The Read-Aloud Handbook: Jim Trelease

Book: The Read-Aloud Handbook: Sixth Edition
Author: Jim Trelease
Pages: 432
Age Range: Adult nonfiction 

I've recommended Jim Trelease's The Read-Aloud Handbook many times, but I've never actually reviewed it. I recently re-read the book (inspired in part by Dawn Morris' comments after her first reading of the book), and thought that I would share a few thoughts. This is more a reaction than a formal review.

First of all, I agree with Dawn that this is a book that everyone should read. Or at least every parent and teacher, aunt, uncle, or grandparent should read it, along with anyone else who has an interest in the well-being and future success of children. I also agree with Teacherninja Jim, who commented on a recent Booklights post of mine that a copy of this book should be sent home from the hospital with every new parent.

The Read-Aloud Handbook is about why it's important for children to grow up as readers, and how parents and teachers can help to accomplish this goal. My earlier reading of The Read-Aloud Handbook helped inspire me to start this blog in the first place. The Read-Aloud Handbook blends the author's personal experiences as a parent, lecturer, and advocate of reading with extensive research.

The primary arguments of The Read-Aloud Handbook are (and I'm paraphrasing for simplicity):

• Kids spend 900 hours a year inside of school, and 7800 hours a year outside of school. It's short-sighted to put all of the responsibility of encouraging kids as readers on the schools. Parents can play a huge role by reading to their kids, making sure that they have access to books in the home, and modeling reading behavior. (Introduction)
• The only way to really drive change is to launch a huge national awareness campaign (like the one against smoking), telling parents what they should and must do in the home, if they want to prepare their children for success in today's world. This is unlikely to happen, however, because politicians are reluctant to hold the huge voting block of parents accountable. (Introduction)
• The National Reading Panel found that "the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for success in reading is reading aloud to children." (Page 3) This applies at home and in schools.
• Among the many reasons to read aloud to kids, one of the most important is that it helps them to associate reading with pleasure. Human beings are by nature pleasure-centered -- we will voluntarily do things repeatedly if we get pleasure from them. And because reading is an accrued skill, spending repeated time reading is what enables us to get good at it.

Here are a couple of quotes that particularly stood out for me on this reading (out of many that I could have chosen):

"Reading is the ultimate weapon, destroying ignorance, poverty, and despair before they can destroy us. A nation that doesn't read much doesn't know much. And a nation that doesn't know much is more likely to make poor choices in the home, the marketplace, the jury box, and the voting booth. And those decisions ultimately affect an entire nation--the literate and the illiterate." (Page xxvi)

"The last thirty years of reading research confirms this simple formula--regardless of sex, race, nationality, or socioeconomic background. Students who read the most also read the best, achieve the most, and stay in school the longest. Conversely, those who don't read much cannot get better at it.

Why don't students read more? Because of Reading Fact No. 1 (Human beings are pleasure centered). The large number of "unpleasure messages they received throughout their school years, coupled with the lack of pleasure messages in the home, nullify any attraction books might have." (Page 5)

After framing the arguments for raising kids who like to read, and using reading aloud as a tool to facilitate this, Trelease goes on to talk about when to begin (and end) reading aloud, the developmental stages of reading aloud, and some nuts-and-bolts dos and don'ts of reading aloud. These early chapters (especially Chapter 4, which consists of nothing but bulleted lists of dos and don'ts) are the ones that I would most encourage parents to read. If you have time for nothing else, read the Introduction, Chapter 1, and Chapter 4. This could help you to change your child's life for the better.

The later chapters get a bit more into specifics like sustained silent reading programs in schools; the effect of Oprah, Harry Potter, and the Internet; and limiting television. All of this is useful, just not quite as essential for parents as the first few chapters. I especially enjoyed the fact that Trelease intersperses his research findings with personal anecdotes, some from his own family (reading aloud to his kids while they did the dishes), and others from people he met along the way. For me, these stories often resonated more than the fact-based research.

The book ends with a "giant treasury of great read-alouds", classified by genre. The treasury takes up about 40% of the book, and is more of a reference than something that you need to read page by page. It's a great starting point, though the author also talks in the text about other ways to find books to read. [He doesn't mention the Kidlitosphere, but I'll bet that he would if there was a new edition in the future.]

The edition that I read this week was the sixth (and most recent) edition of The Read-Aloud Handbook, published in 2006. Because Trelease references so many studies on reading and literacy, it's perhaps inevitable that at four years old, the book does occasionally feel dated. At least, it does to me, someone who is constantly reading news stories about the latest and greatest reading studies. Ironically, if the book was less extensively researched and referenced, this wouldn't stand out so much (e.g. if he was just talking about his own experience, rather than tying things to concrete studies).

I do think that Trelease did a good job with this edition overall (I've also read the fourth edition), keeping many of the anecdotes that give the book its heart, but also updating to include web references, discussions about the impact of the Internet, etc. Jim is retired now, and I'm not sure whether or not there will ever be a later edition of the book. But in the meantime, I'm happy to report that the Sixth Edition of The Read-Aloud Handbook holds up well. I have every expectation of continuing to give it as a gift to new parents in the future. I hope that some of you will consider reading it, and giving it to others, too. The Read-Aloud Handbook has my highest recommendation.

Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: July 25, 2006
Source of Book: Bought it
Other Blog Reviews: Moms Inspire Learning, ABC and 123, The Homeschool Den. See also my notes from a talk that Jim Trelease gave in Santa Clara, CA. See also a personal story of the impact of this book at Original Content.

© 2010 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. All Amazon links in this post are affiliate links, and may result in my receiving a small commission on purchases (with no additional cost to you).

Comments

[Susan (Chicken Spaghetti)]

I remember how happy this book made me when I first read it! it still makes me happy...

[Zoe @ Playing by the book]

Sounds like a very valuable book I shall have to get hold of!

[Jen Robinson]

I know exactly what you mean, Susan. I'm glad that I re-read it. And Zoe, yes, this book is well worth getting your hands on. I hope you like it!

[Saints and Spinners]

I think I need this book. I never thought I would have needed it, as I've been an avid reader since I was 7. However, now I'm reading aloud books to my daughter, and hope to continue doing so even after she can read on her own. There are books I thought would have worked well as read-alouds, and didn't, and others about which I was skeptical, but then so grateful when I realized how easily the text flowed on an aural level.

Tangentially... I'm getting a kick out of my husband reading Anne of Green Gables aloud to our daughter. I've read it many times, and I told him that it was his duty as a Canadian to know the book. Our daughter has started renaming landmarks and practicing flowery apologies.

[Jen Robinson]

I think it's a book that has something to offer, even for parents who are already convinced about the benefits of reading aloud. I'd say it's worth a look, Farida. And I love the image of your husband reading Anne of Green Gables to your daughter. That's great! Enjoy the flowery apologies, too.

[Kendra]

We seem to always be replacing copies of this book at the library. They tend to "disappear". Mr. Trelease is also a great speaker too! I would highly recommend a listen if he is anywhere in your area.

[Jen Robinson]

I suppose that's an endorsement, Kendra (the disappearing copies), in a slightly warped sort of way. I have heard Jim Trelease speak, and I agree that he's great at it. He's retired now, though, so I don't think he's out there much anymore. Too bad!

[Augusta Scattergood]

Jen,
I haven't seen a new edition of this book in a very long time so happy to know it's still out there being used so often. He spoke at my kids' school a number of years ago and I remember him telling about reading to older kids. Something that often goes out the window when kids' schedules fill with sports and other activities. A good reminder to parents and teachers of all the good that comes from reading to kids! Thanks!

[Jen Robinson]

Thanks for commenting, Augusta. Yes, the book is definitely out there, and still valuable for parents and teachers. I'm sure that finding time to read aloud with older kids is harder, but I figure that hearing the reminder from time to time helps.

[Dawn Morris]

Thanks for writing a full review of the book, Jen! I'm so glad you enjoyed the sixth edition.

I've been so immersed in children's literature since my first child was born, that I never realized it even existed! I wish they had packaged it with "What to Expect When You're Expecting," or even had it on display in the children's section of the library and book store, because it would have saved me a lot of trouble figuring a lot of it out on my own...

It's definitely a must-read for every parent, and I certainly think teachers and librarians would get a lot out of it as well. The research is timeless to me, even if another edition is never printed.

I feel honored to have inspired you to read it again. Thank you so much for linking to my post, and for summarizing the book so eloquently.

[Alex S]

I love his book and refer to it constantly. My biggest beef is that it doesn't sort the books very well. Wouldn't you consider sorting by level? or gasp, have an appendix that cross-referenced the book names or authors...what a concept! Having said all that, the book is awesome and I literally (pun intended) refer to it constantly :-) I'm saddened that he's retired and I presume there won't be updates to his books in the future :-(

[Jen Robinson]

You're welcome, Dawn. Thanks for talking about the book so much lately.

And Alex, yes, it is sad that there probably won't be further updates to the book. Like an appendix listing the titles and authors (which I agree would be a great idea)... Still, great to have this edition out there.

[Rebecca Reid]

This sounds so great! I recently read The ABCs of Literacy which also gave me great ideas of what and how to read aloud to my toddler. We're having lots of fun reading together. I need to find this book too. I always need more ideas.

[Jen Robinson]

I think you'd really enjoy it, Rebecca. And find some ideas, too. Thanks for commenting.

[Heather]

Great review!!! I just stumbled across your website and happen to have this book sitting in my lap right now. I’ve been searching online for a printable list of these books that I can pull out as a reference when I’m in a hurry or on my way to the library. Do you know if there is a list available somewhere? I thought about making one, but it would save SO much time if there is already a list out there.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks for the great review and for so strongly advocating spending quality time with children.

[Jen Robinson]

Hi Heather,

I'm afraid that I don't know of a printable list of Jim Trelease's recommendations. Some of the books are blurbed on Jim's website, but it's not a concise list designed just for printing. But you might poke around his website a bit more, to see if there's anything like that - I only had time for a quick look.

Also, some nice printable book lists can be found on the Cybils website, in the upper right-hand corner. Your local library might have printable recommended reading lists, too...

Hope this helps. And I'm glad that you liked the review. Thanks for taking time to comment.