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daenelt's review against another edition
5.0
Even though I'm a librarian, I sometimes have trouble finding age appropriate books. I mean, I know how to help college students conduct research, I know how to preserve documents and I know how to make early American history relevant to today's present but sometimes finding a children's book stumps me.
That is where What to Read When: The Books and Stories to Read with Your Child ~ and All the Best Time to Read Them by Pam Allyn comes in handy. Pam Allyn is the the founder and executive director of LitLife, an internationally recognized organization that trains hundreds of K~12 teachers each year. She is also the founding director of Books for Boys, an award~winning mentoring and reading initiative at The Children's Village. Allyn is also the recipient of a Points of Light/Disney award and two James Patterson PageTurner Awards for excellence in bringing literacy to underserved populations. In other words, a librarian's dream...
The idea behind the book is the belief that reading aloud to your children is important in the development of happy, healthy, well~rounded children. And while most read~aloud book guides are geared towards children from birth until roughly 5 years of age, this book also offers book suggestions for children up to the age of 10. Yes, it is just as important to read to older children as it is to younger children.
The book begins by explaining why parents should read aloud to their children ~ think bonding, developing an interest in reading and expanding your child's imagination. The next part provides an annotated list of what to read to your child at every age and ends with a reading guide for books by theme, such as adoption, courage, death, loneliness and spirituality.
I like that each section is prefaced by a memory of Allyn's interactions with her own family members or children she has come in contact with during the course of her work. These little vignettes make the book approachable and help the parents to understand why a certain book was chosen or the discussions that can develop from the readings of various books.
One of my favorite book choices is in the section dedicated to books about heroes because gasp a librarian is included in the mix of civil rights leaders, Native American activists and suffragists. The Librarian of Basra: A True Story of Iraq by Jeanette Winter tells the story of Alia Muhammed Baker, a librarian in Basra, Iraq who struggled to save her library's books before the war. According to Allyn, read this story to provide "a new perspective on the war in the Middle East, and to show the incredible capacity of books to inspire heroism." Wow.
This book is a definite must for any parent or adult looking to find age appropriate books to read to their children on a plethora of topics.
That is where What to Read When: The Books and Stories to Read with Your Child ~ and All the Best Time to Read Them by Pam Allyn comes in handy. Pam Allyn is the the founder and executive director of LitLife, an internationally recognized organization that trains hundreds of K~12 teachers each year. She is also the founding director of Books for Boys, an award~winning mentoring and reading initiative at The Children's Village. Allyn is also the recipient of a Points of Light/Disney award and two James Patterson PageTurner Awards for excellence in bringing literacy to underserved populations. In other words, a librarian's dream...
The idea behind the book is the belief that reading aloud to your children is important in the development of happy, healthy, well~rounded children. And while most read~aloud book guides are geared towards children from birth until roughly 5 years of age, this book also offers book suggestions for children up to the age of 10. Yes, it is just as important to read to older children as it is to younger children.
The book begins by explaining why parents should read aloud to their children ~ think bonding, developing an interest in reading and expanding your child's imagination. The next part provides an annotated list of what to read to your child at every age and ends with a reading guide for books by theme, such as adoption, courage, death, loneliness and spirituality.
I like that each section is prefaced by a memory of Allyn's interactions with her own family members or children she has come in contact with during the course of her work. These little vignettes make the book approachable and help the parents to understand why a certain book was chosen or the discussions that can develop from the readings of various books.
One of my favorite book choices is in the section dedicated to books about heroes because gasp a librarian is included in the mix of civil rights leaders, Native American activists and suffragists. The Librarian of Basra: A True Story of Iraq by Jeanette Winter tells the story of Alia Muhammed Baker, a librarian in Basra, Iraq who struggled to save her library's books before the war. According to Allyn, read this story to provide "a new perspective on the war in the Middle East, and to show the incredible capacity of books to inspire heroism." Wow.
This book is a definite must for any parent or adult looking to find age appropriate books to read to their children on a plethora of topics.
amibunk's review against another edition
3.0
I was not incredibly impressed with this book. The author does a decent, but slightly lackluster job of providing incentive to read to your child and ideas of what to read to your child.
I would suggest you skip this book. Instead read Jim Trelease's "The Read-Aloud Handbook" for a better book on why we should read to our children. Then read Esme Raji Codell's "How to Get Your Child to Love Reading" for a much, much more exhaustive list of books to read according to topic.
I would suggest you skip this book. Instead read Jim Trelease's "The Read-Aloud Handbook" for a better book on why we should read to our children. Then read Esme Raji Codell's "How to Get Your Child to Love Reading" for a much, much more exhaustive list of books to read according to topic.
joannag101's review against another edition
3.0
If you're the type of person to read What to Read When, you probably already have a pretty secure grasp on selecting children's literature and can figure much of it out for yourself. There is a lot of common sense advice. For example, Allyn suggests reading Guess How Much I Love You "when your child wants to tell someone how much he loves him or her." However, there are some good suggestions here. So if you're looking for some new ideas, it's worth a look. Imagine all those library bookmark suggestion lists in one organized place. There are summaries of more than three hundred books for newborns to 10-year-olds. It definitely had the feel of a resource book, and I do wish the design and layout had been a little more interesting. Reading is fun! I wish this book were a little more fun to read.
carolynf's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent book ideas for kids ages birth to ten. Part one is about the importance of reading, how to read, and how to create a cozy reading environment. Part two is book recommendations based on age, with several specific titles given but also a lot of descriptions about the kinds of books that appeal to different ages. Part three is book recommendations based on important stages or experiences in a child's life: adoption, making a mistake, sleepovers, etc. The books are labeled with the relevant age group: 0-4, 4-7, 7-10.
This is not really the kind of book that you can read once and then set aside. It is more useful as a reference tool, or as a book that you pick up and thumb through every now and then.
This is not really the kind of book that you can read once and then set aside. It is more useful as a reference tool, or as a book that you pick up and thumb through every now and then.
khoerner7's review against another edition
3.0
This book was ok but not helpful to me. It suggests books you want to read to your child at different ages. Where the book excels is explaining why it is important and how to read to your child. It also has lists of good suggestions for specific situations like adoption, bullying, etc. Good info but not what I needed now.
luann's review
3.0
I like her three levels of books: uphill books, level books, and downhill books. She says: "Downhill books appear "easy" but are actually critical for your kids in terms of building their reading abilities. They can read them quickly and the books are generally on topics of interest or comfort for your kids." I've come across so many teachers and even librarians who either refuse to let older students read picture books or they STRONGLY discourage it. I don't think older students should be reading picture books all the time, but I don't think they should be told it's wrong. I like that Allyn says they are "critical for ... building reading abilities." She also encourages reading aloud to kids at all three levels. She says, "Hearing books read aloud at different levels is helpful and important because it builds your children's fluency levels, stamina levels, and comprehension levels." I think we should worry a whole lot less about WHAT kids are reading and just encourage them to read, read, read. All reading is good!