book Divas and Guys Read are like a high-tech version of your neighborhood book club, but they are specifically designed for kids.

Georgia Christman of Lexington is a big fan. "It's so easy to find information about the book and so easy to find other people who are talking about the book," she said.

According to Kylene Beers of the National Council for English Teachers, there are more online book sites popping up all the time and kids love them. "Kids may not be spending as much time reading a novel, but they're spending a lot more time reading things online," she said.

Georgia is hooked on a book that she's reading online and says it's a completely different experience than reading a traditional book. "The chapters come out at a certain time and so everyone is reading at the same pace and knows what's going on at the same time," she said. "You get sort of like the suspense of a movie."

Parents should be aware that many of these sites are run by publishers so booklists may be limited. But most parents and teachers agree, anything that makes a kid interested in books is worth a try.

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