“What happened to my reader? Last year, he was in the library every week picking out books. I had to take his book away at meals. Now, I can’t get him to read anything. It’s like he has no interest in it.” This mystery baffles parents, librarians, and teachers alike. As students pass through middle school and into high school, many of them stop reading for pleasure. Loving adults beg, cajole, bargain, mandate… but nothing works.

            Let’s get one thing out of the way: It’s not your fault. It’s not your child’s fault, either. Major neurological changes take place during middle school years, and these developments affect the way pre-adolescents view the world. While these changes are happening internally, their lives are changing externally, too; homework demands increase significantly, athletics and other extracurricular commitments take up more and more time, and social interests become a principal focus. Additionally, the…