The Read-Aloud Handbook: Sixth Edition
by Jim Trelease
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Book Reviews of The Read-Aloud Handbook: Sixth Edition
Book Review: A guide educating young children
Summary: 5 Stars
I think that the current title is not general enough for this book. Perhaps it should be called "Parent: Take education into your own hands" or "Don't depend on school to make up for 5 years (0-5) of sitting in front of the TV" or "How to spend quality time with your kids," or just plainly "Turn of the TV and Read Aloud to your Kids."
The main premise of the book is that reading aloud to young children is the single most important thing you can do to help your child have a brighter [academic] future. These days parents put so much money into trivial things like TV, Baby Einstein DVDs, a million kid activities (like soccer) flash cards, and trying to force really young children to sit in day long in preschool programs (with the hopes future academic advantages).
Trelease tells us what every parent should know: the most important thing is to spend quality time with kids. Read to them and tell them stories. He spends much time explaining the perils of early age TV viewing (especially when TV is over-prescribed, 2 hours + per day).
He also warns against trying to create an early reader. Children are better off (according to the book) spending the early years (0-5) listening to books, rather than trying to read boring "See Spot Run. See Jane Run" type books (I was appalled to see that these books are still sold: they turn people away from reading).
Finally, Trelease gives a really nice, quality reading list (with reviews) of great read aloud books. I particularly found his lists on chapter books, for 4 year olds and pre-kindergartners, to be a helpful beginning to read aloud chapter books.
He indirectly points to a another problem: forcing preschoolers to adhere to structured learning routines at the expense of building creativity. In other words, it is better to let a child play, listen to stories, and explore; rather than sit in a classroom setting designed for children much older. For more on these ideas, see another good book that has a similar philosophy: "Einstein Never Used Flash Cards: How Our Children Really Learn-- And Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less" by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Diane Eyer, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff.
It is worthwhile to read "The Read Aloud Handbook" if you are a parent, grandparent, or teacher.
Book Review: Attention Parents and Educators (Yes, Even Educational Administration!)
Summary: 5 Stars
Just like some things can only be learned through experience, some books cannot be summarized. They must be READ. Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook is one such book. There is no short-cut.
This book is chock-full of "Wake up, America: We're killing our readers!" statistics and anecdotes. Parents and Educators of all levels need to read and, in the words of Kevin from Freak The Mighty (Scholastic Signature): "Be Amazed."
The gist is, nothing in education is more important than the goal of creating lifelong readers. Besides the duh-factor of not being able to do anything else in academics if one is not truly literate, for the good of society, for the good of our posterity, for our own personal gain, nothing replaces lifelong reading. And yet, in Chapter 1, Trelease demonstrates to the readers that "By twelfth grade, only 19 percent read anything for pleasure daily." In Trelease's own words: "Any business that kept losing that much of its customer base would be in bankruptcy."
I am a parent. I am a teacher. From both standpoints, I can tell you that Trelease is absolutely, completely and totally correct. Education must be built on the foundation of true literacy, and Trelease's argument is that true literacy cannot be attained without voluntary reading.
Therefore, once again, it is the moral and societal obligation of education to create lifelong readers.
I am only touching on one part of this significant work. Besides being monumentally important for parents and educators, it's actually a fairly interesting read. Trelease throws in the perfect balance of anecdotes and statistics to keep the reader entranced. And while the bibliography for recommended read-alouds is in now way comprehensive, it is certainly a great place to start.
This book is on my Top 10 list. If you're a parent, read it, and then ask the principal of your child's school to read it. Our future as a society might well depend upon it.
Book Review: An Extensive, Popular Reading List and Handbook
Summary: 3 Stars
Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook, first published in 1982, has sold over one million copies and gone through six editions. Trelease traveled extensively for the next 25 years, speaking to American educators and parents about how to promote a love of reading among children. He emphasizes reading aloud with parents and other adults, and his arguments for reading are focused on preserving culture, as well as benefiting children educationally and emotionally.
