
Almost 14 years ago, I started reading everything aloud to my newborn son. He dutifully listened to Emily Dickinson's poems, all the latest adult novels and numerous classics. At the time, I didn’t realize how much reading aloud would shape our family, but I did know that it felt right. Later I read age appropriate books--Sandra Boynton and Dr. Suess with an occasional Walt Whitman or Rudyard Kipling poem thrown in the mix. We graduated to longer books and now I still read aloud to all five of my kids, mostly when they are doing the dishes or cleaning their rooms. One day last fall, I read an entire 200 pages of Because of Mr. Terupt for 3 hours as my kids weeded!

My instincts are correct, according to Jim Trelease, the author of the Read-Aloud Handbook. When I first read it a couple of year ago, I was thrilled to find hundreds of read aloud titles, tips for luring kids away from electronics and into reading, and reasons why reading aloud is essential for all ages. Here are my top 3 reasons for reading aloud to my kids.
To read about the last reason, go to Children's Book Academy, here.
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