Molly Rowan shared some of her thoughts/experiences having to do with children and reading:
1. It enhances a relationship - when you read a book together you automatically have something to talk about. I want my kids to be comfortable talking to me about anything. From the time they born I read to them and then we have talked about the book. We have had conversations about silly ideas, sorrow, tragedy, triumph, history, choice & consequences and so many other topics. I always ask a lot of questions because I want to know how they feel about the book. I ask, "How do you feel about that?, What would you do? Do you know anyone like this? Could this be true?" Often it lead to discussions about the world we live in or just their daily life.
I like to read their school assignments as well. Usually they have to write a report, lead a discussion, answer questions, or take a test on several books during the school year. I feel that by reading and talking with them, they come to understand the material far better than if they just read the book on their own.
2. Books help me teach values. I want my kids to understand and be able to apply some basic principles in their lives. Stories from The Little Red Hen to East of Eden, help children understand concepts in a personal way. Once again the opportunity to discuss these values comes from reading together (or independently but at the same time).
I also want my kids to learn about history, the world around them, and current topics in society. Not every book teaches the values that I want but it gives us a chance to consider other opinions and compare others' beliefs to ours.
3. I read with my children because I want them to hear good literature. I want them to hear how words can be put together. How books can exhilarate the heart or comfort the soul. I read because I believe they will speak better when they have a large vocabulary of words to choose from.
My life has been enriched with the insights and ideas my children share with me. I feel closer to them when they are talking to me.
Merced First Ward's Children's Literature Must Read List:
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Dear God, It’s Me Margaret by Judy Blume
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Holes by Louis Sachar
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lingrin
Is Underground
Caps For Sale
Mother Goose Rhymes
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Riding Freedom by Pam Munoz Ryan
A Baby Sister for Francis by Russell Hoban
Bedtime for Francis by Russell Hoban
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Fox In Socks by Dr. Seuss
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
Love You Forever by Robert Munsh
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Ida B by Katherine Hannigan
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco
Five Little Peppers by Margaret Sidney
Travels with Charlie by John Steinbeck
Some more good books...
Raffle Books:
Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae
Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars by Douglas Florian
Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian
Lizards, Frogs, and Pollywogs by Douglas Florian
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
Big Words for Little People by Jamie Lee Curtis
The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan
Magic Treehouse Series by Mary Pope Osborne
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Twilight by Stephanie Myer
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
King Who Rained by Fred Gwynne
Dear Deer: A Book Of Homophones by Gene Barretta
Pam’s Latest Reads:
Dragonfire Series by Donita K. Paul
The Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkowski
Claudette Colvin by Phillip Hoose
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Eon by Alison Goodman
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Stewart
Furies of Calderon: Codex Alera, Series by Jim Butcher
Fire by Kristin Cashore
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade
For ratings and reviews on these and other books, join Pam Atkinson o
Pam's handout included a lot of great links you can follow to study this topic more:
Children Reading
http://www.kids-and-books.com/index.html
Children Reading - With the vast selection of excellent Children's Literature in print, why does it seem so hard to get children reading? Find out how you can instill a love of books in your child. Early Childhood & Literacy
http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/educators_early.html
Young Adult Lit Grows Up Fast
http://www.greatschools.org/students/books/young-adult-fiction.gs?content=609
Reading At Home
http://www.coe.usu.edu/ecc/images/pdf/presentations/readingathome.pdf
Early childhood reading presentation
How to Introduce Your Children to Good Literature eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/how_4876532_introduce-children-good-literature.html
How to Introduce Your Children to Good Literature. In a world of Sponge Bob, and Dora, parents need to be especially careful of the literature they expose their children to. Here you will learn about what constitutes a 'good book', and will get...
How to read to a child eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/how_2160521_read-child.html
How to read to a child. Reading to a child is one of the best ways to introduce him or her to great literature and the joys of reading. It's also a way to spend quality time with a child your love.
How to Make Book Reading Interesting to Your Child /teenager eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/how_5266323_make-reading-interesting-child-teenager.html
How to Make Book Reading Interesting to Your Child /teenager. how to get your child interested in reading
How to Choose a Book for a Child's Correct Reading Level eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/how_2167338_choose-just-right-book.html
How to Choose a Book for a Child's Correct Reading Level. Finding a book that is at just the right level of difficulty is important. An easy read is relaxing, and a difficult book can be interesting to read with an adult, but a just right book is the...
