Shel Horowitz's Monthly Frugal Fun Tip for March 2007

Last month, I talked about a small slice of the impact books have had on my own life--and I promised that this month, I'd give some ideas on how to have even more fun with books than simply reading them.

Read books aloud to your children.

Get a really good book of poems. Just before bed, read the first poem to your partner. The next night, your partner can read one to you.

Go to the library and bring home every book by one author, one at a time. At the end, go to a bookstore and buy one or two of the best ones, and re-read them once in a while.

Read a book that's been made into a movie, and then see the movie.

Divide up the parts in a play, and read it aloud (this is especially fun with Shakespeare comedies).

Read the first chapter of a book. Write down what you think will happen in the second chapter. Then see if you're right. Continue, chapter by chapter.

Have a party and invite people to come as their favorite literary figure.

Have a party where everyone is a character from the same book or series (some great choices: Harry Potter, Oz, Lord of the Rings, Charlotte's Web).

Pick up a children's picture book in a foreign language and try to figure out what it means.

Write a book together with your partner and/or your children.

Listen to some professional storytellers, then find a favorite story in a book and tell it as if you were performing it.

Make up a song about your favorite fictional character.