The Read Aloud Handbook

I went and borrowed a copy of The Read-Aloud Handbook: Seventh Editionback in June because while he's retired, I knew he'd updated the book since I'd last read it and I wanted to see what he had to say about reading aloud. This last edition was published in 2013, but he had come into the modern age of the Internet and technology. I'd originally read his book as an undergraduate and purchased it as part of a number of shower gifts for people. Then for some reason I'd stopped.

What I've always liked about his premise is that it is a positive one. It always starts with the premise it isn't too late to start something with your kids. If you didn't start when they were babies, don't panic you aren't an evil parent, you can still work on it. He's also realistic, if you have a high school student you've never read to and the teen isn't interested it probably isn't a battle you want to fight.

He rights a balanced approach for parents and teachers. You will find advice throughout the book geared to both parents and teachers and he often explains how techniques can or can't be used across both areas. I specifically liked his discussion about getting primary teachers to read chapter books along with picture books to children. Equally, I found the discussion of SSR or Sustained Silent Reading at home and in school an important one. It is one he's refused to back down on regardless of how the times have changed since I first read his early book and I admire that about him.

I honestly don't remember the advice to Dad's in the earlier book I read, but in fairness it's been a long time and my copy is long gone to someone else who needed it. This I found to be an important chapter. He spoke kindly to Dads in a way that would encourage and empower them to get involved and become a part of their children's literacy process rather than trying to abuse or shame them into taking part. I think encouragement tends to yield longer term goals then shame. Some father's may not read or take his advice, but for those who want to do better but aren't sure how to get started, I thought he wrote a couple of supportive sections that could lead a father to understanding the importance of his role in helping his child to want to learn and to enjoy reading.

There are lots of book lists out there, free and in other paid formats both print and online. I've always thought his selection was a great way to encourage parents to read. My one disappointment is the original reader had more suggestions for the upper elementary student. I remember discovering Goodnight Mr. Tom after reading through the book the first time for a college assignment and needing to choose books I hadn't read for a project. The books in this last book don't seem to have quite the range of the older book I had.

Three Books I've Most Often Suggested or Given to Family and Friends Regarding Kids

I've been trying to collect my thoughts around the posts I've been making and the questions people ask me. As I learn more about blogging I've come to see this as a way to collect information that I've shared with people in a variety of formats in a contained manner. In this way I hope to be able to send the information as a a link, or perhaps just a specific entry to someone when I realize it answers the question I've rewritten again and again. Sometimes it justs creates a starting point for a conversations, as some of my financial posts have done for my husband and I. I've started this entry because there are in fact three books that I constantly post about and I've decided to collect them here so I can remember the titles without having to go search for them myself on Amazon. I actually have thought about bookmarking them as favorites on my wishlist so I can just go and click on them when I want to give the link to someone so they can research the title.

There are two books I most often buy for parents. The first I often give as a shower gift or a gift when the baby is born. It is a great resource for parents on reading to children. I've never met a parent that didn't know reading aloud to children was a good activity for their child and that they really needed to think about doing it but I have met parents who are intimidated by the process. They don't feel they read well aloud, they are nervous about "doing it right" and they still have those uncomfortable feelings that linger from childhood about reading in public.

One of the reasons I buy this book for so many people is that it addresses a multitude of issues with reading aloud from the nervous readers, to those who are truly bored with hearing the same story night after night and are begging for strategies to introduce new literature to their children, and those who want to know what books really are better read alouds than others. While some books are long cherished childhood favorites, some books truly do make better read alouds than others. Some books are meant to be shared and others are better when the child is ready to read them independently. This book has gone through several generations since I first read it as an undergraduate but it is still the one I order when I have a friend or family member expecting. I just haven't found a better replacement.



The second book, in fact is a series of two books by the same author on the same topic, geared toward two separate audiences, teachers and parents. One I've given to parents and the other to teachers. I can't tell you the number of times I've posted this to websites when parents ask for a book about disipline and children that works. I bought the teaching one the first year I was teaching when I ended up with five children who had major disipline problems. The special education teacher I was working with had no experience with behavior disorders, her background was very strong however, in learning disabilities. So I needed to become self taught and quickly as my lack of understanding and resources made the job extremely challenging. At the same time a family member was also struggling with a child who was very strong willed. When I found the teacher's version of the book I immediatly went on-line to find out if they had the parent's version and ordered a copy. It was a great book. Like the book above it has surfaced in several versions because people keep reading it. The advice hasn't gotten old.









If nothing else I think I've just saved myself time and effort from searching for the titles and I can now refer to my own blog when looking for them instead of hopping on the Internet and searching for them. For those who are concerned this is a random post to generate clicks, I would encourage you to read the books at the library first. See if in fact they are books that work for you and then purchase them. There are thousands of books on the market, free previews are always your best option for determining which books make it into your permanant library. I've certainly done my share for these authors by bringing them into people's homes.