Upon the recommendation of a dear friend of mine, I recently read The Read-Aloud Handbook. Apparently, it is standard reading fare for anyone involved in early childhood education. For me, it was one big validation of what I have intuitively known (and done) for years with my kiddos.
The statistics regarding reading aloud to our children are undeniable. Studies link reading to a variety of benefits not limited to academic success.
Jack perusing our ample picture book library.
Having said that, parents sometimes drop the habit of reading to their children once they learn to read on their own. Consequently, parents and children miss out on some key benefits of shared reading.
Personally, I continue reading to my older children (up to and including my almost-15-year-old) for the following reasons:
1. One-on-one time. I fail to find any activity that is as cheap and easy as carving out time to read aloud to a child. Each of my children gets one night a week to join me in my bed with a carefully-selected age-appropriate book. It sends a message that he/she matters.
2. Good modeling. What better way to demonstrate that reading is enjoyable than by doing it together? If parents choose to spend precious time reading with their children, they can rest assured that their children will eventually catch the bug.
3. Exposure to otherwise overlooked literature. I’m skeptical that with the plethora of new series of books that my kids would self-select classics such as Anne of Green Gables or Little Women. When mom(or dad) chooses the book, you can guarantee that your child will read something not previously on his/her radar.
4. Valuable life lessons for parent AND child. Some of my best parenting conversations were sparked by stories read in bed with my kids. Good literature has a way of highlighting universal human experiences and opening a conversation for how one might deal with them. These tender teaching moments shape and mold our children’s characters, as well as build relationships of trust between parent and child.
I can remember an experience in the past year while reading with my oldest that was particularly poignant to me. We encountered in our reading a mother who was tenderly teaching her daughter how to control her impulses to anger. The mother did so lovingly and without judgment, which was in sharp contrast to what I had done with this very daughter just one day earlier.
Reading this account choked me up a bit, and we both knew that I could have done better. I humbly asked for my daughter’s forgiveness and healed this breach in our relationship. Had we not been reading together, I dare say we would have missed an invaluable opportunity to share vulnerability, love and forgiveness.
Although I don’t profess to have read so extensively that I can give a comprehensive list of the best read-alouds, here are a few that we have particularly enjoyed as a family. My top criteria are quality of writing, exposure to classic themes, and, for practical reasons, chapter length (a single chapter can be read aloud in a half-hour or less).
I have read each of these with at least one of my daughters and they are listed in no particular order.
- The Chronicles of Narnia
- Anne of Green Gables (and the rest of the series)
- The Secret Garden
- Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
- Little Women
- The Giver
- Harry Potter series (the chapter rule does not apply here-these chapters are LONG)
- Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper
While reading these books, we’ve laughed together, cried together, and strengthened the mother-daughter bond immeasurably. Oh, how grateful I am for the power of good books!
For a broader list of great read-aloud books and/or extra motivation to read them with your children, check out The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease.
(Several of the above links are affiliate links, which means that if you click through and purchase any of the recommended products, I will, at no extra cost to you, receive a small commission).