As children's librarian at the A.V. Sorensen Branch Library, Aura Sewell has experience working with reluctant readers and kids who think they don't like to read.

"I think the No. 1 most effective tool is making sure that kid knows that you care about him as a person and are interested in who he is," she said.

"We have a lot of kids who usually play video games, but it's amazing how receptive they are to being approached by us with a book suggestion," Sewell said.

She asks what interests them.

"Once they open up, I've seen even the most reluctant reader sit and read for hours and hours after finding an 'Easy-to-Read' book with Lego guys as the characters," Sewell said.

She doesn't push literary content with reluctant readers.

"If they want to read Barbie books, I will find them 50 books about Barbie," Sewell said.

"More often than not, once a kid realizes she likes reading, it's only a matter of time before I can nudge her into books with slightly higher quality content - or the child will magically find it herself.