Audio Books

Last summer I caught the audio book bug. My children and I started taking audio books out of our public library before our vacation. We listened to Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach and we started The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis as we traveled on Route 95 from Connecticut to Rhode Island and back again. It was truly miraculous the way a peace settled over our car as the reader kept us on the edge of our seats with these two fabulous stories. We didn't actually finish the second story on our trip, because my husband insisted on listening to some music as well, so we had to finish when we got home. We listened to the rest of the story on our daily drives around town to the grocery, or the library and that sort of thing. We would pull into our driveway and the kids would say don't turn the car off until the end of the chapter. It was wonderful. Since then we have taken out dozens of other stories, long and short, and we listen to them every day whenever we get in the car. If there is ever a night that gets really busy and I just find I don't have time to read out loud to my children I don't feel as guilty because I know that we were able to share out books in the car.

My five year old daughter reports that her favorite books we've listened to so far are: Little House on the Prairie and Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Fudge-a-Mania by Judy Blume, and The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi.

My 7 year old son reports that his favorites that we've listened to so far are: The Odyssey by Mary Pope Osborne, Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and A Cricket in Times Square by George Selden, and Frindle by Andrew Clements.

The Read-Aloud Handbook

A lot of my posts will be about reading and children. I do have a lot to share in that area. If you are interested in reading to children and how reading aloud to children has a positive impact on them I would encourage you to read The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. In the first several chapters he provides both anecdotal and data driven research on how important it is for children to hear literature being read to them by a caring adult. He suggests that reading aloud to children is beneficial through high school years. The benefits vary from enabling children to develop the special bond that forms with a caring adult who is sharing time with them to helping a high school student score higher on their verbal SATs because of the increased vocabulary the student has developed from years of being read to.

I know a lot of times parents think that since their child is already reading long chapters books by fourth grade that they are too old to have books read aloud to them. This book, and my own experience as a classroom teacher, suggests otherwise. I know first hand that children in grades 4-8 love to be read to; you just need to find the right book. At the end of Jim Trelease's book you will find chapters devoted to book suggestions along with summaries to help you choose the right book to read. Jim's website is also filled with a lot of information on reading aloud and even more book suggestions.

Enjoy reading aloud to your favorite young person! My next post I'll write about audio books so both of you can enjoy being read to.

2009 Newbery Award Winner

I read a lot of books for children and young adults for my job. I love that part of my job! I always pay attention to the latest award winning books chosen by the American Library Association (ALA). Of particular interest to me is the Newbery Award given to an author for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. You can check out the ALA site for the list of this year's Newbery Medal winner and honor books.

I just finished this year's Newbery Award winner, The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. The beginning of the book was really creepy. The book begins with a description of an assasin with a bloodied knife slowly walking up a set of stairs intent on killing a baby boy who should be in his crib. Of course the baby gets away and that begins the rising action for this exciting story.

If you've read the book or once you read the book I'd like to hear your thoughts on the prophecy that one of the Jacks tells the protagonist, Bod, about in chapter seven. To me the idea of killing the child who might stand in the way of their power was rather Biblical. I enjoyed the book and once I got going on the story it was certainly one of those books that I had trouble putting down. I hope you enjoy it too.

Welcome

Reading is an important part of my life. Nothing relaxes me more than getting caught up in a book. If I am sitting on a beach when it happens it is even more relaxing! I am starting this blog because of a class I am taking for my masters in library science. I figured I would make it about something that I enjoy doing and talking about - Reading and Books. I hope you will visit my blog often and share your thoughts on reading and books too.