National Young Readers Week is the second week in November. It is a time to sit down and enjoy a good novel, comic, or informational book. Founded in 1989 by the Center of the Book in the Library of Congress and Pizza Hut, this week encourages young readers to strengthen their reading skills. Schools will host different activities, and some even ask local celebrities to come in and read to classrooms. While many children are busy with after-school activities, they can still partake. Here are some ways you can enjoy this week, as well as some tips to finishing a book.

Read a Novel

This may seem like the most obvious option, and it is also the easiest one. According to UCSB Geography, reading a novel reduces stress, expands your vocabulary, improves your memory, and builds better writing skills. You are also providing entertainment for yourself, and reading a book is rarely something a parent will tell you to stop doing. 

Enjoy a Cartoon

People may say that cartoons, or graphic novels, are not books; however they are a reading material, no matter which way you look at it. Cartoons include various sorts of illustrated novels, from Japanese manga to American comics and beyond.

Flip Through an Encyclopedia

While this may appear to be one of the most boring ways to celebrate the week, it is actually quite enlightening. Keep in mind that it is an encyclopedia, not a dictionary. Many people, upon hearing the word “encyclopedia”, often think of a long list of words and their definitions, or a dull book about useless information. However, encyclopedias contain a lot of helpful knowledge, even stemming from the Latin phrase enkulios paideia (all-round education), and you will learn something new from it every time.

Soar Through a Wildlife Book

Have you ever looked outside and seen a small, reddish-brown, black striped bird with a long tail and two prominent face stripes? It could have been a kestrel, one of the smallest raptors in the world. Looking through a wildlife book can teach you about the animals and plants you see, large and small. These books normally include photos, as well as the scientific name of the animal. They might help you identify the difference between a red-tailed hawk and a cooper’s hawk. One day, with enough reading, you could even identify a venomous snake, which might save your life.

Reading Tips

If you’re having trouble finding time to read, consider setting aside ten minutes before you go to sleep to open a short book. Or, instead of a time limit, set a certain page goal, and know that it’s okay if you don’t meet your goal. Find a book that sounds interesting to you, keeping an open mind while searching. When looking through an encyclopedia, try flipping to a random page and reading from the bottommost topic up. If you don’t have any new reading material, think about ways to make an old story fun. You could reread a book, but this time turn the book upside down, or read it from the end to beginning (when going with the second option, double check it’s a book you’ve already read. Accidental spoilers are no fun). Or, if you’re alone, you can read out loud using different voices for each character, and try to make them sound as weird or funny as possible.

Now that you’ve seen the many possibilities of how to enjoy National Young Readers Week, strive to finish a novel or two, or look through a wildlife book, go outside, and identify some birds. Learn something new this week, or enjoy an old classic book (Related: learn how you can be writing the books instead of reading them).