Browse articles GreatSchools
http://www.greatschools.org/articles/?topics=159&language=EN
Multiple articles with such titles as: “Is There a Science to Finding the Right Book?” “Book Nook: Books for Kindergartners With Positive Messages,” “ It's not just for Oprah: Book clubs for kids”
The Importance of Reading Books to Children « Articles « Literacy News
http://www.literacynews.com/2009/09/the-importance-of-reading-books-to-children/
It is surprising but true; in today’s technology-dependent world, little focus is being placed on the importance of reading to kids. Getting children book…
What is the importance of reading to a child?
http://www.essortment.com/all/childreadingim_rhqw.htm
The importance of reading to children cannot be stressed enough. Read and find out more.
The Importance of Children’s Literacy: Celebrate ‘Read Across America’ Gomestic
http://gomestic.com/family/the-importance-of-children%E2%80%99s-literacy-celebrate-read-across-america/
Every Child Ready to Read - JoCoLibrary
http://www.jocolibrary.org/templates/JCL_InfoPage.aspx?id=3885
Reading Out Loud to Kids
http://parenting.ivillage.com/tp/tplearning/0,,fcxct0xc,00.html
You already know about the studies and statistics that show how important it is to read to your child. But don’t let all that serious talk fool you. Reading with your kids can be a hoot! What matters most is that you’re together, sharing special time with words and images,? says Francie Alexander, vice president and chief academic officer at Scholastic. There are probably as many ways to bond with your baby over books as there are old Cheerios on your kitchen floor, so relax. Get your silly on and enjoy!
9 Sure-Fire Ways To Fight the Summer Reading Slump - Dr. Michele Borba's Parenting
Solutions : Blogs at iVillage.com
http://micheleborba.ivillage.com/parenting/archives/2009/06/9-sure-fire-ways-to-fight-the.html
Dr. Michele Borba shares parenting advice, tips, and secrets in her iVillage blog.
Recommended Reading Lists
Reading and Books Recommended Reading
http://kids.nypl.org/reading/recommended2.cfm?ListID=61
Random House - Bringing you the best in fiction, nonfiction, and children's books
http://www.randomhouse.com/
Random House, Inc., the world's largest English language trade publisher, bringing you the best in fiction, nonfiction, and children's books.
ALA's Suggested Book List for Young Readers
http://www.ed.gov/Family/RSRforFamily/booklist.html
One Mom’s Favorites for Kids Book Clubs
http://www.greatschools.org/students/books/one-moms-favorites-for-kids-book-clubs.gs?content=271&page=2
Our book lists for kids, grades K-5
http://www.greatschools.org/students/books/books-for-kids-grades-k-5.gs?content=456
Way Back When: Readers’ Favorite Books
http://www.greatschools.org/students/books/favorite-childhood-books.gs?content=562
101 books for the college-bound
http://www.greatschools.org/students/books/recommended-college-bound.gs?content=412
Caldecott Awards
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecottmedal.cfm
Ezra Jack Keats Book Award
http://kids.nypl.org/reading/keatsawards.cfm
The Scott Odell Award for Historical Fiction
http://www.scottodell.com/odellaward.html
Carol Hurst’s Lists by Theme and Subject
http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/subjects.html
National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance
http://thencbla.blogspot.com/2008/01/newbery-and-caldecott-medal-announced.html
Lists of Bests
http://www.listsofbests.com/lists/home/books
Old Children’s Books: Book Lists
http://oldchildrensbooks.com/booklists.php#HomeLib
California Department of Education Literature Search
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/rl/ll/ap/litsearch.asp
r book lists for kids, Online Libraries, Radio Shows, Etc.
Children's Books Online: the Rosetta Project, Inc.
http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/
Children's Books Online: the Rosetta Project is the largest collection of illustrated antique children's books on-line.
Recess Radio: about the Show
http://www.recess.ufl.edu/about.shtml
Recess public radio homepage. Free radio program focuses on children's literature, media, and culture. Programs transcripts available. Links to free children's books and center for the study of children's literature and culture and children and the law at the University of Florida.
