Why are books and reading so vitally important anyway?
Why should you read aloud every day to your child?
Here's what the experts have to say...
The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease (Sixth Edition)
"As you read to a child, you're pouring into the child's ears (and brain) all the sounds, syllables, endings and blendings that will make up the words he or she will someday be asked to read and understand. And through stories you are filling in the background knowledge necessary to understand things that aren't in his neighborhood -- like war or whales or locomotives."
"Reading aloud builds higher reading scores because listening comprehension comes before reading comprehension."
"According to experts, it is a reasonable assertion that reading and listening skills begin to converge at about eighth grade. Until then, kids usually listen on a higher level than that on which they read. Therefore, children can hear and understand stories that are more complicated and more interesting than anything they could read on their own..."
"Indeed, research shows us that listening to stories stimulates the imagination significantly more than television for film."
"Reading is a skill -- and the more you use it, the better you get at it."
*There is an updated eighth edition available.
"As you read to a child, you're pouring into the child's ears (and brain) all the sounds, syllables, endings and blendings that will make up the words he or she will someday be asked to read and understand. And through stories you are filling in the background knowledge necessary to understand things that aren't in his neighborhood -- like war or whales or locomotives."
"Reading aloud builds higher reading scores because listening comprehension comes before reading comprehension."
"According to experts, it is a reasonable assertion that reading and listening skills begin to converge at about eighth grade. Until then, kids usually listen on a higher level than that on which they read. Therefore, children can hear and understand stories that are more complicated and more interesting than anything they could read on their own..."
"Indeed, research shows us that listening to stories stimulates the imagination significantly more than television for film."
"Reading is a skill -- and the more you use it, the better you get at it."
*There is an updated eighth edition available.
Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever by Mem Fox
"Children who are read to early and regularly quickly acquire the skill of listening and the desire to hear stories. They understand the immense pleasures awaiting for them in books and develop the ability to concentrate and relax."
"Expressive reading is reading that is remembered. And so it is with our children. They'll read with exactly the same expressive inflections as we do, which is why we should make an effort to read aloud with vitality and lost of vocal variation."
"Enthusiasm from all quarters has to bubble around a book or children will think reading is dull."
"Too many homes have no books in them. How can books become attractive if there aren't any lying around to flick through or to become absorbed in?" "Books and stories have to be in the house - that's the first requirement."
"Children who are read to early and regularly quickly acquire the skill of listening and the desire to hear stories. They understand the immense pleasures awaiting for them in books and develop the ability to concentrate and relax."
"Expressive reading is reading that is remembered. And so it is with our children. They'll read with exactly the same expressive inflections as we do, which is why we should make an effort to read aloud with vitality and lost of vocal variation."
"Enthusiasm from all quarters has to bubble around a book or children will think reading is dull."
"Too many homes have no books in them. How can books become attractive if there aren't any lying around to flick through or to become absorbed in?" "Books and stories have to be in the house - that's the first requirement."
Raising Bookworms: Getting Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment by Emma Hamilton
"But research shows that by far the greatest influences on a child's reading abilities and interest are those at home. Teachers may teach your child how to read; you will be the one to teach your child to love reading."
"Remember that it isn't until around eighth grade that young people's reading abilities and listening skills converge - meaning that until that point, children can understand a great deal more of what is read to them than they are able to read to themselves, both in terms of vocabulary and ideas." "Decreased interest in reading can be directly correlated to a decrease in read-aloud time."
"But research shows that by far the greatest influences on a child's reading abilities and interest are those at home. Teachers may teach your child how to read; you will be the one to teach your child to love reading."
"Remember that it isn't until around eighth grade that young people's reading abilities and listening skills converge - meaning that until that point, children can understand a great deal more of what is read to them than they are able to read to themselves, both in terms of vocabulary and ideas." "Decreased interest in reading can be directly correlated to a decrease in read-aloud time."
