My solution was to ask for help.

What if you have a child demanding more reading material? Image: iStock.

"Your school librarian will get to know your advanced reader and their area of reading interest and then seek out books with similar themes but in different genres," says fellow MS Readathon ambassador, blogger and teacher-librarian Megan Daley, author of Raising Readers: How to nurture a child's love of books.

"So often, with advanced readers, people look for books that are meant for older readers, in an attempt to quench their thirst for reading. Instead, help them to go sideways, into genres they may not have yet tried - think poetry, autobiographies, and non-fiction."

In my case, I have a teacher-librarian to thank for teaching me that 'up' is not always the best way to go for advanced readers - in some cases, what you need to do is help them to go deeper into the types of books and subjects they love.

And so, I have a son who, at 15, reads philosophy and poetry and... Adrian Mole.

What about the kid who isn't that much into reading? Image: iStock.

You have a reluctant reader

My other son, aged 12, is a different boy all together. He is a good reader, but, frankly, he would rather run. He is not the kind of boy who will ever choose to read when there are more active things to do.

But reading before bed is not optional in our house, and so he settles down for 20 minutes each night to read... Something. And the school library, particularly in primary school when sport was his favourite subject, was brilliant for ensuring there was always something to read.

"Teacher-librarians are the reluctant readers' best friend; we love a reading and reader challenge, " says Daley. "Your school librarian will help them to develop an identity as a reader by making them feel like the library is a place for them (for ALL kids) and talk, talk, talk about the kind of books they might enjoy until they find one which clicks with them."

In my son's case, the school library offered a steady stream of entertaining books about soccer, and rugby, and cricket, and [insert any sport you can think of]. He'd whip through them in a couple of nights and go back for more, while I continued to supply him with different kinds of books, I hoped might hook his attention and further develop his reading skills.

Eventually, I succeeded - Wonder by RJ Palaccio inspired a real interest in stories about other people, and The Skeleton Tree by Iain Lawrence made him a reader of 'survival' stories.

"His desire to read may have dried up"

But without the school library and its steady supply of 'something' to read, his desire to read may have dried up before we got there.

So, get to know your school librarian, no matter what type of reader you may have at your house.

And if your school doesn't have a qualified teacher-librarian, perhaps ask why?

Every child deserves to have a person at their school who's devoted to instilling a reading culture and dedicated to teaching them how to research, how to sort fact from fiction, and how to find the right story to help them at the right time.

If those aren't secret (and super) powers, then I don't know what is.

A.L. Tait is the internationally published bestselling author of two epic adventure series for kids: The Mapmaker Chronicles and Ateban Cipher. She is also proud to be an ambassador for the MS Readathon, which encourages kids to read for a reason (another brilliant tactic if you're trying to create a reader). Find out more about A.L Tait on her website and more about the MS Readathon here.

Go on, introduce yourself! Image: iStock.