Books are main characters in the Schenaker house. Every night --
and at any time of the day on weekends -- parents Debra and Michael curl
up with their three children to lose themselves in the smooth pages.
They sip hot chocolate, perhaps passing the book around, the adults and
older children each reading a few pages aloud. Together they have read
books that are worlds apart in style and content: Rudyard Kipling
novels, Winnie--the-Pooh stories, C.S. Lewis fantasies, Jack London
adventures.
"Books fire the imagination, unlike watching the screen, where it's someone else's imagination" Debra says. "When you're reading a book, you have to fill in all the blanks, and I think it does more for your synapses to fill in the blanks."
There is power in the written word, reading specialists and educators agree. Reading presents children with a wealth of ideas and experiences and can model expressive, elegant writing. It is a cornerstone of school success, a skill and passion worth nurturing and supervising.
In fact, reading ability accounts for 90 percent of success in content areas, says Reid Lyon, a National Institutes of Health research psychologist and an adviser to President George W. Bush on early-childhood development and education. After grades three or four, Lyon says, "children's vocabulary is much more reliant on written interchange rather than oral interchange, and most of your vocabulary on college tests comes from reading."
In addition, children who don't read "not only fail in school,
but also drop out in substantially higher rates and tend to get in
trouble with the law" Lyon adds. That dropout rate, emphasized in a 1993
National Longitudinal Transition Study conducted by SRI International
in a granted program, was 38 percent for children with a learning
disability but only 25 percent for children who experienced no
compromise in reading skills.
"If, by the end of high school, children are not reading, then they are at much greater risk of not completing high school or of [not] graduating than their non-reading-disabled peers," says Sheldon Horowitz, director of professional services at the National Center for Learning Disabilities, a nonprofit education organization headquartered in New York.
Beyond the tangible benefits, reading is a profound source of pleasure that can be shared between parents and children, book advocates say. "Kids value what they see their parents valuing when they're little;' says Lee Galda, a University of Minnesota professor who specializes in children's literature and language arts. "If you really want to make sure your children value reading, you have to spend time on it. Read with them, not just to them. You're choosing to turn off the TV, not talking on the phone. You have a book, they have a book."
Reading takes priority in the home of Andy and Laurel Vogelsang of Arlington, Va. The couple both loved books in their childhoods. Now, she says, they are determined to share the pleasure and power of reading with their two boys, Bennett, 6, and Will, 5.
"I can legitimately say I love to read, so that, in turn, gets them excited about it" says Laurel, the development director for the Capital Children's Museum in Washington. "Reading is an escape, really; it's information-gathering:'
Every night -- as well as frequently during the daylight hours -- Laurel sits down with the boys to read. "It's a staunch routine" she says. "It's pajamas, brush teeth and books." They have tackled chapter books, including some of her childhood favorites, such as E.B. White's The Trumpet of the Swan and Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach.
The family also has cultivated several contemporary interests: Rosemary Wells, for example, who writes the Max and Ruby series, and Janell Cannon, author of Stellatuna. In addition, the couple have introduced their boys to the children's page of the newspaper. They also frequent their local library, although Laurel says the children's response is lukewarm.
"We don't go as much as I'd like, and I can't say we go there and the kids are enthralled" she says. "They will gravitate toward Pokemon and Star Wars books."
Many times, not-so-cerebral rifles can serve as bread crumbs that lead children to better books. "We're so demanding of children in a very well-intentioned way, but books should be fun" says Kathleen Odean, a contributing editor for children's literature for Book magazine and author of Great Books About Things Kids Love. "A lot of kids will end up reading good and not-so-good ones. In the same way, adults don't just sit around reading classics. A lot of kids are attracted to lighter reading. Also, a lot of kids, like adults, choose books by the cover, so there's a big visual element."
