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katinaroberts 's review for:
The Read-Aloud Handbook
by Jim Trelease
I think I have read parts of this book before, or at least it seemed like many of the things Trelease talks about are things that I have heard...That you should read to your children, and that you should limit their t.v. viewing time, etc...all things that our mothers or pediatricians have told us. What I found compelling were all of his statistics and studies about the short and long term benefits of reading out loud to your children. One of the chapters talks about how your child's "listening level" is higher than his/her "reading level" and how children can be read to from more difficult (sophisticated) books than they would be able to read on their own. He further explains how this will help their reading and learning for the rest of their life. Really, this is just one of many reasons Trealease uses to advocate reading out loud to your children. If you are like me, and you know you want to be a better parent but are short on motivation...this book is a great motivator.
I have always read picture books to my kids, but didn't really have the desire (am I allowed to admit this out loud?) to read chapter books, or short works of fiction to my kids before...mostly because I would rather read my own books to myself. :) I have to say though, after reading this book I am SO motivated to read more out loud to my kids. We started reading "Ramona the Pest" last night (a favorite childhood book of mine that I remember my mom reading out loud to me), and every single one of my children sat and listened even though there were hardly any pictures to look at.
One of my favorite anecdotal stories in the book is about a day care provider who read not only read books out loud to her day care children, but also tell her own life stories. She would say, "It happened like this..." instead of "once upon a time." I don't know why, but that really struck me. There is something really great about including your own personal and family history into read-aloud library. :)
The first half of the book reads like a professional journal article (only more accessible), and the last half of the book is a list of great read-aloud books. The list is not all-inclusive, but a really great start of good books to read to your children.
I would highly recommend this book.
I have always read picture books to my kids, but didn't really have the desire (am I allowed to admit this out loud?) to read chapter books, or short works of fiction to my kids before...mostly because I would rather read my own books to myself. :) I have to say though, after reading this book I am SO motivated to read more out loud to my kids. We started reading "Ramona the Pest" last night (a favorite childhood book of mine that I remember my mom reading out loud to me), and every single one of my children sat and listened even though there were hardly any pictures to look at.
One of my favorite anecdotal stories in the book is about a day care provider who read not only read books out loud to her day care children, but also tell her own life stories. She would say, "It happened like this..." instead of "once upon a time." I don't know why, but that really struck me. There is something really great about including your own personal and family history into read-aloud library. :)
The first half of the book reads like a professional journal article (only more accessible), and the last half of the book is a list of great read-aloud books. The list is not all-inclusive, but a really great start of good books to read to your children.
I would highly recommend this book.