aazak127's review against another edition
3.0
Great ideas but a little redundant. Would have liked to see more statistics and less self-promotion.
samantha_reads_more's review against another edition
4.0
Oh read aloud books, you light a fire in my soul everytime.
I've always been a reader, it was fostered in my family from a very early age. We read aloud as I got older too, I vividly remember my dad reading Where the Red Fern Grows to my family as we all sat in the living room together. It's one of those things you always remember.
I've always read to my children, and I've always encouraged them to read what they like. What I found most interesting in this book was the talk about "poor" readers in the classroom, and that rather than forcing them to figure out reading (which sucks) to instead read to them. It's something I'll keep in mind when I volunteer at the grade school again this year. I also liked the don't force kids to stop their flow and figure out a word. Just tell them, and they'll eventually recognize it again.
I will say that the ending felt a little sexist. It was reading to boys vs girls. And I'm not sure, I've only had girls, and they've always enjoyed a good story. My brother even that I read to as a kiddo liked a good story. But as I've never tried to raise a boy, I'm not sure about the difficulty in reading aloud to them. But the book did just kinda make it seem like boys are naturally less inclined to read, and I disagree. But again, not raising boys here.
I really did appreciate the parts about how it's important for dads to read to the kiddos too. I made my husband read to the girls a lot when they were younger. Reading together really is a great bonding experience, and one that dads should enjoy too. As annoying as it may be that a dad reading can mean more than a mom reading, if it keeps my kids in books, it's an annoyance I'll accept.
I've always been a reader, it was fostered in my family from a very early age. We read aloud as I got older too, I vividly remember my dad reading Where the Red Fern Grows to my family as we all sat in the living room together. It's one of those things you always remember.
I've always read to my children, and I've always encouraged them to read what they like. What I found most interesting in this book was the talk about "poor" readers in the classroom, and that rather than forcing them to figure out reading (which sucks) to instead read to them. It's something I'll keep in mind when I volunteer at the grade school again this year. I also liked the don't force kids to stop their flow and figure out a word. Just tell them, and they'll eventually recognize it again.
I will say that the ending felt a little sexist. It was reading to boys vs girls. And I'm not sure, I've only had girls, and they've always enjoyed a good story. My brother even that I read to as a kiddo liked a good story. But as I've never tried to raise a boy, I'm not sure about the difficulty in reading aloud to them. But the book did just kinda make it seem like boys are naturally less inclined to read, and I disagree. But again, not raising boys here.
I really did appreciate the parts about how it's important for dads to read to the kiddos too. I made my husband read to the girls a lot when they were younger. Reading together really is a great bonding experience, and one that dads should enjoy too. As annoying as it may be that a dad reading can mean more than a mom reading, if it keeps my kids in books, it's an annoyance I'll accept.
nicolet2018's review against another edition
4.0
I volunteer as part of a reading programme that reads a selected book to children once a week and we do related activities with them. When I got this book as a gift, I was skeptical. Could reading aloud really make such a big impact on children? The volunteers and I struggled just to get the attention of the children most of them and we felt discouraged when we did not see much results.
It was interesting to recognize the author's name as I have heard one of her stories being told before. As volunteers, most of us are not trained to work with children, basically we have been learning as we went along.
As I read the chapters, I connected with the words so much that I had to book mark certain sections. I reflected on my experiences as a child, what my parents did and did not do and how this shaped me now. I was really surprised that it is recommended to read to children as early as possible. Even when they are in their mother's belly. The same way parents play music for the child in the mom's stomach.
I did like the chapter on Reading and Boys. I agreed that most mothers are the ones who read to their children and it would grestly benefit for fathers to join in. Not just to erase the notion that reading could be seen as a female activity but provides a chance to interact.
What also resonated with me was when the author said reading is more than just being able to read aloud. I always felt like I was not doing the children a favour when I read out to them when they were unsure how to carry on when we sat down with a book. I feared it would make them reliant and thus cause them to give up too easily.
I like that the book is easy to digest, does not sound preachy or naggy and gives examples and situations so I could put the words into context. I realize alot of what I thought was what people experienced and I did make errors. I am very eager to share this with the rest of the volunteers.
However when I tried to share this with others, I realize not everyone will see it as I do or feel as enthusiastic. That is okay and they do have a point. The book is written from one perspective. But I am still happy I was given this to read and I would love to share this with others.
It was interesting to recognize the author's name as I have heard one of her stories being told before. As volunteers, most of us are not trained to work with children, basically we have been learning as we went along.
As I read the chapters, I connected with the words so much that I had to book mark certain sections. I reflected on my experiences as a child, what my parents did and did not do and how this shaped me now. I was really surprised that it is recommended to read to children as early as possible. Even when they are in their mother's belly. The same way parents play music for the child in the mom's stomach.
I did like the chapter on Reading and Boys. I agreed that most mothers are the ones who read to their children and it would grestly benefit for fathers to join in. Not just to erase the notion that reading could be seen as a female activity but provides a chance to interact.
What also resonated with me was when the author said reading is more than just being able to read aloud. I always felt like I was not doing the children a favour when I read out to them when they were unsure how to carry on when we sat down with a book. I feared it would make them reliant and thus cause them to give up too easily.
I like that the book is easy to digest, does not sound preachy or naggy and gives examples and situations so I could put the words into context. I realize alot of what I thought was what people experienced and I did make errors. I am very eager to share this with the rest of the volunteers.
However when I tried to share this with others, I realize not everyone will see it as I do or feel as enthusiastic. That is okay and they do have a point. The book is written from one perspective. But I am still happy I was given this to read and I would love to share this with others.
beccah85's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't think I could love any parenting book as much as I love The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease but this book is definitely going to rank right next to it! This is less of a "what to read" instructional and more of a "here's why reading aloud is so valuable." I especially appreciated her ideas on how to help young readers progress with fluency. So refreshing. I highly recommend this for parents, grandparents & teachers!!!
sbehbehani59a0f's review against another edition
3.0
Not many scientific facts but many anecdotes and stories to convince me nonetheless! A quick read- I would recommend this.
randiroo's review
3.0
I hoped this would be a little more applicable to teaching (and it probably is for elementary teachers), but definitely a parenting-centric book. I'll have to read this again when we decide to start our own family! Definitely recommended.
eademolat's review
5.0
The only thing that would have made this book better was references to more research. I completely love how she explains how children learn to read and how adults can support them.
debnanceatreaderbuzz's review
5.0
Mem Fox keeps things simple and that’s exactly what I needed after listening to experts harangue the schools and teachers last week at the International Reading Association conference. Mem Fox says it all comes down to reading aloud. Do that with your children and your students three times a day and it will happen; children will be ready to learn to read. One thousand read-alouds and students will read.
charleyroxy's review
4.0
A little gem of a book. Not much new in its pages for me as I love reading aloud to my class and will do so with my children. I did enjoy the little anecdotes though about the different children and the ideas for some new books to discover.