Take it From an Expert: Reading Aloud Costs Nothing But Time

Did you know that a seventh (and final) edition of Jim Trelease's The Read Aloud Handbook has just been published?  If you read my very first blog post, you know that this book helped me immensely as I ventured into the arena of libraries and reading aloud with my own children.  It was our treasure map to books, where some our first discoveries included My Father's Dragon,  Ira Sleeps Over, Kermit the Hermit, and The Stories Julian Tells.

source

"Mother Goose Stories" (Frederick Sands Brunner 1886-1954)

Three decades have passed since The Read Aloud Handbook was first published in 1982.  So who is Jim Trelease?  He's a dad (now a grandfather) and retired journalist, artist, and lecturer who is passionate about reading aloud to kids...

This is the edition I had, printed in 1985

True story: One afternoon, a few years after discovering Mr. Trelease's book (thanks to my mother-in-law, who was a first grade teacher at the time), I came across a magazine article that really frustrated me.  It was written by a mom who had basically given up reading to her son because he didn't like it!  I think she sarcastically mentioned some classics and how only girls like them.

I wrote a letter to the editor about how Jim Trelease's book had helped me.  My letter was published, and one afternoon I heard a voice starting to leave a message on our answering machine (we screened all our calls during our homeschooling years):  "Hello, Wendy.  This is Jim Trelease calling..."  

I picked up the phone immediately.  Jim's adult daughter had seen my letter in the magazine and had told him about it.  He was calling to thank me.  Of course I thanked him! (My kids still tease me about how long I left that message on our machine!) 

Here's an excerpt from the introduction to the seventh edition of this invaluable book:

In the thirty years since the first edition of this book, much has changed in the world, as well as in American education. And so, too, the book has evolved. 

Back in 1982, there was no Internet or email, no cell phones, DVD players, iTunes, iPods, iPads, Amazon, e-books, Wi-Fi, or Facebook. The closest thing to an "instant message" was a facial expression that exasperated mothers gave their children. "Texting" was something you did on a typewriter. The first CD player was just going on sale, Starbucks was just a coffee-bean shop in Seattle, and if you said "laptop" to people they'd have thought you were talking about some kind of TV-dinner tray...

Want more?  The Read Aloud Handbook, 7th Edition, is now available, with revised and updated chapters, and the ever-valuable "Treasury of Read-Alouds" (over 300 recommended books!) at the back of the book with nine categories of books and their descriptions, listed alphabetically by title.  There is also an author/illustrator index.

Chapter titles include:
Why Read Aloud?
Digital Learning: Good News and Bad News
Dad - What's the Score?
A Hyper Kid's Road to Reading

Can't wait?  Before you get this new edition from your bookstore or local library, you can peruse Jim's excellent website at no charge - here.  
Didn't we tell you? Reading aloud costs nothing but time!

Chewable Books for Teething Babies? You Choose.

Copyright by CartoonStock
(used with permission)

In my past post "How to Find the Best Books for Babies and Toddlers", I recommended lots of great board book titles to choose from because they have sturdy pages for little hands and mouths.

Well...when my grandson's first tooth appeared he was barely five months old!  We'd sit down to read his little board books with him, and suddenly all he wanted to do was chomp on them.  "Gumming" the books was one thing, but we witnessed first hand how all-out gnawing with sharp little teeth could eventually take its toll on even the sturdiest board books!

My daughter and I decided to go on a search for some soft cloth books,hoping to preserve our board books past the teething stage (and for later grandchildren, right??)

We were happy to discover lots of soft book choices for babies at our local bookstore -- many more than when my own children were little!  

Here are some benefits of soft books for young (teething) babies:  

Light-weight cloth books are easier for young babies to hold than board books.

They're chewable!

They're washable!

Pages are squishy and easy to turn.

Plastic versions are perfect for the bath.

The books are easy to stuff into a crowded diaper bag.

They make for a great game of hide-and-seek.

