If you’re visiting our site of book reviews, then it’s safe to assume you already understand the value of reading. If you’re also a parent, then I’m willing to bet you also place an emphasis on reading in your family. But, the love of reading alone doesn’t always translate into understanding how the process starts for young children. As a preschool teacher, I get to experience this incredible process with children every day, and I love to suggest books aimed at parents that help to inform and educate about early literacy development. I’m adding Susan Marx and Barbara Kasok’s Help Me Get Ready to Read: The Practical Guide for Reading Aloud to Children During their First Five Years to my list of recommendations.
While all parents may not have an educational background in early childhood development, the material presented in this slim book is straightforward and relatively simple, yet truly powerful information for parents to have. A basic introduction to early literacy concepts and skills opens the book, and I was impressed with the authors’ ability to make the information wholly accessible and meaningfully related. In addition, an emphasis is placed on the importance of the connections made between children and their caregivers when they experience reading together. The social-emotional connection cannot be stressed strongly enough, in my opinion, and the authors also merge this idea with the developmental processes that are strengthened through experiences.
Not only is there solid information conveyed here, for the book also contains a large collection of suggested children’s titles, along with specific activities and ideas for extended reading experiences to go along with many well-known and beloved kids’ books. If you’re interested in learning even more on the topic, the authors provide a list of suggested readings, many written by the most respected names in early childhood education today. For parents, early childhood educators, child care providers, or basically anyone with young children in their lives, Help Me Get Ready to Read is a handy resource for understanding and implementing meaningful literacy experiences for the children they love.
Dawn spends her days in her classroom surrounded by wacky 3 & 4 year olds, only to meet up with her own home-grown wacky kids at the end of the day. When no one is wailing, “Mrs. Mooney!” or “MOMMY!” she tries to find a spare moment to blog away at my thoughts exactly.