I love all books about getting younger people to fall in love with reading. I work at the library and currently see that graphic novels have taken hold of many readers. But also, young people are led to believe that reading non-fiction doesn’t count, so that needs to be changed. Hope that others reading this book will help new readers find their special book that launches their reading lives. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC copy of this title.

This fun and helpful book by child development expert Amber Ankowski and her husband Andy Ankowski is packed with easy to digest ideas for raising a reader. It is a quick read. The quirky/cheesy writing may not be for every parent but ultimately I embraced it and it worked for me.

Really looking forward to adding this physical book to my library for when I have children! Great ideas and loved the pictures.

Very informative. And this could have been a dull read, but it's actually really fun! I liked the use of the color highlight.

Thank you to Netgalley and The Experiment for a free advanced ebook of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warning: a ton of Harry Potter references, including in the acknowledgments.

I'm a bit torn on who I'm most interested in reading a parenting book by. I don't know if I want to read parenting advice by someone from an older generation who doesn't understand how things have changed but someone from my generation may have less practical experience and not know the longterm effects their parenting will have. However, sometimes this felt like the worst of both worlds. It was written by young parents who seem to believe they have definitely nailed this parenting thing and are a bit condescending as a result.

I enjoyed large sections of this book that were backed by citations and often paired with anecdotes from their experiences. My problem arises from the parts where they make generalized statements or assumptions that don't appear to be supported by citations. They treat breastfeeding as the default which can be harmful. In one section, they praise a "read for a 100 days straight" challenge but then disparage the idea of sticker charts. They have no evidence to back up the idea that these are harmful and make reading into a chore but they state it with certainty. Worse yet, they never address throughout the book what to do if a child is a reluctant reader. I think someone could follow the advice in this book and still end up with a reluctant reader but the author does not entertain that possibility. Other examples: saying board games can increase literacy but discounting that video games can for the same reasons. Instead, she states the tired belief that violent shows/games can lead to aggression without citing evidence for this "fact."

She mentions the increase in adults living at home and dismisses it as people feeling "adulting is hard" rather than the economic crisis most of my generation finds themselves in because of the horrible choices made by older generations (I moved out at 18 because I had no choice but this position is still truly offensive to me).

I think there are some good nuggets in this one but overall I found myself annoyed while reading and wanting to be done.

A good resource on not only raising readers, but how to make reading and learning fun. This would be great for parents, caregivers, educators, and librarians.

Last Christmas I looked for a good book for my Granddaughter to help her instill the love of reading to her daughter (my Great-Grand) and any other children she may have. I found a few things but nothing was just right.

Bringing up Bookmonsters has it all. With sound principles and sound advice, it is also fun and contemporary. I think it's a must for the parent bookshelves. It would make a great gift for a baby shower and definitely will be on my list for books to give my family.

“Bringing Up Bookmonsters, The Joyful Way to Turn your Child” into a fearless Ravenous Reader” written by a wife and husband team is creative, humorous, and would suit parents of new babies and young children.

As a parent of adult children, I wanted to read this book because I am an educator who coaches children in reading. I did find some tips useful for parents of children who were already readers, and see how it would be to beneficial to them as well.

This book is easy to read and takes a humorous approach in writing style to guide you through science based research and tips to help your “Bookmonster” read with confidence, skill and most importantly grow to love books!

The authors carefully guide the reader through plans with a purpose to help develop social emotional and developmental skills, based on imagination and relationships!

It’s never too early to introduce children to reading, beginning with early language. This book helps the reader be engaged in informative, fun dialogue which will ultimately help them develop ravenous readers.

I highly recommend this book for any parents, but a must for new parents. I thought it was clever!

Thank you to the publishers and #Netgallery for the opportunity to read this book!

This is a great resource on the importance to reading aloud to your child (at all ages) and inspiring your child to be a reader. It covers what to read, when to read, and how to incorporate literacy throughout your everyday life. It is similar to Born Reading, The Read Aloud Family, and The Read Aloud Revival.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This is a great book for those who have kids or work with kids and will help them create an environment where kids enjoy reading.

I received an electronic ARC from The Experiment through NetGalley.
The authors offer helpful information on raising readers. They describe them as Bookmonsters and offer their explanation to begin the book. The text is simple to follow with plenty of hands on help for supporting young families as they figure out how to support their young children.
Divided into four parts: Giving Birth to Your Bookmonster; Making Your Bookmonster Feel at Home; Feeding Your Growing Bookmonster; Teaching Your Bookmonster Tricks. Each portion addresses specific help to move along the reading pathway. Book suggestions are provided along with various games and exercises to work together and encourage bonding along with reading skills.
I like the emphasis on reading being fun and part of life rather than a group of skills to acquire. Some of the book suggestions feel dated and I would like to see more diverse options listed but the ones they've selected will work well.
A definite book to purchase for young families.

An excellent reference book for new parents! This very readable book gives lots of great advice for instilling a love for reading in your child. While geared toward new parents I was able to glean a few great tips for my pre-reader that we haven’t already started doing.

Overall a great book though some may get tired of the number of times the word “Bookmonster” is used!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

This was a fun and enjoyable read! My husband and I are big readers and we read daily with our family together and with our children separately. It has great tips on helping children recognize letters, book lists, advice on how to keep them engaged in the story, and much more. It also details how to bring a love of reading to very young children, not just those of reading ability. This is a great resource for parents and teachers alike.