These days at almost eight months old (and working on tooth #4), my baby grandson seems to have pretty much gotten book chewing out of his system.  Since we let him chew on the soft books to his heart's content, he again loves sitting and listening while we read him board books.

He's also started holding his board books and turning the pages on his own - often using his feet!

Board books vs. soft books? Whatever you choose for your baby to chew, choose wisely...

Go here to read my post about what to look for in choosing the BEST books for babies and toddlers.  And click here for some of our personal favorites.

And follow these "Tips for Reading Aloud to Babies and Toddlers" - from Jim Trelease:

1. Your main objective is to teach your child to love the printed word. 
2. Pretend you’re having a party to introduce the world to your child and books are the guests you’re introducing. 
3. Attention spans are built over pages and pages, not overnight. 
4. Caress the child while reading. 
5. Point to objects on the page while reading.
6. The story becomes clearer with repeat readings.
7. Board books are meant to be handled and chewed on.
8. Make certain times ritually story times — bed time, bath time, potty time, nap time, or snack time.

"READING FOR JOY" - A GREAT RESOLUTION FOR THE NEW YEAR

A recent report from Ontario, Canada, published by the research group People for Education, found that fewer school age children actually enjoy reading.  Below are some of their findings...

     "Literacy – alongside writing and math – has been at the centre of Ontario’s educational agenda for more than a decade. And while Ontario students’ literacy scores have improved during that time, something unexpected has also happened: There has been a dramatic decline in the percentage of Ontario students who report that they “like to read.”
     While the increase in Ontario’s students’ reading scores is to be applauded, the decrease in their love of reading is worrying. It is possible that our focus on targets for test scores and on the “mechanics” of literacy have had an impact on students’ attitudes.
     Regardless of form, reading for the joy of it, for its capacity to broaden our horizons, use our imaginations, think creatively, understand ourselves and others better, and feel engaged as citizens in the world – reading for all those reasons must be a vital component of what we encourage in our schools." [You can read the whole report, with statistics, HERE]

What can help stop this worrying decline?  According to the study, educators need to
1- give kids access to school libraries and librarians, and
2- encourage parents to "read with their children for pleasure" at home.

This is where I insert one of my favorite resources - for read aloud books that kids will ENJOY:

You can also visit Jim Trelease's website: Jim Trelease on Reading. It's a helpful resource for parents,  teachers, and librarians.

DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF READING ALOUD TO CHILDREN

"Richer than I you can never be --

I had a Mother who read to me."

-Strickland Gillian

Whether you're a mother, father, aunt, uncle, grandmother, grandfather, teacher, or babysitter...please make reading aloud a priority for the children in your lives!  


