Raising Bookworms: Getting Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment [Paperback]

Emma Walton Hamilton (Author)

Book Description

<DIV>This book offers creative strategies, tips, and activities to help young people discover - or rediscover - the joy and empowerment of reading.</DIV>

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

A quote from B. F. Skinner sums up the goal of this book: “We shouldn’t teach great books; we should teach a love of reading.” Hamilton, a prolific children’s book author, believes that success in reading—or in any endeavor, for that matter—depends on the pleasure that results. After beginning with some disturbing statistics about the decline in American reading habits, Hamilton lays out ideas, strategies, and book lists that aim to rescue reading from the deadening clutches of school assignments. Traditionalists will bristle at Hamilton’s kitchen-sink approach; she advocates nearly anything that can connect reading with joy, including relevant movies, TV, comics, games, snacks, even staying up late. Heavy with bulleted lists, the book invites browsing for the section most relevant to your child’s age and preferences, and though the content is appropriately broad, Hamilton occasionally tackles specifics (her concern with the teen “problem novel” is particularly illuminating). This is a great tool for parents hoping to instill in their child a love of the printed word. --Daniel Kraus

About the Author

<DIV>Emma Walton Hamilton is an author, editor, educator and theatre professional. She has co-authored 16 books for children of all ages with her mother, Julie Andrews, and serves as Editorial Director for the Julie Andrews Collection publishing program. One of the founders of Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, New York, Emma served as Co-Artistic Director and subsequently Director of Education and Programming for Young Audiences for seventeen years. She continues to act as Education Consultant for the Theatre. Emma speaks to groups around the country as an arts and literacy advocate. She has been a panelist for the New York State Council on the Arts, a National Ambassador for The Broadway League's "Kids' Night on Broadway", and a trustee for the Morriss Center School in Bridgehampton, New York.</DIV>

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Beech Tree Books; 1st edition (December 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 098158330X
• ISBN-13: 978-0981583303
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #276,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

EMMA WALTON HAMILTON is a best-selling children's book author, editor and arts educator. In partnership with her mother, actress/author Julie Andrews, Emma has co-authored nineteen children's books, four of which have been on the New York Times Bestseller list, including the "Dumpy the Dump Truck" series of picture books, board books and early readers, "Simeon's Gift", "The Great American Mousical", "Dragon: Hound of Honor" and "Thanks to You - Wisdom from Mother and Child", a #1 New York Times Bestseller. Emma is also the Editorial Director for The Julie Andrews Collection publishing program (www.julieandrewscollection.com), dedicated to providing quality books for young readers that nurture the imagination and celebrate a sense of wonder, where she has shepherded dozens of books through the publication process.

Emma's latest book, "RAISING BOOKWORMS: Getting Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment" (Beech Tree Books) premiered as an Amazon bestseller in the literacy category, and received silver medals from the Living Now and IPPY Awards.

Recently, Emma and her mother completed "Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs and Lullabies", to be published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in October, 2009. Their next book, "The Very Fairy Princess," will be published by Little, Brown in Spring, 2010. Emma also does recorded narration for audiobooks, and her voice can be heard as the narrator for Gitty Daneshvari's "School of Fear" as well as reading many of the poem selections for the audiobook version of "Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs and Lullabies."

Emma serves as Executive Director of SUNY Stony Brook Southampton's new Young American Writers Project (YAWP), as well as Co-Director of the annual Playwriting Conference sponsored by the MFA Program in Writing and Literature. In 1991, she co-founded the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, New York, and served as the Theatre's Director of Education and Programming for Young Audiences until 2008, creating and managing the Theatre's unique education and performance programs for young audiences. Emma also works as a freelance children's book editor, and writes articles for magazines, newspapers, ezines and periodicals. She speaks regularly to schools, libraries, arts organizations and other groups about the value of, and synergy between, the arts and literacy.

Emma is a member of the Author's Guild, The Dramatists' Guild, The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, the International Reading Association, The Editorial Freelancers Association, IPAY (International Performing Arts for Youth), SAG, AEA, AFTRA and ASCAP. She has served on the theater panel for the New York State Council on the Arts, was an ambassador for the 2008 Broadway League's "Kids Night on Broadway" and a trustee for the former Morriss Center School in Bridgehampton, NY. She lives in Sag Harbor, NY, with her husband, producer/actor Stephen Hamilton and their two children, Sam and Hope.

For more information, visit www.emmawaltonhamilton.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for Parents and Teachers, February 24, 2009

By 

Maryland Mom - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raising Bookworms: Getting Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book. I actually read it in a day because there is a lot of repetition of technique. I enjoyed the age-by-age recommendations the most. Her premise is that we can get our kids reading by building associations of warmth/cuddling/joy with reading. I love that she encourages us to have our kids read in bed (one of my fondest memories of reading as a child). This is a book I would recommend to any parents and teachers. I will be recommending it to the parents of my students as well.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Parenting books with lots of ideas on raising readers in families, March 20, 2009

By 

M. Avila "Play-Activities" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Raising Bookworms: Getting Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment (Paperback)

Raising bookworms by Emma Walton Hamilton is one of those rare books that you discover that will appeal to parents, grandparents and educators. Emma shows clearly how to foster a love of reading at different ages and stages carefully explaining the background in down to earth language without being too simplistic but using terminology familiar to educators. She takes each age group and after explaining ideas to foster reading she lists out her favourite books. This was an instant success with us because as most parents that read and love books you're always on the lookout for the next book to capture that next wave of enthusiasm or start a new interest.

Another positive is that you don't have to read the book from cover to cover. The chapters are short and this book could easily be read in one sitting, if you needed. However, I have boys in three areas so read only those areas; babies and toddler, preschool and Elementary years. I'll read the middle school and beyond later on. Yes, there is a lot of repetition of ideas because each section can stand alone, but the repetition helps with the continuity of thought to be reminded about the big picture of reading and what you're trying to develop.

I wouldn't encourage cover to cover reading but frequent dips especially if you feel at a reading loss or you've lost momentum. The sections I read gave new ideas and reminders that I could apply immediately especially the read aloud sections.

I was disappointed that much more wasn't made of developing reluctant boy readers and their parents and counteracting the wave of boys switching off to books during the Elementary years in the frequently asked questions section. I did enjoy the frequent quotes.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Joy, November 8, 2009

By 

B. Davis "crazy about books" (Beautiful Northwest USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Raising Bookworms: Getting Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment (Paperback)

I'm a huge bookworm myself, and love to introduce books to others, especially children, so when I came across Raising Bookworms, I just had to read it. Ms. Hamilton has written a jewel here, which I encourage all teachers, parents, grandparents, and friends of children to read. If there is only one book I would recommend to educators of young people, it would be this one. It is expertly written, easy to read, and offers a ton of ideas that encourage a love of the written word. I will refer back to it many times, I'm sure. What a joy to find such a helpful book as this one!