This cute and creative book is full of insight and suggestions for parents desiring to raise readers. The Ankowskis take a whimsical, creative approach to their presentation of standard early literacy materials.
This book is great for brand new parents, especially, because there are several chapters in the beginning that outline how to integrate language and literacy into every day moments, from labeling and identifying things to have facial expressions when reading books (great for reading and emotional intelligence!)
For the preschool and elementary school aged kids there are book recommendations that are stacked to help build interest and skill. The last third of the book also helps parents expand a child's use of books - for research, for exploration, for comfort, for imagination, for empathy. Each chapter sets up different ways to expand your child's connection to books.
This was a fun read full of playfully presented techniques.
Thanks for the ARC!

This is a good book but I really hated reading it. I didn't realize when I requested it that it was designed for brand new parents or parents of babies and very young kids. I also didn't realize that the authors would use the word "bookmonster" in nearly every sentence. Oh my goodness, I'm so tired of that word. The book tries really hard to be cute and fun but also helpful. It is, I'm sure. I'm sure I'm just jaded. I've been a parent for nearly 23 years and 5 kids and I've read hundreds of thousands of books to my kids. I know all this stuff already, but others may not. Recommended, but for new parents or those who are very new to reading to/with their kids.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

Parents looking for suggestions on how to encourage their children to become readers should give this helpful and entertaining book a try. Amber and Andy share anecdotes from raising their own bookmonsters, findings from research studies on literacy development, and helpful hints at creating an atmosphere within the family that supports positive reading habits and attitudes.
The book is divided into four parts which focus on birthing a bookmonster, making it feel at home, feeding it, and teaching it tricks. That translates into suggestions on creating an early love of reading, giving that love plenty of sustenance through interaction and access to literacy materials, and helping to make connections between all the related skills (writing, spelling, etc.).

Helpful suggestions for ways to work literacy into shopping trips, car rides, and other events are shared, as well as stories about how the Ankowski's three children responded to different books or materials depending on their ages and personalities. The authors are careful to repeat throughout the text that children are unique and respond in their own ways, so what works with one may not work with another or may need to be adapted.

Back matter includes a comprehensive list of all the children's books mentioned. These are divided up into the sections of the Book Pyramid (similar to the Food Pyramid that parents will recognize from nutrition guides when they were youngsters themselves). Sections are: Unique Interests, Story Books, Learning Lessons, Just for Fun, and Literacy Skill Building. Source notes for all the research studies quoted and a list of book recommendations for parents are also provided.

The research that is mentioned shows the importance of early reading experiences, the presence of books in the home, and adult role models. But the information is presented in everyday language and balanced with the authors' memories of reading adventures with their three bookmonsters over the years. There is even discussion of the importance of play and the hazards of too much screen time.

Altogether a vey readable book which parents will probably be annotating with highlighters and sticky notes as they come across activities or titles they want to try.

This was a super accessible book for parents on helping your children learn to read. They discuss how to set yourself up for success from the beginning. They use examples from their own lives and their children's lives. It's conversational in tone and easy to pick up and put down. Though I already knew some of what they discussed, they brought up some new practical things I could immediately do with my children. The books they mention are all listed at the end along with further reading and notes on the research from each chapter. This would be a great book for new parents, or parents looking for practical tips on helping their children learn to love reading.

Quirky, fun, and full of easily applicable advice, what isn’t to love about this new addition to a well-researched but often ignored sub-field of education? (Fair warning, I was provided a free eARC from Netgalley, so take all raving with the usual grain of salt.) Educators often bemoan the lack of options for educating parents on the best principles of early learning, so this title definitely fills an oft lamented gap in the literature. Not only does the title fill a documented need for educators, but it also answers that nagging question parents ask themselves late at night when sufficiently sleep deprived – I am doing enough to “get” my child reading. However, both myself and the authors of this book would recommend removing that “get” from the sentence ASAP. Children, as is argued throughout the book, should be taught a love of reading, not a chore-like sense of responsibility towards the skill.
Well-organized and written in language anyone – even sleep deprived parents – can understand, this excellent new non-fiction book is sure to delight scholars and parents alike. The information is organized by easy-to-follow topics – with plenty of animal themed humor to keep everyone laughing while they learn – and practical advice that can be followed by parents with children of any age or stage of development. Well worth the read for anyone who is raising or attempting to raise a “Book Monster”.

One of my fears as a parent (albeit trivial when it comes to health and safety) is that my two children wouldn’t be voracious readers.

Reading was such huge part of my life and of who I am today. There were a collective series of events and influences that have made me the reader that I am. I definitely won’t be able to replicate them exactly, so I welcome any books that can help encourage a methodology to make this happen.

I went into this assuming it would be a lot like the previously published “Raise A Reader”. I’m happy to report that minus a few obvious similarities, it shed new perspective.

There was an endless amount of knowledge and tips shared that I have already started implementing with my toddlers. I like how this had a tangibility to it, rather than just examples.

I recommend for any parents with little ones who are looking to foster an endless love of reading from a very young age!

Thank you to @netgalley for this digital copy.

I'm a librarian, so the idea of bringing up children to be "bookmonsters" is gold to me. I love reading, and, while I don't have any children of my own, I enjoyed the concepts put forth in this book. A solid read for parents who want to raise kids who love books.