The gift of reading aloud

I remember my dad reading aloud to me when I was very little. I'd sit in his lap in the big green Lawson chair in the living room and he'd read the classics to me. Years passed; we visited Gulliver's Travels, Robinson Crusoe, Swiss Family Robinson and many others. These books were of the old-fashioned style--very few full-page color illustrations other than the one on the frontispiece. The stories would unroll in my mind's eye like a dropped spool of thread escaping under a dresser. He'd read to me in chapter-long chunks, marking our place with a woven blue bookmark, like a tiny fringed oriental rug.

Over time I got too big for him to read over my head and graduated to a seat on the floor leaning against his knee. The final story he read to me was The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper. I was in ninth grade and was by far a better outloud reader than he was. But of course I would never have told him. I'd have missed the snuggle and the wonderful sound of someone with whom love was mutual, reading a story he clearly loved as well. I counted myself lucky that he'd believed me young enough to continue our tradition for so long. Grinning inwardly, I felt as if I'd gotten away with something.

Back then, there was a commonly-heard word now scarcely ever used: pastime. Time was available in lavish quantities. I could run in the huge fields behind my house after school, come in for dinner when called, have plenty of time to do my homework and engage in family pastimes until bedtime: Chinese Checkers with my mother's mother, playing Scrabble, practicing the piano (only until 9:00 so as not to keep neighbors up) and reading myself. Or listen to my dad read to me.

Now time is a precious commodity. From toddlers to adults, discretionary time is often filled up with going to and from events and lessons, technology's gifts (video games, the internet, instant messaging or managing our Facebook page) and household responsibilities. Now children who hear a story develop and unfold too seldom hear it from their parents at home.

One of the ways to grow a family of readers. . . is to read to your children. Here are some of the recognized benefits:

Improved vocabulary
Longer attention span
Development of listening skills
A shared vocabulary of stories
Knowledge of the world
Exposure to other times or cultures
Development of the imagination
Empathy
Structure of stories
Fluency in written, as opposed to conversational, language
Critical thinking
Cultural literacy
Family connection
Love of stories and reading

In 1985, the report of the American Commission on Reading, Building a Nation of Readers, stated: “The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.” If you'd like further evidence, enter "reading aloud benefits" in your favorite search engine. You're likely to find more than a half million links. Though my dad died long before I'd ever touched a computer, he touched my life through the written page--a pretty good legacy.

Come in, visit your local school or public library. Beg, borrow or steal the time to read to--or with--your loved ones!


Quote from Building a Nation of Readers:
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