Reading Aloud: Creating Connection & Joy

I’m a reader.  But it wasn’t always that way.  Learning to read was difficult for me.  I sounded out all the letters like I was taught to do, and I’d blend the sounds into words as best I could.  Reading was very slow and hard work. I didn’t read fluently and beautifully for a long time.  I was ashamed of my reading voice.  It was staccato and laborious.  There was no joy in my oral reading.  Since I read so slowly by the time I got done with a paragraph, I had forgotten what I read. Sometimes, I lost all hope in thinking that I could be a good and beautiful reader.

Luckily, my parents were wise in all things literary.  My mom was a teacher, and my father was a writer.  Even before I attempted to read by myself, they read to me and they sang to me, and they told me stories.  They knew what they were doing.  They were making me a lifelong reader.  I loved words and songs and stories.  I was curious and wanted to make meaning from my world.  When learning to read became difficult, I kept going.  I was motivated to unlock all those stories in those wonderful books I saw on the shelves of my home, school, and library. I knew books held secrets and adventures that I wanted to become part of. 

So, I kept at it.  I read slowly.  I listened to stories my parents and teachers would read aloud and finally in 5^th grade it all clicked.  Reading became faster and I built a tower of books by my bedside to read each night.  I’m doing the exact same thing over fifty years later!

This week at school, a Kindergarten girl, Sema, asked me to read a story to her.  She is already known for her naughtiness, so I wanted to reward her for her good behavior with my literary company.  Sema quickly put Fancy Nancy in my lap, and I smiled.  I read aloud to Sema, and we stopped every so often to look at the pictures and laugh along with Fancy Nancy.  Soon, I had a small group of Kindergarteners surrounding me, listening intently.  I wish I could have taken a photo of them.  This is what reading looks like.  Reading aloud is such an important connection that helps children develop a sense and love of story.  It is not a frivolous add-on, it is crucial.  It is essential for reading development.

Mitch Teemly reminded me of this in his blog post – “Tips for Writers: Read Together.”   I loved when Mitch wrote that he and his wife started reading to their daughters the second they were born.  I know many mothers who read aloud to their babies while still in the womb.  I am convinced their children can hear them.  That connection is so strong.  More on this from the Cleveland Library. https://cpl.org/born-to-read-reading-to-your-baby-in-the-womb/

One of the wonderful parts of my job as a Learning Support Coordinator is that I often get to read aloud to children.  Sometimes the read alouds are spontaneous, and sometimes they are planned. What matters is the connection and conversations these shared readings provide. Last week, a teacher asked me if I would read a book about fall to a class of three-year-olds.  I have some old-time favorites, but I wanted to find some books that were new to me, so I started to do some research. Here is a list of possibilities.

Fall Books to Create Connection and Joy

1. Apple Pigs by Ruth Orbach
2. Applesauce Day by Lisa J. Amstutz
3. Autumn Leaves Fall from the Trees by Lisa Bell
4. Fall Walk by Virginia Brimhall Snow
5. Good-bye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak
6. If You Find a Leaf by Aimee Securo
7. In the Middle of Fall by Kevin Henkes
8. Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
9. Leaf Trouble by Jonathan Emmett
10. Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant
11. Scarecrow’s Hat by Ken Brown
12. Sweep by Louise Greig
13. The Scarecrow by Beth Ferry
14. The Very Last Leaf by Stef Wade
15. Yellow Time by Lauren Stringer