Resources to Encourage Reading

Listen and Learn

Reading Recollections: Excerpts from The City Shining: Visions of the New Cosmopolitan Metropolis, written and read by Darlene House.


The Importance of Reading: Read by Darlene House.

Book List Nominations Needed 

We are always looking for books to add to our NIRMV Recommended Reading Lists. There are separate editions released annually for kids and adults. You can read and download the kids edition on NIRMV Kids under Reading on our Remarkable Links page. Send your nominations to nirmvdetroit@gmail.com, including title and author, with "List Book" on subject line. Keep in mind nominations are accepted anytime but the annual deadline for our kids list is July 1 for early August release. The adult list annual deadline is October 1 for early November release.

Reading Seeds: 4 Activities to Motivate Children to Read

Author Gwen Lewis and NIRMV Originator Darlene House
Gwendolyn R. Lewis, author of NIRMV Recommended Reading List Selection
Plant a Seed…Read!!: 101 Activities to Motivate Children to Read, shares these four activities from her book.

44. MAKE A BOOK FILE.  File cards (3x5) with children’s summaries and reactions to books read can be valuable asset to the family. Another person may want to read these books in the future.
Objective:  To collect stories for future reference, as others in the family may need reading suggestions.

57. CUT OUTS.  Draw and cut out pictures of your favorite story character. Make a family book board titled “Friends From Books” on which to place these pictures.
Objective:  To capture the personalities of characters and encourage family literacy.


60. SCAVENGER HUNT.  Write a scavenger hunt list from a book your children read. Send the youth into the house and/or yard to find items. The first one(s) to return with the items on the list will receive a gift.
Objective:  To teach to identify significant items in a story.

65. NEWSPAPER ACTIVITY.  Clip out an interesting news story and cut the paragraphs apart. Ask your child to read the paragraphs and then arrange them in chronological order. For younger children, you might use the panels from a comic strip.
Objective:  To teach comprehension and sequence.

Ten NIRMV Recommended Reading List*: Books to Read Again & Again & Again

The Bible (KJV)
A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
If I Live to Be 100: Lessons from the Centenarians by Neenah Ellis
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Posey
Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest Your Destiny by Hill Harper
Letters to a Young Sister: DeFINE Your Destiny by Hill Harper
The Treasury of American Poetry: A Collection of Best-Loved Poems Edited by Nancy Sullivan
Grace for the Moment: Inspiration for Each Day of the Year by Max Lucado
Come to Win: Business Leaders, Artists, Doctors and Other Visionaries On How Sports Can Help You Top Your Profession by Venus Williams

*An official celebration component for the NIRMV Recommended Reading List 10th Anniversary Celebration (2008-2018).