Nevertheless, better books have more meaning and help children look at the world in a slightly new way, says Odean, who was a children's librarian for 17 years and was chairwoman of the 2001 award committee for the Newbery Medal, presented annually by the American Library Association to the author of the year's most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Better books more skill fully showcase vocabulary and use grammar more elegantly, which children absorb.
For older children, Odean says, "I'm not dead-set against the series books -- the Goosebumps or Baby-Sitters Club -- because a lot of times those are the books that get kids to like books. The goal for parents and educators is to not let the kids stop there."
Clearly, many parents make a practice of steering their children toward books remembered fondly from their own childhoods. "Yes, parents choose books they enjoyed themselves" Odean says. "Parents can convey the feeling to the child, so it has a high chance of being a book the child would like. I also think it's very difficult to choose books today because there are thousands of books coming out. It's easier to choose books you're familiar with."
Publishers are answering the call, she says, bringing back into print books that baby boomers knew, loved and continue to seek: The Moffats, for example, Gone Away Lake and Magic or Not, to name a few. "If you love something, you want to share it with your children -- you want your kids to experience the same thing" says Galda, the University of Minnesota professor. "But I think if you're stuck there and that's all you do, that's too bad, because each year thousands of books are published, and children's literature is so rich these days."
For help in choosing quality literature, Galda suggests parents turn to children's librarians or teachers who are knowledgeable about children's books. In addition, she says, independent children's bookstores can be wonderful resources.
"The people who work there know the books -- they're not just hired as sales clerks" she says. "If you have one near you, you will get more help than you ever knew you needed. And get to know authors and illustrators that your children like. Make sure you offer a wide range of books -- nonfiction, story and poetry -- and watch to see what they choose and spend their time on"
If you have the money, Galda adds, "having a child own a book that he can call his own is a wonderful gift. It's a way of showing children that you value books because you spent your money on them. You just don't know when a book is going to be a prize possession. By all means go to the library, but having a book that you've loved is a wonderful thing for a kid."
Most important, say these educators and specialists, parents must make a conscious effort to ensure that reading is a family activity. "We have to grasp the moments because of everyone's busy schedules" says Sophie Kowzun, program supervisor for reading and language arts for Montgomery County public schools in Maryland. "You've got to maximize on everything."
She suggests that parents always have a bag of books at the ready. Pull one out at the pediatrician's office, the restaurant. Keep a pile in the car. Just keep reading.
"If children are not practicing reading outside of school, then how are they going to get better?" Kowzun asks rhetorically. "You have to practice -- just like the piano -- in order to get really good at it."
"How can you get your child to like reading? Read out loud," says Kathleen Odean, an editor at Book magazine and a former longtime children's librarian. By reading aloud, parents "can fool a kid into listening and wanting to find out what happens next. It's a great device."
Another strong reason to read aloud is that it models fluent reading and speaking. "Kids hear how it should sound," says Lee Galda, a professor of children's literature at the University of Minnesota. Vocabularies are enhanced when children hear words with which they are not familiar. "Kids learn to define words according to the context in which they're used," Galda says. "Kids come up on new words, and teachers teach them to look at the context and make a guess. They're not meeting the word in isolation on white paper."
Parents can help children learn new words by pausing during a story, Galda says. "While reading, ask your child, `Do you know what that means?' Say, `What a neat word -- exasperated -- she wasn't just impatient, she was exasperated.' Then use it in a context that helps the child understand what the word is."
Having a conversation about books -- not a quiz -- tells parents a lot about their child's interests and learning level. In such conversations, the parent conveys that he or she cares about the character and is engaged in the story, Galda adds.
Another advantage of reading aloud: Children get to hear book language, says Sophie Kowzun, program supervisor for reading and language arts at Montgomery County public schools in Maryland. "It's different than the language we use to have a conversation," she says.
Kowzun recommends that parents initiate a discussion with their child after turning the last page of a book: "`What did you like best? What picture?' It's important to know if the child understood what has just been shared. Find out if the child grasped it or was just confused. If so, you can go back and reread it. In addition, you can always stop during the reading and have the child predict what is going to happen next."
