Read with Me

November 15, 2018
It's hard to quibble with any effort to get preschoolers to love books, including that of Cleaver and Richardson, the educators behind Read Charlotte, an initiative to double the number of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, students reading at the recommended level by third grade. Throughout their guide for parents and everyone who cares for children, the two elaborate on how to follow their ABC's of Active Reading: Ask questions, Build vocabulary, and Connect to the child's world." Richardson describes how he reads with (not to) his almost-three-year-old daughter. As they turn each page of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, they chat about mischievous Max. His daughter suggests the boy may get a time-out from his mom, and they show each other their terrible claws. To develop young bookworms, it helps to choose conversation-friendly stories with good themes, character development, illustrations, and vivid language, and examples are provided. Readers will undoubtedly appreciate the alphabetical-by-author references to sources and studies at the end of this good, commonsense reminder that picture books can spark a lifetime love of reading.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)