So Many Books! How to Select the Right Ones for a Picky Reader

Some children are easy to please when it comes to finding books they will like. These versatile kids enjoy reading a variety of books and enjoy many different genres. One week they’re reading funny books, the next week they’re enjoying non-fiction and the next week they’re on to biographies. In truth, very few books displease this kind of child and this all points to the fact that this child is a traditional learner. Traditional learners have an OptiKode which is ‘Reading Dominant;” this means they are natural born readers who are wired to learn about the world through reading. But not all children are like this as any parent of a resistant reader well knows!

Nontraditional learners are in a very different boat. By virtue of having a ‘Reading Dormant’ OptiKode, they are not natural born readers and only a vey limited number of genres appeal to them. This is the child who comes home from the school library with books they never touch or who has shelves of books that they never open. It can be frustrating for parents and teachers to match the right book with this kind of child. These are the ‘picky readers’ who flit from book to book and seldom finish ones they start. OptiKode Learning Styles provide teachers and parents with a vital key to unlocking the right book genres for even the pickiest of readers.

OptiKodes Reveal Your Child’s Natural Interests

The outer three rings of each OptiKode show the natural strengths and interests of each and every child. Those 3 rings reveal what regulates your child and how they think, learn and process. So for example, a child whose OptiKode is Thinking #1, Moving #2, and Seeing #3 Dominant, would match up with these types of books:

  1. A Thinking #1 child would like mystery books and stories that require figuring things out and strategic thinking. They would also like books that give them information about things, such as stamp collecting, animals and their habits, books that are about science, math, brain-teasers, and technology.

  2. A Moving #2 child would like adventure books and action books - books where there is a lot of adventure and activity. Sports books would also appeal to this child. How-To books where they can learn to do things would also appeal to them. Fast-paced, thrilling stories will appeal to the Moving #2 child.

  3. A Seeing #3 child will like picture books - the more pictures the better. Books that describe a lot of scenery or how things appear in great detail will hold this child’s interest. When this child reads, they have a vivid, visual imagination and the story will come to life in their mind, so descriptive text and visual language is what appeals to them most.

If you can find a book or genre that hits 2 or even all 3 Dominant Modalities’s in your child’s OptiKode then you will hit a home run and your picky reader will transform into a very willing reader. The earlier you dial in your child’s OptiKode to pick books, the sooner you will get them on the road to regular reading.