上次談到家長不用買教科書，所以這兒的出版社要賺錢，就出版補充練習，或是出版適合學生看的書。其中最出名的是Scholastic。
說Scholastic，你可能不知是何方神聖。但是，如果我告訴你，這是在北美出版《哈里波特》的出版社，你就知道這家出版社多賺錢了。
這家出版社靠郵購兒童書起家。在美國，加入讀書會是很普遍的事。入了書會，你買書時有折扣，又經常收到書會的推薦書目。
我們沒有入書會，只是阿包入了學，所以我們每個月都會收到由學校轉過來的訂書單。書價比市面的便宜，質素也不錯，與其出外花十幾元買一本十幾頁看一次兩次或三次的書，倒不如花差不多的價錢多買一些。
鼓勵小朋友閱讀要從小開始，所以我們跟她一起選書。
下面就是她在上個月選的部分圖書，只花了四十元，阿包花兩晚就看完了。這個月的訂書單又來了，正在圈選另一批……
chicka chicka boom boom有卡通，配隻歌係carole king唱，幾好聽。
阿仔細個好鍾意。
DVD都係scholastic出，阿包有冇睇過？
youtube都有呢段片睇：
http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=ED4aZ3nAnw8
我幾歲大開始用利是錢買課外書。
這輩子都是書奴。
上星期在Amazon訂了一套六大本的Marcel Proust的In Search of Lost Time，明知道不會看得完的了，US$47全新，太便宜了，不能不買。
我很遲很遲才看課外書，可謂「發育不良」，但一頭栽進去就不能自拔，要拓展的，不是書量，是空間。
之前，我都成日買書（童書），因為鍾意『擁有』既感覺。
不過，近來少了買，因在圖書館參加了親子閱讀計畫，成日借書！
我發覺，原來借，都OK!
Proust 的作品翻成英文，不是怎麼樣的呢？ 原作的真是看不懂 :S
“鼓勵小朋友閱讀要從小開始” 非常贊同!
我們多去圖書館借, 一借便十多本，可以借足一個月。生日和聖誕的禮物都是書。
可恨中文兒童書實在不爭氣，要不是道德教訓、要不是差勁的翻譯, 我唯有將自己的老遠童年記憶，當古仔說給小鬼聽。
我是看報紙大的，到今天仍是報紙迷，每天無報不歡。
已不敢多買書了，現今看的書是以前買回來沒有時間看的，有的已是三十年前買的“新書”。
香港人家居狹窄，買書易，藏書難。奈何！
Oh I know what is Scholastic! I did bought some of its books fr. school when I was young. ^^
amo：
阿包剛去看了。謝謝﹗
其實她已懂得背整本書。我也不知道她是從哪裡學回來的。
Chris：
我父母沒有給我買過課外書，也沒有鼓勵我看書。我有《追憶似水年華》的中文譯本，買了這麼多年也未看。
荒靈：
我跟你一樣遲熟。
zacharyhui：
昨晚阿包忽然提議要去圖書館，幸好圖書館隔幾條街，馬上趁關門前跑過去借了一大堆CD、DVD和圖書。
michelle：
我連中文版也未看。
lousyma：
我是將英文故事書口譯給阿包講故事。不過有時候故事書的英文太深，我也要查字典。
我很喜歡一間叫usborne的英國出版社，它們出的兒童書非常精美。我想即使是怎樣不愛書的小孩看見了這樣吸引的插圖，也會有興趣翻閱吧。
每次在scholastic的訂書單發現有usborne的書，我都會毫不考慮的買下，因為實在比市面便宜得多。
it’s true. it should start from buying books though in the furture one may find oneself spend too much money on books every day. still it’s a good way to waste money, isn’t it?
i tried many times to start reading remembrance of things past (i prefer this english name) but always failed in the first chapter. never finished.
btw michelle, i learnt that the translation of C.K. Scott-Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin is a classic.
