The way to teach a kid to love books—as the great lover of books Robert Greene has said—is by appealing to their self-interest. Show them what they will get out of books. Tangibly. Immediately. Better yet, find them a book that will have a big payoff for them.
President Joe Biden has talked about how reading earlier in his life about the orator Demosthenes and his speech impediment helped him overcome his own stutter—you think an experience like that, early on, doesn’t turn a person into a reader for life? Find them books that will entertain them. That will help them get their crush to like them. That will make them laugh. That will piss their teachers off. That will help them learn a new skill or solve a problem or feel less alone.
Focus on the ROI—because that’s what books are, investments. You put down a few dollars, commit several hours, and you get something back. To get your kids to read, you have to be a reader, of course, but you also have to show them what they will get out of books. Or else why would they bother?