Reading Time
By Holly Beal
Why reading aloud to your kids is about more than just telling a good story.
s a parent of three young children, one of the great pleasures of my day is reading time. It can be during a meal, just before bed, or cuddled up on the couch in the middle of the afternoon, but whenever it occurs I love the time spent between the pages of a book with a child.
The Read-Aloud Handbook, by Jim Trelease, not only validates my love of reading to my children but actually makes a case for why reading to children is so important. In fact, the entire idea behind the book is to convince parents, teachers, librarians, et al, to read aloud to children from age zero on up.
I was fascinated to read about all the studies that have been done in regards to what reading aloud to children does for their test scores, ability to focus, and of course their ability to read and write well. It was also inspiring to hear a plethora of letters and anecdotal evidence that support those studies. I was amazed at the profound influence reading to children can have.
I've always been a big fan of reading to my children, and this book cemented it in my mind. As an avid reader I was a bit shocked to read the statistics on how many adults (50% in the US) don't read anything (book, newspaper, magazine) AT ALL in an entire year. And yet when discussing this with one of my aunts, who is a teacher, she said she never reads anything unless it’s work-related. I was floored.
Another great thing about the book is the wonderful annotated list of recommended titles to read to children at various ages. It covers everything from Dr. Seuss to JRR Tolkien, and gives a brief synopsis of each book so you know what to expect.
This book was not only extremely informative and thought-provoking, but the information was presented in interesting, can’t-put-it-down format, helping it accomplish its goal of convincing its readers of the paramount importance of reading to children. If you'd like to borrow it to read this summer, it's in my library.
