Posted by Jon Tucker on September 02, 2014 at 13:09:05 user Jon_Tucker.
In Reply to: Re: Softly, softly (Introducing Ransome to your own children) posted by Elizabeth Jolley on August 29, 2014 at 07:27:49:
Our eldest son is already counting down the years until he can start his toddler on S&A. I started him on Ransome at age nine, reading a couple of chapters aloud until he was off - all twelve in under a year with subsequent re-readings.
Our next son was a reluctant reader and couldn't cope with AR's 3500 word chapters, so I used the Willard Price Adventure series as starters. After that the sibling factor took over with the elder two catalysing the younger three boys as they 'came of age'. But sibling encouragement doesn't necessarily work - my wife was even bribed by her sister to read Ransome but has resisted staunchly throughout her life.
Willard Price limited his chapter lengths to approx 2000 words, and I've adopted this approach (and plenty of illustrations)for my Ransome feeder series written for Australian and Kiwi kids. They're being read aloud in schools to kids as young as grade one, so hopefully there'll soon be another generation of Ransome readers down in this part of the world.