In addition to being the day of children, June 1^st also marks the beginning of carefree holiday months for the youngest pupils in Bulgaria - those from the 1^st to the 3^rd grade. And while the games completely fill their minds after the end of the school year, each of them has taken home a long list of book titles to read over the summer. And compulsory literature often becomes a stumbling block in the parent-child relationships.

We asked the book vlogger Alex Krastev about how he motivates children who do not like reading to seek a contact with books?

"In order for a child to be interested in reading, they just need to be given the choice to read what they like first. Even if it is something that the parent does not understand or thinks has no special literary value. The child's free choice of what to read is most important. But here comes the role of the parent to judge whether, according to the child’s age, they can read exactly what they have chosen”.

"The love of books is built over time, it's not some kind of magic. And the Internet, instead of an enemy, can be one of the helpers in that mission, "says Alex Krastev.

"Although the Internet is a place full of distractions such as videos and games, we can always find many interesting things for our child there - audio stories or various initiatives for reading books online. As a parent, I never start with the idea that my child must necessarily read a specific book. I prefer to surround my childwith many books so that the child can make his or herown choice. When it comes to a child who can't read yet, the main way to show them that reading is a good thing and it's fun is when the story is read by the parent or by an actorwho has made a recording”.

Video blogs are becoming increasingly popular among children and teenagers. Alex is one of the influencers regarding book titles. He says that in order to develop their need for reading books, children should not accept reading as an obligation.

"I admit that I went around the lists of mandatory books to read in the summer from afar and I used to read what I liked," Alex recalls of the summer vacations, in which he had to read the mandatory works for his next school year. But he says that "as time went by and I gave some of them a chance, I realized that these were great books that I misjudged earlier."

The vlog named “When two are reading”, which he makes with his wife Raya, allows both of them to share their opinions about the books they read quickly and easily, as interest in their channel continues to grow. "It is a pleasure for us when a person gives a book a chance after seeing it in our video, and it opens the way to a whole new world," said Alex and extends his greetings to all children on their holiday:

"I would like to wish all children and my son in particular to read, not be afraid of books and to give a chance to a piece of reading that may seem uninteresting at first”.

English Rossitsa Petcova

Photos: Pixabay, Facebook /When two are reading