Book Night
Dear Dernier Friends,
The joy of reading is starting to get lost.
We are all so addicted to our phones, we can hardly bear to put them down out of sight, and constantly check them for anything new.
In a way, we can’t blame ourselves, because the people who design our phones and apps know exactly what they need to do to keep us hooked.
Nowhere is this more true than for the new generation.
They are getting hooked from an earlier and earlier age – and they’re having trouble concentrating on anything for more than a minute or two at a time.
What can we do to claim our lives back, and those of our children?
As the evenings are now getting colder and longer, here’s a suggestion (it’s not a new one, but it is a good one!)
Have one evening a week when phones go in a basket, and have a Book Night.
Bring back the joy of reading!
If your children are tiny, cuddle up with a stack of books, and have a fun time of imagination together. You might also like to draw pictures of the characters, or their favourite part of the story. Use this time to get to enjoy your children’s company! They grow up so fast… if you make a start on this every week, it could make a huge difference to your relationship in the long run and their education.
For new readers 6-9-ish, you can still snuggle up, but share the reading, perhaps? Nobody’s Dog would be a brilliant book to start with, or Who Invented Sisters? Both are a lot of fun – all the family will love them. Reading is such an essential skill for life (as is being able to concentrate), so you will be doing a great job. If your children need to do something with their hands, that’s fine – how about drawing the cover of the book?
If your kids are 8-12 ish, why not read an exciting Christian spy mystery story together? (Check out A Pennyworth of Peppermints and Suspicious Deliveries.) Whoever enjoys reading could take a turn, and do the voices of the characters! Have milkshakes/hot chocolate, treats and a cosy den if that works for you. You could even read by candlelight/torchlight if your eyes are up to it. 🙂
For families with older children/teens, why not ask everyone to bring their own book to the party (including you). You might like to take time aside to talk about the books afterwards. Or why not go to a coffee shop to read, as a treat, all together? Or get in a pizza, snacks, ice-cream, or whatever works for you…
Of course, you can mix and match.
The benefits of doing this are potentially HUGE, even if you only do it once a fortnight, or once a month. Plus Christian stories have the huge extra advantage of feeding the soul, in a way that no other book can.
Here’s a warning, though… unless you grab the moment, it will be gone.
Why not take these simple first steps today?
- Set a date on your calendar and tell everyone what you’re going to do
- Organise your space, snacks, drinks and books
- Enjoy this special time together, making memories as you take your lives back!
Here are some suggestions for books to start your Book Night journey:
These are all available from our website – and there are more to choose from. We pray for all our readers, so we will pray for your children, too!
If you want to start tonight, most of these books are on kindle, so you can download instantly and start reading TONIGHT.
Let me know if you’re planning on doing this – I’d love to hear from you!
Be blessed,
Janet
P.S. Grandparents, aunties and uncles, why not do this when your children come to stay? Start planning now! What fun you could have, as well as make precious memories. 🙂
September News
Dear Dernier Friends,
Summer is coming to an end. I hope you had a good time! It’s certainly been warm, hasn’t it?
It’s also been a bit unsettling, with nasty wars raging around us. We need to keep praying, and trusting, for sure. If you have refugees near you and need some books for the kids, please get in touch.
Get your kids ready for school
Getting into the habit of reading with your children is one of the very best things you can do to help them at school.
Reading is essential for a good education – the better a child can read, the better they will get on in other subjects too.
Plus a love of reading is a huge blessing! There’s truth in the saying, Leaders are readers. We learn sooo much from books.
There are plenty of bookworms out there, but not all children love to read. Here are some ideas to get more reluctant readers to love to read:
- Read books together, if they don’t enjoy reading alone.
- Share the reading as much as you need to – you will quickly see how much they can comfortably manage. Try to get them to read a little more themselves each day, but don’t push too hard.
- Get cosy, in a tent or den, or cuddle up somewhere snuggly, perhaps with a snack or warm drink. Your children will then associate reading with peace, closeness and comfort.
- A long time is better than a short time, but a short time is better than no time. Ten minutes is better than nothing! You might like to make the time short to start with, and lengthen as appropriate. Or just keep going if they beg you for the next chapter!
- Give your children and the book your full attention (turn off all devices…).
- Choose exciting books/stories they will love.
- Be encouraging. Praise will build their confidence.
- If they lack confidence, start with an easy read. (Nobody’s Dog is a fabulous story all the family will love, with a lovely easy font to read, and fun illustrations.)
- Once they’re happy and confident, choose books that will stretch them a little, but not put them off by being too hard.
- Some children will love the competitive element of finishing a book, to be able to buy the next one. Tap into that if that works for you! The Treasure Hunt is the first in an exciting series for 8-11s, if you’re looking for ideas!
- Some children might like to have something to do with their hands while you are reading, such as drawing or colouring, fidget toys, poppers or lego.
- If your children are too old for you to be reading with/to them, have a weekly family reading session, when you each come together with your own book. You could even go to a coffee shop every week, or the library. Read for an hour or so, then discuss!
If you can make reading fun, you will have done a wonderful job!
Don’t delay, though – start straight away, or the time will have slipped away.
And of course, choosing Christian books will give you the opportunity to talk about your faith. And what could be better than that?
A New Me Pre-order Reminder
Thanks for praying for us! As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, A New Me is now available to pre-order on our website. It is a new version of one of our older books, which is a great story about Jess, who needs a new start. It’s larger, with a fabulous new glossy cover, and like all our new books, it has an excellent, easy to-read, dyslexia friendly format.
If you pre-order it now from the Dernier website, you will get a FREE copy of London’s Gone along with it. 🙂 Both books are inspirational reads for 10-14s.
Christian Bookshops
Christian bookshops have much to offer! They don’t just sell books! They sell cards and gifts, Bibles, music, candles, calendars, notebooks, and all manner of wonderful things. They can give you advice on any resource for a particular need. And most stock Dernier books ! So why not find your nearest one today and go support them? Too many Christian bookshops have already closed – those remaining need our help if they are to survive, and that would be a huge loss to our country. Can you buy everything they sell on the internet? Probably. But you won’t get to see it, ask advice, touch and feel the products. And know you’ve supported an excellent cause, where people wander in looking for a Bible and end up talking about Jesus. Hint: stock up on greetings cards with Bible verses while you are there – they are pretty much impossible to buy online!
That’s all for now – do get in touch if you have any comments or queries about our books, or how we can help you.
God bless,
Janet
P.S. Perhaps you’ve been thinking about the Book Club but not got round to joining? You still can! Here’s the link.