The child said they thought I was their friend.They’re excited, but the process can be so hard that they lose interest.Teaching children to read and spell is challenging.Teach your child without making them cry.Don’t battle with your young child to teach them to read.Teach your child to read without tears.We know that great school libraries mean better test scores, so why is there rarely any mention of this?Ĭompeting phonics programs, some created by individuals with unclear credentials, advertised for instructing children as young as two and three, inadvertently reveal that children dislike these programs and could be learning to hate reading. Why should they care about learning sounds if they cannot access books and reading material? It tells children that reading isn’t a priority. It’s troubling to see the loss of school librarians and the closure of school libraries, especially in poor schools. Then setting them up for instruction with unproven online programs or direct instruction with manuals. Public schools are turning classrooms for young children into assessment centers, with classroom walls lined with phonics rules and sounds that hold no interest, emphasizing disabilities like dyslexia before children can understand why they should care about words. What’s alarming is the push for young children to read by drill and a focus on sounds and flashcards and the technicalities of reading before they understand the glory of books! I learned as a teacher that while phonics is essential to help children learn to read and to help those with reading disabilities, what drives children to improve, is continued practice reading what they find exciting and having access to books and material in their classes, homes, and school libraries. It’s never too late to read aloud with children and teens. I recommend Trelease’s book and his website to all who care about teaching children to read.

I taught reading to middle and high school students with learning disabilities for years, and my degrees and preparation are in this area. How do we help America’s children learn to love reading so they’ll want to read their whole lives and be good at it? The Read-Aloud Handbook has the answers.

In honor of the late Trelease, parent and award-winning artist, writer, and author, it’s important to point out that his well-documented research lives on encouraging reading aloud to children, even babies, to foster a lifelong love of reading.

Every new parent should get a copy of Jim Trelease’s The Read-Aloud Handbook.

The read aloud handbook