Did you know that reading aloud is still one of the best things you can do for your child, even at this upper elementary age? Just picture yourself in a hammock this summer enjoying one of your favorite books with your delightful fourth grader. Or maybe curling up on the couch together on a rainy day with a joke book. Our family keeps one book in the door pocket of the car for reading aloud on trips, as well as one in the bike basket for under a shady tree by the neighborhood pond.

In her book, How to Get Your Child to Love Reading, Esme Raji Codell asks,
* “What activity offers sixteen advantages to a child in twenty minutes?
* What helps to level the academic playing field for all children regardless of what statistical group they fall under (gender, class, race, working parents, single parents, English as a second language)?
* What approach has ten thousand research reports by the U.S. Department of Education backing it?” (Codell, page 10)

READING ALOUD! Jim Trelease lists his sixteen research-based reasons in his Read-Aloud Handbook—everything from contributing to background knowledge for all subject areas and increasing a child’s vocabulary and grammar to unexpected results such as improving a child’s probability of staying in school and increasing life span (because of correlated higher quality of life and employment). Wow! All from reading aloud a few minutes each day.

So . . . are you looking for a few great ideas? Esme’s fabulous book as well as her website have lists of recommended read aloud books.

Planet Esme

You and your child could browse the cool book reviews and pick something to enjoy together. Or take a trip to the free local library together. Yesterday, my niece and I went to a bookstore, and I read aloud to her in the comfy chairs there. Once my floor at school is done, you are welcome to stop by the school to borrow a reading castle book this summer. I’d be glad to recommend my favorite read alouds! (I’m not as famous as Esme, but I’ve read a lot of great books!)

So whether you’re at the beach or in the kitchen, enjoy a read aloud book today.