Read as Loud as You Can
by Judy Newman
In 1985, when I made the career cutover from the adult book publishing world of Mary Higgins Clark, Richard Yates, Danielle Steel, and G. Gordon Liddy to children’s books, I came home each night with stacks and stacks of picture books to read to my kids before bedtime.
Some of the books I knew from my own childhood—Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey; Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans; Eloise by Hilary Knight; The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf—but since I received review copies of virtually every new book published or reissued, many titles I discovered for the first time: Fortunately by Remy Charlip; The Napping House by Don and Audrey Wood; Bigmama’s by Donald Crews; The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats; Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig; The Icky Bug Book by Jerry Pallotta, and on and on and on.
I was truly blessed to work with an incredible team of passionate editors, including the brilliant and humble editor and publisher Ellen Rudin, who introduced me to the very best in classic and children’s literature—books that matter to children and their grown-ups and make lasting impressions.
Every night, I went home with copies of these books—usually in hardcover but if they were brand new, in folded and gathered sheets (F&Gs)—packed into my huge tote bag. The weight of carrying those books from my apartment on the Upper West Side of New York to my office in midtown likely gave me permanent nerve damage in my neck but it was worth it.
It was worth it, because I took those gorgeous, interesting, challenging, imaginative books home and read them to my kids. Bedtime was long—we would read a minimum of three pictures books each night—and many more on sick days, weekends, and vacations. I read all of those books aloud to my kids and watched their reactions. Were they bored? Were they interested? Were the pictures telling a parallel story or were they more literally reflecting the text? Did my kids anticipate what was coming on the next page? Did they care about the characters? Was the story easy for me to read? Was it lyrical? Were the words hard to pronounce? Did I—as the reader-aloud—enjoy the experience of reading the book and sharing it with real children? And would teachers and librarians and other parents enjoy reading these books aloud to one—or many children—during story hours? Would the stories and their characters open up opportunities for me to talk with my children about stuff going on in their lives?
There were no right or wrong answers, but all this factored in to whether we selected the titles to include in our book clubs for teachers and families to choose from to read with—and aloud to—all the kids in their lives.
What Ellen and I and everyone I know who work tirelessly in their careers to connect all children to books in which they can see themselves knows is that as they are growing up and developing their reading skills, all children need to have books read aloud to them. But sadly, like many things in the global pursuit of literacy for all, this doesn’t happen as it should: a shocking 25 percent of children have never had a book read aloud to them.
EdWeek reported:
Despite the multiple proven benefits of being read to early and often, teachers can’t assume that this is happening at home. In a nationally representative sample of nearly 10,000 4-year-old children, 25 percent were never read to, and another estimated 25 percent were read to only once or twice weekly, according to data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort. Those rates were in spite of widespread campaigns to increase awareness of the importance of reading to children. For instance, the American Academy of Pediatrics has formally recommended the practice begin in early childhood, noting that it “builds language, literacy, and social-emotional skills that last a lifetime.”
With urgency, we need to put reading books aloud to kids—at home and in school—back at the top of the list of required initiatives to ensure literacy for all.
Here are some helpful resources to consider:
Dr. Molly Ness, PhD, creator of the End Book Deserts podcast and former teacher, has a new book: Read Alouds for All Learners
Take a look at Scholastic’s suggested list of 40 Read Aloud Favorites.
Tune in to Storyvoice, the world’s first interactive, live read-aloud show where authors and illustrators read, draw, and connect live with classrooms and families all over the world.
Now that I have two grandchildren, I’m back in the regular read-aloud business. Some new (and classic) favorites in my family are:
Big by Vashti Harrison (2024 Caldecott Medal winner), Hot Dog by Doug Salati (2023 Caldecott Medal winner), The Monster Mac and Cheese Party by Todd Parr, The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper, The Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle
Keep reading aloud. It’s critically important—and non-negotiable—for all kids to have books read to them.
And please share any special read-aloud inspirations or tips with me at
Judy.Newman@Scholastic.com.
Happy Reading!
XX,
Judy
Judy Newman, Chief Impact Officer, Scholastic