A Family of Readers by Roger Sutton & Martha V. Parravano (editors of The Horn Book Magazine)
"Every time an adult reads a book with a baby, she is passing on an essential building block of literacy: the page turn. The mechanics of reading -- the fact that in order to read a book one has to turn its pages -- is a basic skill, but it has to be learned."
"The true test of a picture book is, of course, the child. Children's choices are personal, just as adult's are. It all boils down to finding books that speak directly to your child -- and then getting more of them."
"The acquisition of reading skill and fluency is not, and should not, be ever-forward: not every book should be more difficult than the one that's read before."
"Talk with your kids about their reading, but do it not as parent to child but as reader to reader. (That means you talk about your reading, too.) Go to the library together: allowing your children to see you lost in pursuit of your own reading pleasure is one of the best ways to send them in pursuit of their own."
"Every time an adult reads a book with a baby, she is passing on an essential building block of literacy: the page turn. The mechanics of reading -- the fact that in order to read a book one has to turn its pages -- is a basic skill, but it has to be learned."
"The true test of a picture book is, of course, the child. Children's choices are personal, just as adult's are. It all boils down to finding books that speak directly to your child -- and then getting more of them."
"The acquisition of reading skill and fluency is not, and should not, be ever-forward: not every book should be more difficult than the one that's read before."
"Talk with your kids about their reading, but do it not as parent to child but as reader to reader. (That means you talk about your reading, too.) Go to the library together: allowing your children to see you lost in pursuit of your own reading pleasure is one of the best ways to send them in pursuit of their own."
Ending the Reading Wars: Reading Acquisition from Novice to Expert - Psychological Science in the Public Interest
"These reviews have revealed a strong scientific consensus around the importance of phonics instruction in the initial stages of learning to read."
"In addition, reading comprehension clearly entails more than the identification of individual words: Children are not literate if they cannot understand text."
"These reviews have revealed a strong scientific consensus around the importance of phonics instruction in the initial stages of learning to read."
"In addition, reading comprehension clearly entails more than the identification of individual words: Children are not literate if they cannot understand text."
Reading with Children Starting in Infancy Gives Lasting Literacy Boost - Science Daily
"New research at the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting shows that reading books with a child beginning in early infancy can boost vocabulary and reading skills four years later, before the start of elementary school."
Reading to Young Children - Child Trends
"Young children who are read to regularly by family members experience multiple benefits. These include boosts in their literacy development, as well as social-emotional gains, and increased likelihood of later overall school success."
Reading is fundamental -- to the family's happiness - CNN
"The conversations children have around themes and ideas in books help them make sense of the world. And it's a joyful way to connect and be close with your kid. While reading in bed, my daughters and I lie next to each other, sometimes leaning into one other. We laugh and are surprised together and have deep conversations sparked by the novels. It's as high a quality as quality time gets.
And because reading aloud is pleasurable, parents and teachers reinforce a child's habit of reading because they create a positive association with it. It's one of the most virtuous circles of parenting and teaching."
Literacy Builds Life Skills as Well as Language Skills - The New York Times
"The love of reading does begin in the parents’ arms, and it is a sign of love to read to your baby. And because it’s a sign of love, because it links books and written language to the parental affection and attention that babies are built to crave, and to elicit, it does help children acquire a range of early literacy skills. And continued attention by parents to reading and writing activities as children grow up and go to school seems to help them learn how to study and learn."
Toddlers engage more with print books than tablets: Study - ABC News
"Parents had the most engagement with their toddlers in storytelling when they read print books. They also were able to get through more of the story in the five minutes if it was read aloud from a print book. Toddlers, too, made more statements with print books, and non-verbal signs of bonding were greater when print books were read."
Importance of Reading Aloud - Reach Out & Read
-It turns out that reading aloud, a time-honored tradition in so many families, is actually a wonderful way of helping children to reach their full potential.
Storytime: A Classic Library Service Boosts Literacy and More, Studies Show - School Library Journal
"Multiple reports and studies emphasize the need for young children to be surrounded with books, to hear and learn big and interesting words, and to interact with language through play. In addition to those vital elements, storytimes in libraries and other learning opportunities in the community are now viewed as a critical component of young children’s preparation to enter school. They are also vehicles for giving parents guidance on how to encourage early literacy skills at home."
"According to an April 2017 Brookings Institution report, children’s engagement in learning before pre-K can make a big difference in how they progress during the pre-K year.
“Children enter pre-K classrooms with widely varying prior experiences,” according to the report. “The science is clear: early experiences in the home, in other care settings, and in communities are built into the developing brain and body with lifelong effects on learning, adaptive behavior, and health. These experiences provide either a sturdy or fragile foundation upon which young children’s pre-K teachers construct the next stage on their educational progressions.”"
Three Myths About "Reading Levels": and why you shouldn't fall for them - Psychology Today
"Reading levels should never be used to limit the texts children may access or try to read. Neither reading tests nor readability measures are anywhere near exact enough to predict which individual child will best be able to read or benefit from which individual book or magazine or online text. There is nothing wrong with letting a child try to read a text, and then abandon it if it is too hard, or too simplistic, or simply boring—after all, adults do this all the time. Limiting reading selections based on reading levels too often results in children having too few texts available to them that they want to read, and thus discourages them from reading altogether.
Passion, curiosity, and knowledge are at least as important as reading levels in helping children find good things to read. This is especially true because we know that motivation and knowledge can increase effective reading levels, while, conversely, readers can enjoy and gain a lot from texts that interest them, even if they are “too easy.”"
Today's education debate ignores a child's starting line: Voices - USA Today
-The failure to read aloud to America's children from birth is a public health crisis in the making.
"As many as 85% of American parents are failing to give their children a basic building block that is as key to early brain development as tummy time is to physical development, and which has been recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics since 2014: Reading aloud daily right from birth."
"It might seem counterintuitive that a newborn, who often seems like a lump of clay, can absorb in any meaningful way what you’re doing or saying when you read aloud to her. But the science around early brain development and the benefits of reading aloud is abundant and widely accepted. For example, some research has found that the earlier a child is read to, the more likely he is to have the skills for preschool and be interested in reading. And a recent brain imaging study at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center found that a stronger home reading environment in the critical years of development before kindergarten helps develop regions of the brain important to extracting meaning.
By their very design, books make enhancing brain development easy. When you read to a child, you’re bundling together a set of brain-boosting activities: hearing a wide range of vocabulary and complex syntax, bonding and interacting with a parent, hearing stories, having a routine, developing empathy. And while you might be able to let a child chew on, tug, or shake some baby toys on his own, you can’t hand a newborn or older infant a book to read by himself. You, the parent or caring grown-up, must read, interact and snuggle. Books unlock parenting strategies, language that families don’t use every day and, for older babies, pre-literacy skills, such as turning pages and learning to enjoy reading."
The Music of Reading Aloud: Reading expressively matters in the development of reading - Psychology Today
"Further, these changes in reading prosody are related to children’s ability to comprehend what they read, quite possibly for the reasons that we described earlier. That is, children who read aloud with good expression tend to comprehend what they are reading better."
"New research at the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting shows that reading books with a child beginning in early infancy can boost vocabulary and reading skills four years later, before the start of elementary school."
Reading to Young Children - Child Trends
"Young children who are read to regularly by family members experience multiple benefits. These include boosts in their literacy development, as well as social-emotional gains, and increased likelihood of later overall school success."
Reading is fundamental -- to the family's happiness - CNN
"The conversations children have around themes and ideas in books help them make sense of the world. And it's a joyful way to connect and be close with your kid. While reading in bed, my daughters and I lie next to each other, sometimes leaning into one other. We laugh and are surprised together and have deep conversations sparked by the novels. It's as high a quality as quality time gets.
And because reading aloud is pleasurable, parents and teachers reinforce a child's habit of reading because they create a positive association with it. It's one of the most virtuous circles of parenting and teaching."
