How do I teach my niece how to read?

My 4 year old niece says she wants to learn to read, but when I try to teach her, she changes the subject or says, "I don't know", and I don't wanna get mad at her. Help me!

A 4 year old has a short attention span. Start by teaching her the letters of the alphabet. Make it like a game or a song. Get a book or find a website that works like flash cards with simple recognizable things like cat, dog or tree that has a picture and the word on the page.

example:
http://www.kids-pages.com/flashcards.htm

Read stories to her so she learns that books are fun. Takes time and patience.

How I learned was my mom just kept on reading me this book, and one day all the words made sense. It was a really fun book. I hope it helps.

By the way, it was by Eric Carl or whatever.