I’m Hannah Ward. Homeschool mom. Learning designer. English teacher. You see the problems every day. Talk to any teacher, coach, or parent, and they’ll tell you the same thing: something is up with kids right now.
Here’s what we’re seeing:
Lack of empathy.
Limited attention spans.
No pride in their work.
Struggles with reading and rising illiteracy.
Difficulty understanding or remembering what they read.
Limited vocabulary and trouble speaking or writing in full sentences.
Communication reduced to memes and short videos.
It’s worrying.
What Happened to Reading?
I grew up in a golden era for reading. We had the gift of abundant series that we couldn’t put down. The Scholastic book fair was a big deal. Libraries were our hangouts. Rewards for reading—pizza coupons, video rental deals—made it exciting. Literacy was everywhere.
Books sparked conversations. Entire lunch periods were spent arguing over what would happen in the next Harry Potter book. We didn’t just read books; we lived them.
Now? Screens dominate. Kids aren’t getting books in their hands like they used to. Many college students today are shocked when a course requires them to read an entire book. Why? Because up to that point for them, schools often only assigned excerpts or mentor texts.
It’s absurd. It’s also fixable, and if you are still reading this, then you are already a part of the solution.
The Solution: Get Kids Reading
Kids need books. Physical books they can hold. They need to read every day. But more importantly, they need to think about what they’re reading. They need to create something—drawings, notes, insights—to show they’re paying attention and learning.
What Doesn’t Work
Here’s what we’re NOT going to do:
We’re not handing out comprehension packets with multiple-choice questions.
We’re not teaching kids to read just to pass a test.
These things kill a love of reading faster than anything else. Reading is about more than just trivia or test scores. It’s about expanding worldviews, building empathy, exploring new ideas, and applying what you’ve learned to your own life.
A Better Way to Read
That’s why I have designed these novel study workbooks and reading guides. These books aren’t about regurgitating facts or filling in bubbles on a sheet to be graded by a computer. They’re about slowing down and engaging with the book—chewing on it, reflecting on it, and creating something meaningful.
Think of it as a travel journal for a big adventure inside a book. Kids will make drawings, write their thoughts, and explore questions like:
“What would you do in this situation?”
“What do you think about the choices the characters made?”
“What can you learn from this book?”
Kids are not just consuming the story. They’re part of it.
Why Slowing Down Matters
Kids today are already overloaded with information. They scroll endlessly, consuming content at lightning speed. It is a market-driven competition for your child’s attention, and this is not the way reading is meant to be.
I used to be that kid who devoured books—one a day for years. But looking back, most of them blurred together. The ones I remember are the ones I slowed down for.
When kids take time to engage with a book—drawing, journaling, teaching—they retain what they’ve read. They learn more deeply.
How to Start
Here’s what to do:
Find a book series your kid loves.
Get them reading every single day.
Model reading yourself. If you’re on your phone all day, guess what your kid will want to do? Grab a book and read alongside them.
I’ve made it easy for you with novel study workbooks for some of the most popular, kid-approved series. These guides help kids slow down, reflect, and create something memorable. When they’re done, they’ll have a keepsake—not just another test score.
Reading Starts at Home
If we want to fix these problems, it starts with us. Read together as a family. Talk about books. Sketch and journal your own thoughts. Build a culture of reading in your home.
We can turn this around. One book at a time.
Ways to Find My Novel Studies
Comments