Maybe you can read Alain de Botton’s book “How Proust can change your life” before you tackle the classic?
den：
待我下次訂書時留意一下。謝謝﹗
The Man Who Loves Everton,
If you don’t read it, I think it’s another way to waste your money. haha…
Actually I tried to read the Chinese version after I bought it, but the prints were so little even for my age. I couldn’t fall asleep when I attempted to read one page.
慢慢你會發現,買回來的,一小時便看完,沒這麼多儲備去買書…
由「鼓勵小朋友閱讀從買書開始」變成「鼓勵小朋友閱讀從圖書館開始」~
linerak：
哈﹗阿包的書架你可能沒見過了。
我們兩者都有。圖書館借回家的也有，買回來的佔多數。
請看舊文：
http://readandeat.wordpress.com/2007/10/07/%e5%ad%b8%e5%af%8c%e4%ba%94%e8%bb%8a/
又或者,鼓勵小朋友閱讀從身教開始。
藍mama：
這個我最差。不過，我發覺阿包的脾氣越來越似我。慘﹗
鼓勵小朋友睇書，有一樣o野更加重要，就係培育佢睇書o既範圍要闊，唔好限死佢只睇某類型o既書藉。
記得我爸好鐘意睇不同類型書藉，無論係武俠小說、林行止作品、研究歷史o既書，總之就乜o野書都睇，結果就令到我而家都鐘意睇各式各樣o既書。
最記得我睇過林行止o係其中一本作品講過：佢唔單只鐘意睇經濟學o既書，更加係鐘意睇閒書、雜書，所以佢o係書入面都講過，想培育小朋友鐘意睇書，就唔好局限佢睇某種書藉，應該要乜o野書都俾佢睇，等小朋友可以真正對書本有興趣。
除左被逼要買教科書之外我絕少買書
問親戚朋友圖書館借果d睇都睇唔晒
從小我就中意去朋友屋企個書櫃度借書睇
借到一本好睇既書會感覺同本書好有緣
當然睇書呢家野唔理有幾回味無窮
結果都係趙完鬆架喇
買左返黎睇完一次之後既書
N年後佢先有機會再比我寵幸
我會覺得要佢獨手空幃咁多年佢會好慘
而且好書應該同人分享
如果比我擁有左佢
我又唔係咁願意借比d唔知係咪劉備既人
當然如果對方都係愛書之人又唔同講法
所以呢我都係中意借書多d
另一個好處就係搬屋唔駛搬咁多野呀嘛
＞鼓勵小朋友睇書，有一樣o野更加重要，就係培育佢睇書o既範圍要闊，唔好限死佢只睇某類型o既書藉
極之同意呀
所以我都係prefer朋友屋企同圖書館多d
嘻嘻
athrunz：
佢睇得明先啦。現在選的書都是故事書為主，介紹科學知識、歷史的也有。阿包現在學寫拼字和學寫句子。
我以前看書也看得很雜的，後來興趣慢慢收窄了。你提到的林行止的書可能是我之前在這裡寫過的《閑在心上》，現在在看他的另一本書《我讀我在》，文章篇幅比另一本短。唔，有一本書，林先生多次提到的，我覺得有補充的必要，遲些有時間才寫。
奕：
我比較貪心，喜歡的書要擁有才心安。我也不太喜歡借書給人的，我只會給人書。
去圖書館看書也是一件好事。有些書你想看但並不想擁有。
Although I don’t have any kids of my own, I do have a teenage younger sister and an even younger little brother, and in my family I am the only one who’d buy books for them purely for leisure reading. In fact, they always bemoan the fact that every birthday and Christmas present I’ve bought them so far in their lives have included books. I just reply that they will thank me for them one day
Now that I think about it, it’s funny my family has never been into books and yet I’m still turn out to be a book obsessive! I think I was more influenced by my primary school teachers and classmates than my own family when it comes to reading tastes in my childhood years. My mum allowed me to go to the library and would buy books for me when I bugged her about it, but she never really gave me books as gifts (except when it comes to Chinese puzzles). I guess she felt she didn’t need to further encourage me in reading when I was already picking up textbooks and dictionaries to read just to pass time! I am forever grateful to one childhool pal, who, during a school bookfair, overheard my brother was throwing a tantrum and preventing my mother from buying books for me, and so she very kindly asked her mum to buy those books that I was interested in and then lend them afterwards to me to read! (Her English name is Grace, and I still think that she is one of those people whose names actually match their personalities!)
