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Summary: You'll finish reading, grab a kid, and read to them!
Review: That's how potent the message is in this book. It has inspired me to join my public library friends program. Not only does the book compel you to want to read aloud to your children, it also offers a great reading list. More than just a simple list of books, this list provides suggestions for age range, a description of its topic, and even some slight comments on how to edit for read aloud. Also shifts a lot of the "what is wrong with our public schools" question right back in the laps of those who can do something to fix it--caregivers (be they parents, grandparents, or babysitters!!)
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Summary: If you're a parent, you must read this book!
Review: The best thing you can give your child is the love of reading. Being a good reader will not only help your child in school, but your child will have a lifetime's worth of learning nad pleasure ahead of him! My own children are in their late teens and early 20's and I was fortunate enough to hear Jim Trelease speak at a public library many years ago, probably soon after the first edition of The Read Aloud Handbook came out. We started reading to our oldest child when she was 4 months old and as the others came along, they were read to from birth since we were reading to the older one(s). This book is incredibly inspiring - Jim gives so many great suggestions on what books to read to your kids, and how to interest kids who may be reluctant to enter into reading themselves. Just the list of books alone would be worth the price of this book! I know that we wouldn't have known about some of the books we read to our kids without Jim's book. Jim Trelease also covers the issue of TELEVISION in his book. He gives very convincing reasons for turning OFF the TV and reading instead. I had already made the decision for our family that we weren't going to allow the children to watch endless hours of TV (even though all they watched was Sesame Street and Mister Rogers!), but Jim's book confirmed my decision. My kids all enjoy reading - and my husband and I have always been readers. For me, the book was just confirming what I already knew - and it gave me so many good titles to find at the library! I remember reading "Stone Fox" to our girls and what a great experience that book was. Public libraries are a wonderful resource, but they don't take the place of having a child OWN some books of his own. Tell family members to buy your children books for Christmas and birthday gifts. When you can, buy hardcover as they will last a lot longer. Look up some of the books Trelease recommends here on Amazon - you can read reviews and make some good choices. Children today are TOO BUSY - most kids have more activities than anyone could possibly handle and still have time to stop and just be! 10-15 years ago, kids would play a sport, or play an instrument, take dance lessons, or be in Scouts. They might do two of these things. But I know kids who do them ALL, plus more things I haven't mentioned. And one of the things that gets cut out with all the busy-ness is READING. Meals together as a family fall by the wayside and kids and parents are so exhausted from running around with all the activities that they don't read books and the parents are too tired to read to them. If you have young children, please consider fighting this pressure to sign your child up for every available activity. Take time to enjoy your family - the kids grow up much too fast! And give your kids the gift of reading - buy a copy of this marvelous book, consult it often, and you'll enjoy a richness of family life that your kids will remember forever!
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Summary: The one book every parent needs
Review: The Read-Aloud Handbook came out in the eighties, at a time when reading to children had pretty much fallen by the wayside, replaced by television. It offered parents not only good reasons to read to children (developing language skills and imaginations, encouraging children to want to read to themselves), and lots of hints on how to start and keep up daily reading, but also a well-chosen list of books for kids of different ages and interests. As far as I'm concerned, the luckiest break I got as a parent was that this book came out the year my first child was born. I bought my first copy then, I've bought subsequent editions of the book, and I've referred to it constantly, more than any other parenting book I have (Not even good old Dr. Spock comes close). I've recommended it to many friends, and they all come away raving about it as much as I do. By now, I think most parents realize that reading to kids is important. It's just not always easy to do. People are busy, it's hard to find the time. And then, even if you do manage to find the time, kids may not like the books you pick. That picture book you remember fondly from childhood turns out to be a little stodgy and old-fashioned, and your child just won't sit still for it. Or you pick up the latest hyped children's book, and your child loves it, but you feel like you are going to go insane if you have to read this syrupy garbage one more time. Despite the best intentions, it's easy to let the habit fall by the wayside. That's why every parent needs Jim Trelease's book. The first half of the book focuses on why you should read to kids and how to do it. Trelease is such an inspiring writer, that even when your best intentions flag, he will convince you to keep going. But the heart and soul of the book is the list of read-aloud books. It's hard to explain what a great job Trelease has done with this. Not only are his choices almost universally excellent, but he gives enough of a description of each book so that a parent can really tell whether or not the book will be right for his child. Even better, Trelease follows each review with a list of other books that a child who liked that particular book will probably also enjoy. With Trelease's help, there's no reason for any child to be without a nice big pile of books from the library ready to enjoy. I've looked at several other books that claim to help parents in reading to their children and offer similar lists, but none are a tenth as good. The descriptions are often skimpy and the book choices are poor (usually focusing on books that are more appealing to adults than children). Lots of them recommend books that are long out of print. I've rarely found any of of Trelease's recommendations unavailable. One final note: This is not just a book for new parents, and parents of young children. Trelease also discusses how to get older children turned on to reading. And his list of chapter books to read to children is even better than his picture book list. If it's hard for parents to find good picture books to read to their children, it's even harder to find good novels to read to older children, because it takes so long to preview one yourself. I read to my oldest child until long after he became a proficient reader himself, but I cannot imagine how I could have found such good books to read without Jim Trelease's help. So whether you're a new parent, or the parent of an older child who isn't interested in reading yet, you need this book.
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