15 Read Aloud "DON'Ts" to remember from Jim Trelease:

• Don’t read stories that you don’t enjoy yourself. Your dislike will show in the reading, and that defeats your purpose.
• Don’t continue reading a book once it is obvious that it was a poor choice. Admit the mistake and choose another. Make sure, however, that you’ve given the book a fair chance to get rolling; some, like Tuck Everlasting, start slower than others. (You can avoid the problem by prereading at least part of the book yourself.)
• If you are a teacher, don’t feel you have to tie every book to class work. (Don’t confine the broad spectrum of literature to the narrow limits of the curriculum.)
• Don’t overwhelm your listener. Consider the intellectual, social, and emotional level of your audience in making a read-aloud selection. Never read above a child’s emotional level.
• Don’t select a book that many of the children already have heard or seen on television. Once a novel’s plot is known, much of their interest is lost. You can, however, read a book and view the video afterward. That’s a good way for children to see how much more can be portrayed in print than on film.
• In choosing novels for reading aloud, avoid books that are heavy with dialogue; they are difficult reading aloud and listening. All those indented paragraphs and quotations make for easy silent reading. The reader sees the quotations marks and knows it is a new voice, a different person speaking—but the listener doesn’t. And if the writer fails to include a notation at the end of the dialogue, like “said Mrs. Murphy,” the audience has no idea who said what.
• Don’t be fooled by awards. Just because a book won an award doesn’t guarantee that it will make a good read-aloud. In most cases, a book award is given for the quality of the writing, not for its read-aloud qualities.
• Don’t start reading if you are not going to have enough time to do it justice. Having to stop after one or two pages only serves to frustrate, rather than stimulate, the child’s interest in reading.
• Don't be overimpressed by book awards. Most of the great read-alouds never won a Newbery or Caldecott medal.
• Don’t get too comfortable while reading. A reclining or slouching position is most apt to bring on drowsiness. A reclining position sends an immediate message to the heart: slow down. With less blood being pumped, less oxygen reaches the brain—thus drowsiness.
• Don’t be unnerved by questions during the reading, particularly from very young children in your own family. If the question is obviously not for the purpose of distracting or postponing bedtime, answer the question patiently. There is no time limit for reading a book, but there is a time limit on a child’s inquisitiveness. Foster that curiosity with patient answers—then resume your reading. Classroom questions, however, need to be held until the end. With twenty children all deciding to ask questions to impress the teacher, you might never reach the end of the book.
• Don’t impose interpretations of a story upon your audience. A story can be just plain enjoyable, no reason necessary, and still give you plenty to talk about. The highest literacy gains occur with children who have access to discussions following a story.
• Don’t confuse quantity with quality. Reading to your child for ten minutes, with your full attention and enthusiasm, may very well last longer in the child’s mind than two hours of solitary television viewing.
• Don’t use the book as a threat—“If you don’t pick up your room, no story tonight!” As soon as your child or class sees that you’ve turned the book into a weapon, they’ll change their attitude about books from positive to negative.
• Don’t try to compete with television. If you say, “Which do you want, a story or TV?” they will usually choose the latter. That is like saying to a nine-year-old, “Which do you want, vegetables or a donut?” Since you are the adult, you choose. “The television goes off at eight-thirty in this house. If you want a story before bed, that’s fine. If not, that’s fine, too. But no television after eight-thirty.” But don’t let books appear to be responsible for depriving the children of viewing time.

The information here is from a free brochure, available for downloading at:
www.trelease-on-reading.com/parent-reading-brochure.html

RAISING READERS

LAND OF ENCHANTMENT, by Norman Rockwell

"A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it."

~ Samuel Johnson

How do you raise a reader?
Here are some facts parents should know, from JIM TRELEASE, author of THE READ-ALOUD HANDBOOK...

1. READING is the most important subject in school. Why? Because a child needs reading in order to master most of the other subjects.
2. ACROSS the world, children who read the most, read the best.
3. WE humans are pleasure-seekers, doing things over and over if we like it.
4. READ aloud to your children, even as infants. Initially, the sound of your voice is a beacon of calmness, conditioning the child to associate you and the book with security.
5. LISTENING comprehension comes before reading comprehension. You must hear a word before you can say it or read and write it.
6. CHILDREN usually read on one level and listen on a higher level.
7. THE top winter Olympians come from states where they have the most ice and snow. And reading research shows that children who come from homes with the most print—books, magazines, and newspapers—have the highest reading scores. They also use the library more than those with lower scores.
8. THERE is a strong connection between over-viewing of TV by children and under-achieving in school. Simply put: those who watch the most know the least.

POETRY: "SERIOUS PLAY"

"Play is what we want to do.  Work is what we have to do...poetry is both of those things.  Robert Frost, in fact, defined poetry as 'serious play'.  Poetry is the liveliest use of language, and nobody knows more instinctively how to take delight in that playfulness than children..." (Academy of American Poets - poets.org)


The ancient Greek word for poetry (poesis) is translated "to create".  Like me, maybe you haven't really considered the definition and origin of poetry since that last literature class you took in college.  I found a comprehensive, yet brief and interesting explanation of "WHAT IS POETRY" here.


