The desire to read

Press, 3 August 1985, Page 20

The desire to read

The Read Aloud Handbook. By Jim Tretease. Penguin, 1984. 222 pp. $9.95 (paperback). Books Before Five. By Dorothy White. Heinemann, 1984. 196 pp. $19.95. (Reviewed by Pat Penrose)

The desire to read is not born in a child, but is planted and nurtured by people who love books. Children need to be read aloud to, over a period of time. These two books are not about teaching children HOW to read, but about teaching children to WANT to read. The magic ingredients are parents and teachers who share the fun of reading and enjoy children’s books. “The Read Aloud Handbook” discusses children and reading from infancy to grown up. Since television advertising is so successful, a similar formula is suggested to interest children in books. This is based on the idea that children’s literacy has declined with the advent of television. Why reading aloud will counteract this development is discussed, as well as when and where to start, how to choose suitable books, at what age to begin, how long to read each day, and who should do the reading.

It is not from chance that most pupils in remedial reading classes are boys and Trelease suggests that more fathers could read to their children. Four vital areas are stimulated by

reading aloud. They are interest in reading, writing and books, emotional development, imagination, and language. The second half of the book is a long book list. Disadvantages of book lists are that they can date and some books are not available in New Zealand. However there are enough books in the lists so that parents here can find suitable material. “Books Before Five” is a re-issue of a classic documentary by Dorothy White, who is known as a skilful judge of children’s literature and a shrewd observer of the way children respond to what they read or is read to them. Written in diary form this book examines in detail Carol’s reactions to books and life as they happen from age two to five years. The style allows close glimpses of the development of her thinking and her mother’s understanding of the interaction. Young children are often puzzled by pictures of half a person and wonder where the other half is. They do not have the imagination or perception to see what is not there. Carol’s bewilderment and concern for this predicament will reassure parents who worry about such issues. The book list provided is not intended as a guide for choosing books, but rather as an idea of what Carol liked at the time. These are two very different books about the same topic.