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| Helping children start to read
As parents and teachers know, there's a world of good reading out there for kids of any age. So much so that it can be bewildering for first-time parents.
Debbie Duncan sorts it all out in Joy of Reading, a book about reading. Duncan is a children's author and appears on KGO radio a couple times a year to talk about books.
Joy of Reading is a guide to suggested types and lists of books that can be enjoyed by children at different ages, beginning with board books for the youngest infants.
In fact, Duncan recounts that her daughter was one month old when she "wandered into a children's bookstore for the first time. This was a place I could learn to love, but how would I find my way around? Where would I start?"
She started by talking to one of the store's employees who said that it is never too young to start reading to one's children, even if they can't understand it yet.
The first part of Joy of Reading includes chapters on different types of books at different age levels, from board books to picture books, read-aloud favorites, early reading books, middle grade books, and even books boys like.
For older children, there are chapters on humorous books, historical fiction, poetry, fiction and young adult books, and each chapter concludes with a reading list of books of the type described in the chapter.
In the second part of Joy of Reading, Duncan reflects on children's reading in general, with chapters on using the library, summer reading, and even using sick time for reading.
Duncan also approaches a tricky issue: "What To Do About the (Ahem) Television." Many families wrestle with the questions of how much television watching is acceptable, what shows are to be avoided, and the like.
Just as parents need to set limits on the amount of junk food their children eat, so they should limit the amount and type of television programming they consume," Duncan writes. She recommends a two-hour limit per day, against a national average of four hours a day.
Anyone who loves books knows the value of opening up new worlds of wonder to children and then encouraging their journeys as they get older and can comprehend more. Joy of Reading is a useful and friendly map for those journeys, compiled by Debbie Duncan and her family through their own experience.
-- Palo Alto Weekly
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