Simply put, reading aloud is good for your child's health.Īuthor Interviews The Pinkneys Are A Picture Book Perfect, Author-Illustrator Couple
Parents and children alike say they love read-aloud time because it is a special time with each other.Īdding to this, the American Academy of Pediatrics has released guidelines encouraging parents to read to their children beginning at birth, saying it enhances brain development, language, and literacy skills. Taking a closer look at families' habits during read-aloud time, the report's research reveals that reading aloud with a child is a highly interactive experience - it's a partnership. Similarly, not reading aloud to kids is like giving them lightbulbs that are only partially lit.Īccording to a report from the publisher Scholastic (where I am an editor and vice president), 85% of children ask questions during read-alouds by the time they're eight years old. We bring power to stories by telling them and encouraging young people to talk to us about what they're reading. To me, books are like lightbulbs - they shine brightest when we turn them on. If we want these stories to give our kids the agency they need to make changes in our world, we need to ignite and invite. I believe racism is a disease, and that healing can begin by reading to the kids in our lives, starting with children of the youngest ages. Reading aloud is the turn-key difference in ensuring that children's books featuring Black and brown characters and experiences have relevance and staying power. But sharing them is what truly brings these important stories to life. But to ignite those stories, and to bring the realities of racism, Black history, and social progress into the consciousness of kids, young readers need to hear these stories spoken. The fact that The Snowy Day has stood the test of time for more than 50 years is a testament to its read-aloud staying power.Īs the world embarks on a renewed interest in Blackness, I applaud those who are taking special care to include more Black books in their homes, schools, and libraries.
Each time my parents read the part of the story when Peter returns home after his romp in the snow - He told his mother all about his adventures while she took off his wet socks – warmth filled every part of me. And not many celebrated the everyday lives and experiences of Black kids. Up to that point, few children's books were set in urban places like the inner-city neighborhood where I was born. One of the very first books Mom and Dad read aloud to me was The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, the first mainstream book to feature a child of color as the central character.Īuthor Interviews 'A Poem For Peter' Recalls One Unforgettable 'Snowy Day' My folks knew that the difference between just owning a book and experiencing its power stems from the oral tradition that is core to African American life and culture. He didn't hold back when it came to sharing narratives about the dignity of Black people and the struggles we faced and transcended.īoth of my parents were voracious readers who understood the importance of taking books off their shelves and reading them aloud.
Dad, a grass-roots civil rights organizer who worked in public policy, was a gifted, charismatic storyteller. We grew up in a family where the oral tradition was woven into the strands of our everyday lives. When I was a kid, my brother, sister, and I came to the dinner table prepared to do three things: Bless the food, eat, and share a story. Summer Poll judge Andrea Davis Pinkney says the first book she remembers her parents reading out loud was Ezra Jack Keats' classic The Snowy Day.
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