Pardon Me, I Disagree

I was wandering about a children’s library room, reading the posters attached to the walls. I found one thought-provoking. The poster described the “Five Finger Rule,” a philosophy I’d never heard of.

The premise of this advice is not to choose a too challenging book, where the reader doesn’t know enough of the words. I’m not sure I agree with this. I remember my father sitting down to read the New Yorker magazine with a dictionary. I was encouraged to do the same. We had dictionaries strategically located throughout our house. The dictionaries were also handy for our family Scrabble sessions. According to this poster, if you find five words you don’t know in the first five pages, give up and select another book. Don’t challenge yourself, don’t learn multiple new words, and take the easier route.

Is it more fun to read an easy book? Wouldn’t you instead want your children to read a fascinating book that challenges them, encourages them to explore their language, embrace learning new things, and increase their knowledge? Imagine their sense of satisfaction when they succeed at reading a “too difficult” book.

I found other advice I agree with as I researched the Five Finger Rule. In contrast, the opposing advice suggests that when readers encounter an unfamiliar word, they should sound it out and explore its texture. They should think about similar words that sound the same. Are they related? Do they have the same origin?

Instead of telling readers a book is too hard, invite them to read it with someone else. As the saying goes, two heads are better than one. And we all know the benefits of reading together, whether it be two friends, a parent and child, or child and pet.

I’m reassured that I’m not unrealistic in my thinking. Recently, a parent perusing one of my books before purchasing it found a new word for his child and commented, “Oh good, you can increase your vocabulary.” Children deserve actual words and should not spoken down to. Or underestimated.

Don’t let young readers be intimidated by books because they might need to learn new words. Instead of a Five Finger Rule, how about a Find and Figure the New Words Out Rule? Find a few new words in my science-based pictures. They are always fun, educational, and sometimes challenging, but that’s okay!