Where do I  find great books to read to my child? The library is a great place to look and librarians can help a lot!  Book stores are also great if you want to spend money for a book.  If you want to get inexpensive books, garage sales are another option.  I found many books for my classroom at garage and rummage sales.

However, what are some great books? Book Dads is a great website where you can find reviews of many children’s books.     What Should I Read Aloud by Nancy Anderson is another great resource to find a book that you might want to borrow from a library or read aloud.

I would invite  readers to add their comments about  places to find books or the names of books that you would recommend.

Happy reading!

Here are a some examples of books that might interest kids in middle school and beyond.

Read to your middle schooler? Read to your teenager?

Well, even though not too many parents do this, I think that it still has benefits.

• Reading to your teenager or almost teenager can be fun and it brings the family together in an age where young adults want to do their own thing and not be with their parents.
• If a child struggles with reading subject matter (science, history etc.), reading the content aloud to your child may be a way for him or her to learn something that they would miss if they read it alone.
• I know a parent who regularly read to her teenager sons.  Because it was something that she had always done when they were younger, it was a natural to keep it going.  Her sons would pick the book and they would enjoy discussing it along the way.
• Many middle school and high school teachers read to their classes.  At a time when listening skills seem to be diminishing, reading to teenagers may actually come in handy and remind them of the importance of hearing and remembering the spoken word.

Do you remember being read to as a teenager?  Do you read to your middle schooler?  I would love to hear your story of how it worked or didn’t work for you and your family.

As your child learns to read in first through third grade, it is still important to read to them on a daily basis.

Two great classics to read to your school age child

Children still love to be read to by a parent.The books now become more fun because there is a plot that is interesting and characters that your child can relate to.You can read books to your child that are above his reading level, but not above his level of understanding. By reading to your child and talking about what you are reading with him, you can help your child develop understanding of what he hears which will carry over to your child being better able to comprehend what he reads on his own.

One way to help your child comprehend what he hears and reads is by helping him make connections of what he reads to his own life. While you are reading, stop and say, “I remember when something like that happened to me.”  “Has that ever happened to you?”  Then talk about that with your child.  Or you can say, “This reminds me of another book that I read.”  When you stop and discuss while you are reading, this teaches your child that it is okay to  stop and reflect on what you are reading.  After all, that is what we want our children to learn:  that reading makes us think and when we stop and think, what we read becomes more a part of our lives.  We as adults do this all the time, but do not always realize that we are doing it.  Our children need to know that that is okay to do too.

Another way to help your child stay interested in what is being read and therefore, comprehend better is to stop and make predictions while you are reading. Reading a mystery or adventure book is a good way to teach this skill to your child and have lots of fun too!

My hope for you would be that you and your children would enjoy reading together and that by reading together you will make memories for your child and create a life long reader and learner in the process.

This is one of the books that we used when our children were little.

My previous post was on reading to your preschooler, but because it is such an important topic, I want to add some more.  I want to write about the importance or reading books that rhyme.

Reading books that rhyme are not only fun, but teach phonemic awareness.  Phonemic awareness is being able to hear and distinguish sounds.  When a child can hear sounds and distinguish the different sounds from each other, they are on their way to learning to read down the road.  My experience in teaching has been that the students who understood rhyming words and were able to hear that  mat and hat rhyme ,but that mat and met do not, were better readers and spellers.

The best time to start to teach rhyming words is before they even go to school and before formal reading instruction begins.  The best time to start is right on mom and dad’ s lap reading books that rhyme.

Many Dr. Seuss books and Mother Goose nursery rhymes are excellent books with which to start.

If you are interested in learning more about phonemic awareness and why it is important to your child, here is a good link:   http://www.begintoread.com/articles/phonemic-awareness.html

I can remember that reading to preschoolers can be fun and also frustrating.  Let me explain.

My then pre-schooler son Justin reads with his Grandma Thorp

Reading to my own children when they were three and four years old was enjoyable.  They were now able to sit longer.  The books that we read together were getting a bit longer and had simple plots which made it more interesting for me and them.

Ask them questions about what they read

Now that preschoolers can talk and answer questions, it is a good time to start asking them questions about what you read.  Simple where, when and who questions work great. However, asking them why questions will increase their higher level thinking skills and you might be surprised at what they will come up with for an answer.

It is also a great time to  introduce them to the idea of making predictions. Ask them what they think may happen next.  Then say, “Let’s read to find out.” This helps them learn that there is a purpose to keep reading, we want to find out if our prediction is true.  Just make sure that they understand that it is okay to make wrong predictions.  The point is not whether their prediction is right or wrong, but that they are thinking about what may happen.  (As adults we do this all the time while we watch movies or read books.)

Two predictable books that are among my favorites are “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” and “Polar Bear, Polar Bear”. Your child will love guessing what the next animal will be and once they have heard the book several  times, they will enjoy telling you what the next animal will be.

However, sometimes reading to preschoolers may be frustrating too.

• Your preschooler may like the book you picked because he just may not be interested in that story.  If that is the case, let your child pick the books.  It is more important that your preschooler enjoys reading.
• Your preschooler may not want to sit long enough to have a story read or may rather be on the floor with a toy car than on your lap.  Well, that’s okay too.  Read shorter books or read right before bed when they are more mellow.  Some children can listen to stories very well  as they are sitting on the floor playing with a toy car. In fact, if your child may even be able to listen better if he is doing something with his hands.