Literacy Builds Life Skills as Well as Language Skills - The New York Times
"The love of reading does begin in the parents’ arms, and it is a sign of love to read to your baby. And because it’s a sign of love, because it links books and written language to the parental affection and attention that babies are built to crave, and to elicit, it does help children acquire a range of early literacy skills. And continued attention by parents to reading and writing activities as children grow up and go to school seems to help them learn how to study and learn."
Toddlers engage more with print books than tablets: Study - ABC News
"Parents had the most engagement with their toddlers in storytelling when they read print books. They also were able to get through more of the story in the five minutes if it was read aloud from a print book. Toddlers, too, made more statements with print books, and non-verbal signs of bonding were greater when print books were read."
Importance of Reading Aloud - Reach Out & Read
-It turns out that reading aloud, a time-honored tradition in so many families, is actually a wonderful way of helping children to reach their full potential.
Storytime: A Classic Library Service Boosts Literacy and More, Studies Show - School Library Journal
"Multiple reports and studies emphasize the need for young children to be surrounded with books, to hear and learn big and interesting words, and to interact with language through play. In addition to those vital elements, storytimes in libraries and other learning opportunities in the community are now viewed as a critical component of young children’s preparation to enter school. They are also vehicles for giving parents guidance on how to encourage early literacy skills at home."
"According to an April 2017 Brookings Institution report, children’s engagement in learning before pre-K can make a big difference in how they progress during the pre-K year.
“Children enter pre-K classrooms with widely varying prior experiences,” according to the report. “The science is clear: early experiences in the home, in other care settings, and in communities are built into the developing brain and body with lifelong effects on learning, adaptive behavior, and health. These experiences provide either a sturdy or fragile foundation upon which young children’s pre-K teachers construct the next stage on their educational progressions.”"
Three Myths About "Reading Levels": and why you shouldn't fall for them - Psychology Today
"Reading levels should never be used to limit the texts children may access or try to read. Neither reading tests nor readability measures are anywhere near exact enough to predict which individual child will best be able to read or benefit from which individual book or magazine or online text. There is nothing wrong with letting a child try to read a text, and then abandon it if it is too hard, or too simplistic, or simply boring—after all, adults do this all the time. Limiting reading selections based on reading levels too often results in children having too few texts available to them that they want to read, and thus discourages them from reading altogether.
Passion, curiosity, and knowledge are at least as important as reading levels in helping children find good things to read. This is especially true because we know that motivation and knowledge can increase effective reading levels, while, conversely, readers can enjoy and gain a lot from texts that interest them, even if they are “too easy.”"
Today's education debate ignores a child's starting line: Voices - USA Today
-The failure to read aloud to America's children from birth is a public health crisis in the making.
"As many as 85% of American parents are failing to give their children a basic building block that is as key to early brain development as tummy time is to physical development, and which has been recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics since 2014: Reading aloud daily right from birth."
"It might seem counterintuitive that a newborn, who often seems like a lump of clay, can absorb in any meaningful way what you’re doing or saying when you read aloud to her. But the science around early brain development and the benefits of reading aloud is abundant and widely accepted. For example, some research has found that the earlier a child is read to, the more likely he is to have the skills for preschool and be interested in reading. And a recent brain imaging study at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center found that a stronger home reading environment in the critical years of development before kindergarten helps develop regions of the brain important to extracting meaning.
By their very design, books make enhancing brain development easy. When you read to a child, you’re bundling together a set of brain-boosting activities: hearing a wide range of vocabulary and complex syntax, bonding and interacting with a parent, hearing stories, having a routine, developing empathy. And while you might be able to let a child chew on, tug, or shake some baby toys on his own, you can’t hand a newborn or older infant a book to read by himself. You, the parent or caring grown-up, must read, interact and snuggle. Books unlock parenting strategies, language that families don’t use every day and, for older babies, pre-literacy skills, such as turning pages and learning to enjoy reading."
The Music of Reading Aloud: Reading expressively matters in the development of reading - Psychology Today
"Further, these changes in reading prosody are related to children’s ability to comprehend what they read, quite possibly for the reasons that we described earlier. That is, children who read aloud with good expression tend to comprehend what they are reading better."
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