Sheer pleasure of reading aloud is a win-win situation that unites caregivers and children, says Denny Taylor, a professor of literacy studies at Hofstra University in New York City and author of Family Literacy: Young Children Learning to Read and Write. "Books bring families together. Sharing a story is like a cuddly blanket that you wrap around yourself and your child."
"Books fire the imagination, unlike watching the screen, where it's someone else's imagination" Debra says. "When you're reading a book, you have to fill in all the blanks, and I think it does more for your synapses to fill in the blanks."
There is power in the written word, reading specialists and educators agree. Reading presents children with a wealth of ideas and experiences and can model expressive, elegant writing. It is a cornerstone of school success, a skill and passion worth nurturing and supervising.
In fact, reading ability accounts for 90 percent of success in content areas, says Reid Lyon, a National Institutes of Health research psychologist and an adviser to President George W. Bush on early-childhood development and education. After grades three or four, Lyon says, "children's vocabulary is much more reliant on written interchange rather than oral interchange, and most of your vocabulary on college tests comes from reading."
"If, by the end of high school, children are not reading, then they are at much greater risk of not completing high school or of [not] graduating than their non-reading-disabled peers," says Sheldon Horowitz, director of professional services at the National Center for Learning Disabilities, a nonprofit education organization headquartered in New York.
Beyond the tangible benefits, reading is a profound source of pleasure that can be shared between parents and children, book advocates say. "Kids value what they see their parents valuing when they're little;' says Lee Galda, a University of Minnesota professor who specializes in children's literature and language arts. "If you really want to make sure your children value reading, you have to spend time on it. Read with them, not just to them. You're choosing to turn off the TV, not talking on the phone. You have a book, they have a book."
Reading takes priority in the home of Andy and Laurel Vogelsang of Arlington, Va. The couple both loved books in their childhoods. Now, she says, they are determined to share the pleasure and power of reading with their two boys, Bennett, 6, and Will, 5.
"I can legitimately say I love to read, so that, in turn, gets them excited about it" says Laurel, the development director for the Capital Children's Museum in Washington. "Reading is an escape, really; it's information-gathering:'
Every night -- as well as frequently during the daylight hours -- Laurel sits down with the boys to read. "It's a staunch routine" she says. "It's pajamas, brush teeth and books." They have tackled chapter books, including some of her childhood favorites, such as E.B. White's The Trumpet of the Swan and Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach.
The family also has cultivated several contemporary interests: Rosemary Wells, for example, who writes the Max and Ruby series, and Janell Cannon, author of Stellatuna. In addition, the couple have introduced their boys to the children's page of the newspaper. They also frequent their local library, although Laurel says the children's response is lukewarm.
"We don't go as much as I'd like, and I can't say we go there and the kids are enthralled" she says. "They will gravitate toward Pokemon and Star Wars books."
Many times, not-so-cerebral rifles can serve as bread crumbs that lead children to better books. "We're so demanding of children in a very well-intentioned way, but books should be fun" says Kathleen Odean, a contributing editor for children's literature for Book magazine and author of Great Books About Things Kids Love. "A lot of kids will end up reading good and not-so-good ones. In the same way, adults don't just sit around reading classics. A lot of kids are attracted to lighter reading. Also, a lot of kids, like adults, choose books by the cover, so there's a big visual element."
Nevertheless, better books have more meaning and help children look at the world in a slightly new way, says Odean, who was a children's librarian for 17 years and was chairwoman of the 2001 award committee for the Newbery Medal, presented annually by the American Library Association to the author of the year's most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Better books more skill fully showcase vocabulary and use grammar more elegantly, which children absorb.
For older children, Odean says, "I'm not dead-set against the series books -- the Goosebumps or Baby-Sitters Club -- because a lot of times those are the books that get kids to like books. The goal for parents and educators is to not let the kids stop there."