Because today is the anniversary of the birth of Dr. Seuss, I just wanted to share what an excellent choice his books are for  preschoolers. Here are three of my favorites:

As always, I invite your comments or questions.  Happy reading!

Our children looked at this picture word book so much that the binding came off!

Your toddler is probably on the go most of the day, exploring his/her environment with constant energy.  Finding a moment to read with your toddler may be more difficult, but still very important. Toddlers are learning new words very quickly.  According to the Child Development Institute, a toddler goes from knowing 5-20 words at 18 months to 150-300 words at 24 months.  Since they are learning new words so fast, it only makes sense that reading to them is key to this development.

Tips for reading to your toddler

Here are some key ideas to keep in mind when reading to your toddler.

• Before nap and bedtime is a great time to read to your toddler because it helps them settle down for their sleep.
• Books that have simple pictures of animals and every day objects are great for developing new vocab at this age.
• Let your child decide how long to stay on one page. She may find some pages more interesting than others.
• Don’t just read the words on the pages, but talk about the pictures.  Ask your child simple questions like, “Where is the dog’s bone?”  “Can you see the sun in the sky?”
• Point to the words on the page as you read so that he understands that the words represent pictures and ideas.
• Be enthusiastic about reading!  Your toddler will learn that reading is fun.

If you have time make your own picture books.  Staples pieces of paper together and glue simple picture onto the pages.  Write a few words on each page.  Or buy an old photo album and put family pictures in it with a few words under each picture.

I would love to hear your comments or stories that you might have about reading to your toddler.

This is from our home bookshelf.

Today I am going to write about the importance of reading to infants.

Babies are fun to read to.  For newborn babies it does not make any difference what you read, they will listen.  Read your favorite magazine, a recipe, the newspaper or a novel.  The important part is that they hear your voice.  They hear words being spoken, They hear different inflections and sound patterns. They will feel a bond to you as you hold them close and read to them, they will feel loved and secure as they hear your voice and experience your closeness.

These are the books for your infants

As your baby grows (4-6 months) and is able to focus on the pictures of a book, vinyl and cloth  books are great.  The pictures are colorful and simple with a few words on a page. As you read these books your baby will make a connection between words and the objects in the pictures. Many of these books have simple stories that may rhyming words so that your baby will continue to learn sounds.

When your baby is able to sit alone  and hold books, board books are also great.  As you read the books to your baby he sees how pages are turned and will try to turn pages on his own.  As you read to him/her he sees that reading is important and part of his everyday life.  His language will improve as he starts to imitate the sounds that he hears you make. He/she will  start to recognize pictures and when you ask, “Where is the ball?”, he will point to the picture of the ball.

Our infant grandson gets books for Christmas.

How often should you read to your baby?  Everyday!  It does not have to be long periods at a time.  Five minutes several times a day. Make it a routine, everyday before nap or before bed. Other times during the day work great too, pick a time when your baby is the happiest, after being fed or after waking up from a nap.

What books should I pick?  Alphabet books, books with simple and colorful pictures, books that have rhyming words are all great.

Reading to your baby is a great activity to do with your baby that will reap benefits both now and down the road-your child will be his/her way to becoming a reader.

I highly recommend this book for parents, teachers.

In the next few posts I will continue to discuss the importance to reading to your child.  Each post will be aimed at a different age group from infants to teenagers.  I will attempt to answer to the following questions:

• What are the benefits of reading to my child at this age?
• When and where do I read to my child?
• How often should I be reading to my child?
• What if my child seems uninterested?
• What books are appropriate for my child at this age?

If you have any additional questions that you would like me to answer, please leave a comment.

Next post: reading to infants.

Kids' books can be a real treasure.

Have you ever run out of good books to read to your children?  Looking for some different books that come highly recommended?  I have a great website for you.

Many adults know the importance of reading to children.

• For babies it helps them hear words and the connection of words to the objects in the pictures.
• When adults read with expression, it helps children to do the same when they read.
• Children learn listening comprehension which precedes reading comprehension.
• When done one on one,  it can strengthen the bond between adult and child as they sit together on the couch  or on a chair.
• Reading aloud can spark curiosity in the child about the many things in the world for them to learn.

I remember sitting on my Grandma Frank’s lap as she read nursery rhymes to me.  My husband and I both read to our children and now our grandson is being read to by his parents.  It is cycle that I hope keeps going.

I came across this website this morning in which Anita Silvey picks  children’s book to review for the day.  It is a great site because she not only recommends a book, but she also gives you information about the author and some background behind the book.  Check out the link and maybe you will see some old favorites and some new books that you have not heard of.

Book-A-Day Almanac.

I treasure any comments that you may have about this topic.

It has been a while since I wrote a post for my blog.   Almost three years since I retired from teaching third

Visiting with my grandson with the webcam.

grade, but I still have been involved in education as a tutor  and  a supervisor of student teachers.  Add to that, I am now a grandma.

So my interest in education is still strong.  It has moved away from solely third grade stuff to the  education of refugee students, student teachers and of course how babies learn.  There are some threads that tie all these together and I will try to show those in my future posts.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts.