Read Across America

Happy Read Across America Day – and Dr. Seuss’s Birthday!

Check out Live-Brary’s info on this celebration here.

Also, Seussville has a great online collection of materials for educators to use in their classrooms to celebrate with kids.

 

Book Review: “Inside Out and Back Again” by Thanhha Lai

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Written in free verse, this book tells a semi-autobiographical story of a ten-year-old Vietnamese girl in 1975. Her family must decide what to do with the impending coming of the Communists to their home in Saigon. Their lives change forever, and the reader gets to see the emotional impact of these real events through the eyes of the young girl. I highly recommend this book which treats the serious subjects of war and refugees in an relatable way. It is a quick read too; it took me only about ninety minutes to get through. The author notes at the end of the book that the situation of the family, as well as many specific anecdotes, were straight from her own life.

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Book Review: “Waiting for the Magic” by Patricia MacLachlan

Waiting for the Magic by Patricia MacLachlan

This novel, written by Patricia MacLachlan (author of Sarah, Plain & Tall), I recommend highly for children who are beginning chapter book reading, as well as adults. MacLachlan does an excellent job of treating serious family concerns(absentee fatherhood, pregnancy) through children’s [and pets’] eyes. William and Elinor’s father leaves his family (again) and their mother decides to take corrective action by adopting four dogs and a cat. The family readjusts, and the reader sees, through William’s perspective, the conflicted emotions of being a child in a broken family. MacLachlan not only writes with poignancy, but with a sense of whimsy as well, when the children find out that their new pets can speak to them (Elinor hears first, since all four-year-olds can hear magic, according to the littlest dog). “Waiting for the Magic” is a sweet story that grapples with serious issues with a tone that isn’t ominous, and offers an uplifting message about the endurance of the family. Amy June Bates’ occasional black-and-white sketch illustrations support the text and help the reader to visualize each individual member of the family, human and otherwise.

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Book Review: The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease

The Handbook begins with a rationale for the importance of reading aloud to children, and cites statistics and case studies that show the benefits it offers to literacy, family togetherness, child development, and more.  Then, Trelease walks the reader through some practical techniques as well as beginning reading suggestions for every age and interest.

Based on his experience as a father and grandfather, and his familiarity with many anecdotes from other parents, Trelease tells us (p. 4) that there are some major advantages derived from reading aloud to [your] child:

• Associating reading with pleasure in the child’s brain
• Establishing background knowledge (ie, what animals live on farms, what a bulldozer looks like, what a fiddle is).
• Building vocabulary (Children’s picture books are meant to be read to a child not by a child because their vocabulary and structure are too sophisticated.)
• Provide a positive reading role model (YOU!)

Although I’m only about halfway done reading The Handbook, I’ve skimmed the final sections that contain a plethora of reading recommendations of every sort.  I highly recommend The Read-Aloud Handbook to parents, teachers, librarians, and any other professional that works with children.

Here’s a link to the author Jim Trelease’s home page that contains book lists, lecture downloads, and excerpts/major points from every chapter of his book.