Clearly, many parents make a practice of steering their children toward books remembered fondly from their own childhoods. "Yes, parents choose books they enjoyed themselves" Odean says. "Parents can convey the feeling to the child, so it has a high chance of being a book the child would like. I also think it's very difficult to choose books today because there are thousands of books coming out. It's easier to choose books you're familiar with."
Publishers are answering the call, she says, bringing back into print books that baby boomers knew, loved and continue to seek: The Moffats, for example, Gone Away Lake and Magic or Not, to name a few. "If you love something, you want to share it with your children -- you want your kids to experience the same thing" says Galda, the University of Minnesota professor. "But I think if you're stuck there and that's all you do, that's too bad, because each year thousands of books are published, and children's literature is so rich these days."
For help in choosing quality literature, Galda suggests parents turn to children's librarians or teachers who are knowledgeable about children's books. In addition, she says, independent children's bookstores can be wonderful resources.
"The people who work there know the books -- they're not just hired as sales clerks" she says. "If you have one near you, you will get more help than you ever knew you needed. And get to know authors and illustrators that your children like. Make sure you offer a wide range of books -- nonfiction, story and poetry -- and watch to see what they choose and spend their time on"
If you have the money, Galda adds, "having a child own a book that he can call his own is a wonderful gift. It's a way of showing children that you value books because you spent your money on them. You just don't know when a book is going to be a prize possession. By all means go to the library, but having a book that you've loved is a wonderful thing for a kid."
Most important, say these educators and specialists, parents must make a conscious effort to ensure that reading is a family activity. "We have to grasp the moments because of everyone's busy schedules" says Sophie Kowzun, program supervisor for reading and language arts for Montgomery County public schools in Maryland. "You've got to maximize on everything."
She suggests that parents always have a bag of books at the ready. Pull one out at the pediatrician's office, the restaurant. Keep a pile in the car. Just keep reading.
"If children are not practicing reading outside of school, then how are they going to get better?" Kowzun asks rhetorically. "You have to practice -- just like the piano -- in order to get really good at it."
"How can you get your child to like reading? Read out loud," says Kathleen Odean, an editor at Book magazine and a former longtime children's librarian. By reading aloud, parents "can fool a kid into listening and wanting to find out what happens next. It's a great device."
Another strong reason to read aloud is that it models fluent reading and speaking. "Kids hear how it should sound," says Lee Galda, a professor of children's literature at the University of Minnesota. Vocabularies are enhanced when children hear words with which they are not familiar. "Kids learn to define words according to the context in which they're used," Galda says. "Kids come up on new words, and teachers teach them to look at the context and make a guess. They're not meeting the word in isolation on white paper."
Parents can help children learn new words by pausing during a story, Galda says. "While reading, ask your child, `Do you know what that means?' Say, `What a neat word -- exasperated -- she wasn't just impatient, she was exasperated.' Then use it in a context that helps the child understand what the word is."
Having a conversation about books -- not a quiz -- tells parents a lot about their child's interests and learning level. In such conversations, the parent conveys that he or she cares about the character and is engaged in the story, Galda adds.
Another advantage of reading aloud: Children get to hear book language, says Sophie Kowzun, program supervisor for reading and language arts at Montgomery County public schools in Maryland. "It's different than the language we use to have a conversation," she says.
Kowzun recommends that parents initiate a discussion with their child after turning the last page of a book: "`What did you like best? What picture?' It's important to know if the child understood what has just been shared. Find out if the child grasped it or was just confused. If so, you can go back and reread it. In addition, you can always stop during the reading and have the child predict what is going to happen next."
Sheer pleasure of reading aloud is a win-win situation that unites caregivers and children, says Denny Taylor, a professor of literacy studies at Hofstra University in New York City and author of Family Literacy: Young Children Learning to Read and Write. "Books bring families together. Sharing a story is like a cuddly blanket that you wrap around yourself and your child."
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