Moving Beyond the Reading Wars

I often ask my college students about their favorite books when they were young children. The books they share with me are varied and familiar and were books their parents read to them, often over and over again. Goodnight Moon is often mentioned as well as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Where the Wild Things Are, and many other iconic children’s books.  I, too, remember my favorite books from many, many years ago. Are You My Mother? was at the top of my list. I also remember my favorite book from when I was very, very young. It was a large, glossy, and beautifully illustrated book of fairy tales. What I remember most about that book is the tactile pleasure of flipping through the pages and being mesmerized by the pictures.  

The importance of reading aloud to young children is well known. We don’t necessarily need research to inform us about benefits of reading with children as a shared activity that often involves a focused time for parent-child bonding, quiet conversations, laughter, and snuggling in together. However, researchers can inform us about the cognitive benefits of these activities.

Reading with children teaches them the fundamental emergent literacy skills associated with books and written language. For example, they understand concepts of print such as where the title is located on the front cover of the book and where one begins when reading a book. Children learn to turn the pages in sequence. They learn that spoken language is represented by symbols – the words on the page and that there is a pattern in how they are read (for example, in English and many languages from left to right).  And they begin to absorb the sounds of language, the cadence, and the syntax of sentences. These understandings begin very early – before young children even consider themselves as readers.

Other cognitive benefits of reading aloud with children prepare them as future readers. According to Elisabeth Duursma, Marilyn Augusyn, and Barry Zuckerman, phonological awareness skills are developed and reinforced through reading with children. They begin to become aware of the sounds of letters, how the sounds are connected with other sounds to create syllables and words, how words connect to create sentences, and how some words rhyme (often in very fun ways). According to the researchers, “When children do well at detecting and manipulating syllables, rhymes and phonemes, they tend to learn more quickly to read.”

Learning the letters of the alphabet becomes a component of these shared reading activities even when the letters are not purposefully taught. A number of books accentuate alliteration. Examples are Fun on Farley’s Family Farm in Finleyville by Julie Majernik; Skyler the Speedy Sloth by L. Ottley Cobb; and Some Smug Slug by Pamela Duncan Edwards.  Alphabet books generally feature pictures of items and animals that begin with each letter and are excellent books to share with young children, providing a natural and enjoyable experience.  For example, the letter T might feature pictures of tigers, turtles, toucans, tarantulas, and tapirs.

Research also demonstrates the power of reading aloud in developing children’s oral language skills and vocabulary growth. Story books invite children to engage with new and more sophisticated words than they typically encounter in spoken language.  Consider, too, how much conversation is often intertwined with reading aloud. The parent or caregiver reading to a child often intersperses reading with questions like, “Oh – look how happy the children are at the beach. Do you remember when you were at the beach?…”

Reading with young children also enables them to learn about a vast array of things beyond their own lives and experiences. Parents and caregivers shouldn’t limit their selections of books. For example, consider selecting books about themes like transportation, animals, bio-diversity, kindness, geography, history, and other cultures. Most of all, perhaps, books about people can be particularly helpful in enabling children to learn about themselves and others.  

Books can serve as mirrors for young children. The experiences and feelings of characters in story books often reflect their own lives. They can be instrumental in developing life skills that enable children to consider how to deal with their own feelings and responses when they are unhappy, frustrated, or trying to meet any number of challenges.  This is also an opportunity for parents and caregivers to engage in a conversation, asking, for example, “Have you ever felt like that before?” or “What would you do if you were asked to eat something you don’t like?”

Empathy is a value that can be developed even with young children. When children engage with books about people living lives different from their own – people from other lands, with other cultures, and perspectives, they develop an empathetic lens that will serve them well throughout life.

All of these benefits can be accrued in the literacy lives of young children before they enter kindergarten. Whether it is a parent, a family member, or caregiver reading to and with a child, the benefits are almost immeasurable. As Duursma, Augusyn, and Zuckerman make clear, “Reading aloud to young children, particularly in an engaging manner, promotes emergent literacy and language development … In addition it can promote a love for reading which is even more important than improving specific literacy skills.  When parents share books with children, they also can promote children’s understanding of the world, their social skills and their ability to learning coping strategies.”

So, if enlightened literacy begins with love, parentese, and good old fashioned talking, reading to and with young children is a natural extension along the path to becoming readers, writers, and literate citizens.