The major theme of James Patterson's speech at Manhattan College can be boiled down to two simple words: “Go Jaspers!” It was clear to anyone listening that the world renowned writer was proud of his alma mater. The air was chock full of energy and school spirit, yet as soon as the question and answer session began, it became clear that the real focus was on children and how to get them to love reading.
Patterson stated, “if you get kids books they'll love and read them a little every day, what a good thing that will be for the country, how much would that transform our country?” Records show that he has sold over 150 million books worldwide, an estimated 16 million of which were in North America, according to Dean of the Arts Mary Ann O’Donnell. This includes any pre-orders of the yet-to-be-released publication of The Dangerous Days of Daniel X, a book designed to attract children. At the end of the evening, he accepted a proposition to participate in a study regarding children and the effect reading has on them in all aspects of their life. Still, none of this mattered once Patterson dropped a huge bomb on the crowd of about 100.
The 1969 alum spoke to a group of about one hundred in Manhattan College’s Smith Auditorium on September 9th, at the official launch of the MC Communications Department. He started off by revealing some of his upcoming book, movie and TV projects, but the real piece of news came when Patterson announced to the room—comprised of students, faculty and community members—that he wasn’t a big reader as a child or even into his young adult years
His story goes on to say that he didn’t begin to fully appreciate reading until he worked the night shifts at a mental hospital and read during his hours there, which was when he grew to love it. This is not something you’d expect from the someone the Times called “the man who can’t miss.” His partner-in-crime and fellow MC alum of 1992 on the other hand, Michael Ledwidge, loved reading. He says that he was reading tons of books, even as early as age three or four.
Patterson’s son wasn’t a big fan of reading, but he was told that reading for at least 30 minutes a day was going to be a rule in the home. Patterson began his research by going to various sources, including librarians or colleagues. He was on a noble quest to find age-appropriate and interesting books that he thought his son would like and once he succeeded in his mission, it didn’t take long before those obligatory thirty minutes of reading began to extend. He proposes that what he did for his son will work for many other children; that all you have to do is “just give them books they’ll love.”
Readkiddoread.com, the website that Patterson set up through Hachette Book Group USA Inc., assists parents who want to do just that for their children. It compiles a list of “great books, cool books, books they [the children] would absolutely, positively love. I believe we’ve gathered the crème de la crème of such reading right here.” It goes a step beyond merely providing the books by dividing them into age appropriate categories, thus making the site an easy-to-navigate tool for parents, children and teachers. The site also allows the viewer to sign up for newsletters as well as access a separate list of books that Patterson has written that are geared towards kids, especially boys. “I set out to create a book for boys because I find it is always harder to get boys reading,” he said, when asked about his inspiration for The Dangerous Days of Daniel X, which he co-wrote with Ledwidge.
Ledwidge paired up with Patterson on the suggestion of his advisor back from his days at MC. When asked why he chose Manhattan College, Ledwidge shrugged and said, “I grew up down the block, and my girlfriend was going here. I guess you could say I followed her.” As for Patterson, his attendance at MC was a complete accident when his high school principle didn’t send his transcripts out anywhere else. The dean at the time understood and offered him a deal: “If you do very well here your first semester, I’ll get you into Harvard.” Patterson can laugh about it now though, as he says: “I guess you can say I was kidnapped.”
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