Reading Aloud: Your Voice Counts
By Jodi M. Webb
December 1, 2002


To many, reading is considered a solitary pursuit. I suspect that these people are not often in the company of children. With kids, reading is better enjoyed as a shared experience, from selecting a good book, to reading aloud, to musing over the story together. Even Uncle Sam agrees; the Department of Education's Commission on Reading declared: "Reading aloud to children is the single most important act one could do to raise a reader."

Harry Potter V by J.K. Rowling

Naturally, when children are pre-readers, adults choose the books for them. However, if you make good choices in their early years, Carol Orlick, a children's librarian for 34 years, believes you can continue to influence them as they grow up. She recommends consulting the American Library Association for a selection of quality children's literature. But keep in mind that even prize-winning books touted by the experts can be rejected by your child. They often want to read what's on TV, or what they see their peers reading. Orlick allows that at every age "the parent is the deciding factor ... read it first to decide if you want your child to read it." At the same time, don't reject reading material because you decide there are "better" books out there. Orlick encouraged her son to read everything: books on recommended lists, children's magazines, series books, even comic books. The important thing is to get a child reading.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Ashley Wolff, a children's author and illustrator, believes that "every child gravitates to certain types of books naturally." For adults, the challenge is expanding a child's library within their favorite genre. Has your child become a Harry Potter fanatic? Instead of leaving them to re-read the first books endlessly while impatiently awaiting Book Five, seek out other books of this type. One Harry Potter devotee, my daughter Beth, has temporarily switched her allegiance from Hogwarts School to the Land of Narnia, a magical place revealed by C.S. Lewis in a series of seven books written in the 1950's.

Susan Wojciechowski, who recently published her latest Beany book, Beany and the Dreaded Wedding, happily recalled her childhood memories of reading. "I devoured books ... I can recall my mom taking me to the library to borrow books that she would read to me."

So what happens when all that reading aloud has accomplished its task? How do we reward a child who learns to read? We stop reading to them!

The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease

Jim Trelease, journalist, author and lecturer, believes this is a big mistake. In his award-winning book The Read Aloud Handbook, he states that, although we usually know what grade level a child is reading on, we don't often give thought to their listening level. "Children can hear and understand stories that are more complicated and more interesting than anything they could read on their own..."

Reading aloud can also help develop an "emotional bond" between the child and adult, according to Trelease.

Reading together can be a great way for families to connect, counterbalancing the often-alienating strain of peer pressure. Many successful adults, from award-winning author Eli Wiesel to Bank of America President Hugh McColl Jr., have praised childhood reading for the important role it played in their development. Imagine the great man or woman you can help create--just by picking up a book.

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