The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease

I’ve read a few books and articles on reading to children and many of them have referred to or suggested The Read-Aloud Handbook: Sixth Edition by Jim Trelease. The author is very passionate about the message to read-aloud to children. Throughout the book, he gives his message with some studies as well many anecdotes.

Of course, if you are reading a blog devoted to children’s books, you probably already know the importance of reading. We started reading to my first daughter while she was in the womb, mostly because I wanted my daughter to hear her father’s voice a little more often. I read to her from birth. She is now 24 months old and loves being read to. So I definitely agree with his message to start as soon as possible. One thing that I didn’t really think about was when I was going to quit reading aloud to my children. He thinks you should continue reading aloud to them even as teenagers. To be honest, the idea sounds really intriguing to me. I will see how that works out in eleven years or so.

The book not only encourages parents to read aloud to their children but teachers as well. The name of my blog is Thank You, Mrs. Jones. It is dedicated to my fourth grade teacher who made a big impact on me. One of the things that I remember vividly from that year was the books she read aloud. Specifically, Where the Red Fern Grows, The Hundred Dresses, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

I think that the most valuable section of the book is at the end where he lists many books that are great for reading aloud. He mentions that some books such as those with too much dialogue or those with uncomfortable subjects are not really the best suited for read-aloud. While reading through the suggested books, I was brought back to many childhood books that I hadn’t thought about in years (by the way, all of the books that I mentioned that Mrs. Jones read to her class were listed). I was smiling just reading the descriptions.

I read many pictures books to my children and I treasure those moments. I am really looking forward to the coming years when we will be able to share novels together.

You can visit Jim Trelease’s website: www.trelease-on-reading.com He lists many of his book reviews there as well as other topics related to reading.