We all know that reading is good for kids. If you're anything like me, we're always being inundated with lists of what books children should read - from booksellers, teachers, universities, magazines. (Thankfully, Motherpedia hasn't got into it yet!).
As many schools around Australia are gearing up for the MS Readathon, I thought I'd share this with you. I came across it while researching something online the other day.
It's a very cool 'Word Cloud' of recommended children's books. In case you haven't come across a word cloud before, it's simply a visual presentation of a whole lot of words. The bigger the word appearing on the word cloud, the more often it's used.
In this case, because you see 'Harry Potter' in large writing, that means that the Harry Potter books were recommended by a large number of organisations or individuals who drew up the recommended reading lists. 'A Wrinkle in Time' is also prominent: if you haven't come across this, it's a multi award-winning science fiction by Madeleine L'Engle written more than 40 years ago.
It's a great way of very quickly getting a snapshot of the books that are highly recommended and the key terms you should look for when visiting a library or buying a new book for your child (whether virtual or bricks and mortar).
This also saved me from sharing my list of recommended reads! Nearly all the top books I would recommend for primary school age children are represented in this word cloud.
The MS Readathon takes place throughout the month of August. It's for kids of all ages - that means parents and grandparents too!
The aim this year is to raise $500,000 for essential services and programs such as physiotherapy, education and lifestyle programs, specialist MS nurses, and respite care whilst also working towards funding research for a cure for multiple sclerosis.
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To find out more, visit MS Readathon.
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