Parenting Books About Literacy that Will Change Your Life

When my first-born daughter was born, I was a rookie mom just like everyone else searching for advice from quality parenting books.  I definitely am not writing this as the perfect parent.  I struggled through many days of the huge responsibility of keeping a human alive. Today, I want to share 3 parenting books on literacy that will change your life as they have mine.

Parenting Books About Literacy that Will Change Your Life

As an educator and a mother, I acknowledge there are times where you come home so exhausted.  For me, I answer little people questions and meet needs all day long. I found myself having nothing left to give to my own children.

As Lucy Calkins says, “No job requires more intelligence, knowledge, and energy than the job of parenting.”

There have been, and will be, days where I did not engage my children in speaking and listening, much less reading. In fact, I would actually cry when the pressure would feel overwhelming. My go to voice when this happens, C.S. Lewis. “Crying is all right in its own way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do.”

What kept me going at all on those difficult days was advice from these three fabulous authors I want to share with you today.

The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease

I was first introduced to this book in my Teacher Education undergrad courses and I have worn out many copies of his book since then.  He is the KING of read-alouds for decades now. If I were going to be a groupie, Trelease would be my man.

In The Read Aloud Handbook, he makes the case that reading aloud is the single best investment of parental time and energy. If Jim were to write a sequel to his book here in 2017, I think he would be even more sure of his stance.

As a young student, I wanted to go and teach in countries around the world that did not have the resources that I had while growing up.

When my husband was growing up, books were the only way he could afford to travel. Both he and some of my students learned about geography, religion, food, etc. from a book. This in turn made them into more globally minded, tolerant, and empathetic individuals.

“Children whose families take them to museums and zoos, who visit historic sites, who travel abroad, or who camp in remote areas accumulate huge chunks of background knowledge without even studying.

For the impoverished child lacking the travel portfolio of affluence, the best way to accumulate background knowledge is by either reading or being read to.”
― Jim Trelease, The Read-Aloud Handbook

The Hardest 2 Years of My Life

Besides reading aloud, one of the biggest takeaways from his book in my own parenting methods was his view on screen time.

In his book, he explained how the country of Finland has successfully used closed captioning and subtitles to promote literacy. Finnish children do not begin formal reading instruction until they are seven years old, but they consistently score the highest in the world in standardized reading tests compared to other countries.

Finnish families are some of the highest users of closed captioning and it is attributed be the reason for their high literacy rates.In the book, Trelease explains the 30:1 ratio of visual receptors over auditory receptors in the brain.

Research shows that the chances of a word (or sentence) being retained in our memory bank are thirty times greater if we see it instead of just hear it. Trelease calls it the “sponge effect”.

I use this fabulous sponge effect to reinforce language learning with my kids.  For example, to distract my daughter when I do her hair, she is given a quick lesson by watching a show in Spanish or French with English subtitles.

Purchase The Read Aloud Handbook on Amazon

Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to our Children Will Change their Lives Forever by Mem Fox

Another amazing reading guru (and fellow Trelease fan) is Mem Fox. I have read her book, Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to our Children Will Change their Lives Forever, many times over again for it’s simple and engaging writing about the number one thing parents can do to help their children academically for the rest of their lives: reading.

She talks about how to connect with your children on an emotional level through books. Mem walks you through how to build self-confidence through your children finding book characters who look like them and have similar experiences.

Fox’s book champions giving children the power to be who they are and be unashamed of being different.

In moments where my daughter came home from pre-school in tears because of a remark someone had made about her hair or her skin color, I used the stories of other girls and women like her who have risen above and changed the world to comfort her.

“Books don’t harm kids; they arm them.”
― Mem Fox

Purchase Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to our Children Will Change their Lives Forever by Mem Fox on Amazon

Parenting is Hard Enough

She weaves in the statistics of the benefits of reading in a way that will not give you a guilt trip, but inspire you to try these different strategies.  She is a literacy expert, but her humble approach to teaching others about reading with children is very approachable.

No parent wants to read a book that is condescending. No parent needs to read about impossible standards.   Fox’s book is the opposite. She has you thinking you are a superhero right from page one. Most importantly, she gives you advice for helping your children love to read instead of just tolerating books. She promotes a healthy attitude towards books that stays with children for the rest of their lives.

“When I say to a parent, “read to a child”, I don’t want it to sound like medicine.

I want it to sound like chocolate.” ― Mem Fox

Brain Rules for Baby by John Medina

Brain Rules for Baby was given to me by my sister-in-law when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter. She is an early educator herself and I highly respect her, so I dove in.

There are fancy programs and “reading shortcuts” advertised everywhere.  However, Medina’s book shows you scientific proof that the magic is in the fundamentals.

In this book, we learn that your child’s brain is 80% developed by the time they are 2 years old. It is imperative that your child’s language development needs to begin at birth through reading, singing, speaking, and listening.

Medina also lays out clear evidence in his “rules for baby” on topics such as screen time, sharing household responsibilities equally with your partner, sleep training etc.

This book has been updated several times over the years and it just keeps getting better.

“Kids come into the world before their brains are fully developed. The result? Parenthood.”
― John Medina, Brain Rules for Baby

Purchase Brain Rules for Baby on Amazon

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I have read these three brilliant authors over and over again. These are my go-to books to give each one of my friends when they have a child.  These authors have answered so many of my own questions and given me life-long tools to implement with my daughters.  When life is at its craziest, reading is our beacon of calm in the storm.

Raising a Reader, Activist, and Leader

As you walk the journey of raising readers, I also encourage engaging children in helping their local communities. Nelson Mandela reminds us that education is the most powerful weapon.

However, there is a lot competing for children’s attention. Children will read more if they think the book is funny or interesting. So, let’s give the people what they want and find award-winning children’s literature to fill your diverse bookshelf. In turn, this will help them become global citizens with a little reading magic.

Take out the guesswork and give children the most colorful bookshelves possible for simultaneously raising global citizens as we raise our readers.

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Teaching Kids to Read Ages 0-5

If you want to go all in for the children in your life from day 1, I have the perfect online course for you.

In Teaching Kids to Read Ages 0-5, I am not going to give you just the tools for raising readers. I am going to encourage you to read high quality books that are diverse as well as multicultural and inclusive to raise a global citizen as well. Most of all, I will give you practical ways to enrich their academics and their lives.

Additionally, I am going to give the HOW and the WHAT to read so your child can learn to read, while also learning empathy and compassion to become a global citizen. I want your child to literally and figuratively read the world.

Even if you have the most amazing and diverse library in the world at home or in the classroom, you still need the tools and strategies so that a child knows HOW to read them.

This Teaching Kids to Read Ages 0-5 online course is an investment in the future of the child in your care. Furthermore, I am going to help you develop a literacy foundation that is not based on a curriculum or learning style.

You have a choice to make. You can use trial and error to teach kids to read. On the other hand, I will give the exact tools and strategies you need that are guaranteed to work.

 Take A Sneak Peek

Who doesn’t like a free sample?! Right now, you can preview the Introduction and Lesson 1: The Importance of Reading Aloud for free. Your purchase of this course also has a 30-day money back guarantee. It’s a risk-free purchase. It’s a no-brainer to go get signed up for my Teaching Kids to Read Ages 0-5 course today!

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