This book consists of ten chapters, the first nine of which a case for reading aloud to children, discussing when to begin reading, and treat other topics related to childhood literacy. Chapter three is especially helpful, describing the stages of reading aloud to children. Trelease follows children them through their maturation process, suggesting specific reading strategies and kinds of books for different stages of maturity. The tenth chapter is an annotated list of recommended readings.
Because of his secular approach, Trelease's primary criteria for selecting books are suitability for reading aloud, writing quality, and appeal to children. His emphasis is not on moral formation, and his moral criteria seem representative of our mainstream culture, especially the increasingly liberal educational culture. Still, this collection is highly respected, and contains many classic books. I have used it primarily to see what books might be popular with children in more secular circles.
The sixth edition is extensive, with over 1000 titles, more than in previous editions. Rather annoyingly, many titles are only suggested in topical unannotated lists such as "Fairy Tale Parodies" and "Sports Stories." I do recommend the final edition because it is more up-to-date and thorough than previous ones.
Jim Trelease has a web site (http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/) listing many of his educational resources, excerpts from his book, as well as a page for reviews of books that were published since the last edition of the book.
Book Review: The most important book I've purchased in a long time!
Summary: 5 Stars
There is probably nothing I can say about this book that already hasn't been said before, but I feel it deserves repeating nonetheless. This book was an impulse purchase, and well worth the chance I took on it. Not knowing anything about the book or the author beforehand, but intrigued by the topic of his writing, I bought and read the book and have been excited about it ever since. The author stresses the importance of reading aloud to children of all ages. The book is divided roughly in half with the first half being his argument for reading aloud to children and the second half of the book being a list of approximately 1,000 great "read aloud" books. He explains what makes a great read-aloud book and what makes a lousy one (something I had never thought of before!) and cross references these titles with others (similar ones) so that the reader, interested in one particular title, can find others that are similar. What really impressed me, though, is the author's research. This book is not merely the author's opinion of how important it is to read aloud to children, but he backs up his facts with some extensive footnotes, proving his point as more than just his opinion. The author touches on the subjects of television, video games, computer software, etc., and he also talks about the "series" books that seem to come out weekly (Nancy Drew comes to mind here.) Basically, the author goes into every aspect of every different type of book and backs it all up with proof.
I can't possibly recommend this book enough! It has made a real difference in my efforts to build my daughter's home library, and it has given me the encouragement I need to continue down a path that I honestly believed I was travelling alone.
Book Review: One Thousand Stories Before School Begins
Summary: 4 Stars
Research suggests that a child, in order to be ready to learn to read, needs to hear about a thousand stories before they start school. When I first heard that number, it just sounded so high. Did I need to take some time off from work to stay home to help hit the thousand? But the more I thought about it, my kids were well on their way to a thousand plus. When you add up all those little Dr. Suess and P.D. Eastman books, you can plow through a dozen of those on any given day. Here's the sad fact, though. As a middle school teacher working with struggling readers, I see kids that are twelve and thirteen that are nowhere near the thousand to this day. And it shows. Simply put, one of the most important activities you can do with your kid is read. Let them hear the language modeled well. Let them start to notice all the similarities between stories. I remember laughing when my own daughter, at four, told me that she didn't need to see "The Little Mermaid" because it's probably the same as "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty" and "Snow White". Let your child pick up on rhyming patterns and begin making their own as well.
This book would be worth purchasing for the long list of read-aloud suggestions in the back, but Trelease's own reasons for turning off the TV are dead-on. So is his discussion on OWNING books as apposed to only going to the library. The library is a must, but ownerships means value to kids. Think about it. You own DVD's. You own video games. You must value those things. You need to own books to show their value. And, you can add this one to your list of books you own and items you value.
Chris Bowen
Author of, "Our Kids: Building Relationships in the Classroom"