Best Online Classic Children's Stories: By Story Title http://www.mainlesson.com/displaystoriesbytitle.php
The Baldwin Online Children's Literature Project publishes online editions of classic children's books from the golden age of children's literature (1880-1922).
ICDL - International Children's Digital Library
http://en.childrenslibrary.org/
Home Teaching Literature Units
Teachers@Random Catalog The Giver by Lois Lowry
http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780440237686&view=rg
Teachers@Random Catalog The Giver by Lois Lowry
http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780440237686&view=tg
SCORE - The GIver
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/Giver/givertg.htm
S.C.O.R.E. Language Arts CyberGuides
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/cyberguide.html
CyberGuides are standards-based, teacher-designed, Web-searching and writing/reading activities for elementary, middle school, and high school students based on core literature resulting in a student product for grades K-12 language arts with supplemental Internet learning activities.
Colorín Colorado :: Books & Authors
http://www.colorincolorado.org/read
Teachers who work with English language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3 and 4-8 students learn to read. Información sobre la adquisición del inglés como segundo idioma. Para que padres, familias y maestros de niños latinos ayuden a sus hijos a leer, escribir y triunfar.
Mosaic Listserve Tools
http://www.readinglady.com/mosaic/tools/tools.htm#powerpoint
Carol Hurst’s Featured Books Teaching Guide
http://www.booksintheclassroom.com/featuredtitles.php
Web English Teacher
http://www.webenglishteacher.com/childlit.html
Reading and Author Blogs
Children's and YA Author Cynthia Leitich Smith
http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/
official web site of children's book author Cynthia Leitich Smith includes author biography, photograph, publication information, and links to Children's Literature Resources
Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Newsletter
http://www.carolhurst.com/newsletters/newsletters.html
A free quarterly electronic newsletter available on the web or through email subscription. Our newsletter contains book reviews, across the curriculum theme activities, author
studies and professional book reviews
Teaching Authors
http://www.teachingauthors.com/2010/01/slow-down-pay-attention-have-fun.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email
Goodreads
http://www.goodreads.com/
Some more good links/ideas:
Take advantage of the public library!
Merced County Library website- http://www.co.merced.ca.us/index.aspx?nid=77
You can request books online. They will call you when they are ready to pick up.
They also have a selection of books on tape/CD.
Bouncing Babies Storytime (6-18 months old): Wednesdays from 10-10:20.
Preschool Storytime and craft (18 months to 4 years old): Fridays 10-10:30 and 11-11:30.
Participate in the library summer reading program, kids earn prizes as they read.
Start a children’s Book Club
Have children read along with friends, then get together to discuss favorite parts.
Grandkids Book Club-Purchase copies of a book for grandkids, have them read at the same time, then get
together to discuss. If they do not live nearby, do a book discussion over Skype or through a conference call.
www.litlovers.com, click on “Kids Book Clubs” (Tips for starting a book club, and fun activity ideas for kids)
Books make great gifts
Remember your favorite books from your childhood and share them. Tell them why you love it.
Make a book about yourself to give, you are the story.
Choose a favorite story, record yourself reading it, and give the book and tape as a gift—this is especially great
for long distance grandparents (you can read your grandchild a bedtime story!).
Help books come alive
Read books with a theme, then plan a field trip/activity/meal that corresponds.
Keep track of reading
http://www.freeprintablebehaviorcharts.com/popular_character_book_logs.htm
Scripture Reading charts can be found at www.sugardoodle.net
Free Audio Stories for kids
www.storynory.com
Download stories to listen to on your computer, or put onto your mp3 player/ipod.
Resources on www.lds.org
The Church website has scripture stories and stories from the Friend magazine available for kids to watch and listen to. Go to www.lds.org, click on Gospel Library, Magazines, The Friend.
The Friend magazine periodically reviews books for children. Go to www.lds.org, search past issues of The Friend with keyword “books.”
Gospel ABC Book Download:
www.anndeephotography.com/Gospel ABC.zip
Go to link, select “open,” print out pictures, then put them in a photo book.
Set the example!
Read books yourself, show children that they are important and fun!
Print a poem (Midnight Ride of Paul Revere) and keep it in your car.
Memorize it with your kids while driving place to place or while waiting in the car.
You may have tangible wealth untold, caskets of jewels and coffers of gold;
Richer than I you can never be, I had a mother who read to me”
-from The Reading Mother by Strickland Gillilan