Poetry, with its rhythm and rhyme, is perfect for reading aloud, and is very easy for children to memorize. It does not always have to rhyme, but it is always about expression and emotion.  Parents and teachers need to search for fun, thoughtful, and creative poems that will set children on the road to appreciating this literary art.  (If you're interested in poetry for babies and toddlers, you can read my earlier post about Mother Goose Rhymes).


There are classic poets, such as Edward Lear, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jane Taylor, A.A. Milne, and Christina Rossetti, whose long-cherished works will help paint wonderful pictures on the canvas of your child's imagination...  

WHO HAS SEEN THE WIND? by Christina Rossetti

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling
The wind is passing thro'.

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads
The wind is passing by.

We can also introduce our kids to modern poets, including Jack Prelutsky, Shel Silverstein, and Tony Mitton, to name a few.  Jim Trelease comments, from his READ ALOUD HANDBOOK:  

One of poetry's strengths is its brevity. A poem is not a novel or a short story, yet it can be very revealing in its smallness--like one of those see-through Easter eggs. A poem should add up to something, a slice of life. One expert put it this way: "Unless a poem says something to a child, tells him a story, titillates his ego, strikes up a happy recollection, bumps his funny bone--in other words, delights him--he will not be attracted to poetry regardless of the language it uses."

Click here to see and read the Lulu.Poetry list of Greatest Children's Poems Ever Written.

And go to Classic Children's Poems to download free poetry for parents and teachers.

ANTHOLOGIES for ages 4 and up:
THE RANDOM HOUSE BOOK OF POETRY FOR CHILDREN, compiled by Jack Prelutsky.  Illustrations by Arnold Lobel.
TALKING LIKE THE RAIN, compiled by X.J. Kennedy and Dorothy M. Kennedy.  Illustrations by Jane Dyer.

ELOISE WILKIN'S POEMS TO READ TO THE VERY YOUNG, compiled and illustrated by Eloise Wilkin.

FEELING LOST AT THE LOCAL LIBRARY

I'll never forget my first overwhelming visit to our local library, with two preschoolers and a baby in tow: trying to maneuver our stroller though the seemingly hundreds of aisles of bookshelves while racking my tired Mommy Brain about where to begin. Let's see, I remember something called the Dewey Decimal System...

My mind wandered as I tried to visualize a book I had loved as a child - was it about a cute house? I spied a small sign: "books arranged by author". Oh no! Now who wrote that book? Was it a woman or a man? I suddenly found myself wondering if I'd eaten a good breakfast this morning - I was having major Brain Fog. I needed help and didn't know where to start!

Since all three kids were with me and it was almost lunchtime, it was impossible to have a nice long conversation with the librarian. And this happened back in the 1980's, so I couldn't just go home and google "good children's books". The next day I called my mother-in-law, who was a first grade teacher. She suggested THE READ ALOUD HANDBOOK, by Jim Trelease*. Mr. Trelease expounds the many benefits of reading aloud to children and his extensive list of recommended read alouds goes from picture books to novels. After pouring over the contents, I finally felt ready to explore and conquer the children's section of the library, armed with names of authors and hundreds of titles!

Our family's journey into the world of read aloud books had begun...
oh, and the author (and illustrator!) of The Little House book was Viginia Lee Burton. She also wrote Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Katy and the Big Snow, and Maybelle the Cable Car, to name a few.

*JIM TRELEASE HAS A GREAT WEBSITE.  MANY OF HIS HELPFUL TIPS CAN BE FOUND IN THESE FREE DOWNLOADABLE BROCHURES.  HERE ARE THREE OF MY FAVORITES:

30 "DO'S" TO REMEMBER WHEN READING ALOUD

QUESTIONS PARENTS ALWAYS ASK ABOUT READING ALOUD
READ ALOUD PICTURE BOOKS:  INFANTS TO TODDLERS