I’m not sure if you’ve come across Roald Dahl already? He is my favourite children’s author, and his books are great for very young children (such as the BFG, Fantastic Mr. Fox, the Twits) as well as young teenagers (such as Matilda, Danny the Champion of the World, etc.). Some of his books have been turned into movies, such as The Witches and James and the Giant Peach. He had a wonderful sense of irreverent humour and never talked down to children (all in past tense as he passed away in the early 90’s, I still remember how sad our whole class felt when we heard the news in school). For young children especially, Roald Dahl’s books are a good way to get them to appreciate the music of the English language, as his books are full of hilarious rhyming verses. I’d really highly recommend them!
Snowdrops,
It’s a graceful story about Grace.
Thanks for your recommendations! I’ll look for those books as well. I remember my favourite children book writer 何紫, I didn’t read a lot of his works since I didn’t have money to buy them and I didn’t know there was such library in the world when I was a kid. I read it in my school’s small library. The book is called 我想飛.
Oh I think the names 何紫 and 我想飛 ring a bell, but I don’t think I remember the author of Chinese books that I read as a kid…. (A lot of my childhood books never made it to Ireland with me, and of those that came with the rest of our stuff, quite a number have been thrown out when we moved house a number of times, as my mum didn’t see any value in keeping kiddie stuff. The Chinese books that survived are those from my later primary school years).
Actually, what I really wished to say in my last comment is that I think Ah Bao is really lucky to have you as her mum, who don’t mind spending time to pick out books that she might like to read. I would have loved to grow up in a house full of books like yours
Snowdrops,
Yes, he was very famous. I like his book a lot. I don’t think there were a lot of children writers in HK. Maybe I’m wrong. But I was lucky to read his book when I was little.
I used to keep my grade one and grade two textbooks at home. But I then realized that there were not enough room for me and of course, they got all thrown out by me later. But I do keep one or two books from my primary school years. I think they’re in my father’s house. All the pages turned yellow already. You know what, they’re craft books. I liked making crafts by myself.
Thanks for your last comment. Actually I’m not the one who encourages her to read at home.
Hi read and eat, thanks for reminding me the good old days~ =)
this post reminds me the excitement of knowing the new Scholastic book list’s out every new academic year and started to struggle how many to buy! (too expensive to buy all i like
) I just addicted to reading since then! So I hv no idea why the kids in HK nowadays cannot read at all! (not to be offensive)
I have no kids but like Snowdrops, I hv two little young brothers (cousins in fact but my brother [real] and I are the only two who buy books for them). The Filipino maid is very helpful in bringing the kids to library but then they were NOT reading at all! A primary two boy still ’sees’ the pictures only and i’m really sad about this.
you must be a good mother and set up good examples for Ah Bao!
btw… 何紫 is excellent; and I remember that 山邊社; almost all books we read in primary school are from 山邊社
Candice,
I think I’m still far away to be a good mom. haha…Thanks anyway.
Today we went to the library. The children section was full of kids. But they’re only interested in the computers!!! The bookshelves behind the computer desks were empty!!!!
I have no idea why the mom brought their kids to the library and sat at the computer. I went to another library before. Parents sat with their kids, like me, reading to their children.
在香港，常見的是父母拚命給孩子買書叫他們看書，但自己不看書。
說起買書，馬家輝在他新書有一段寫和女兒去歐洲，十字街頭傾盆大雨，大家分手各赴自己心儀書店，約好時間回頭再聚。
如果女兒大了可以是這樣子，就真是日子有功了。
小孜孜媽媽：
如果大家都看書其實也有問題的，就是自己根本沒時間看書。
他女兒可能已長大了，較懂事。
阿包每晚一定要看完/聽完故事書才肯睡。這是從出生至今養成的習慣。今晚看的是Froggy’s Halloween。