Customer Reviews

And Then Mama Said...It Takes Time to Learn to Read

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Based on the reviews, I thought this book would let our son (whom we are homeschooling) know reading doesn't just happen overnight. Unfortunately, this book just goes on and on with so many unnecessary details about how great Mama is. It is so boring I could barely keep reading it to my son. For example these consecutive paragraphs:

"The key to reading, Mama knew, was to keep Splish interested in learning. She noticed things that got Splish's attention, and each time she noticed, Mama made a mental note. When Splish got excited about his daddy's big red motorcycle or the peculiar brown minnow that occasionally swam by his favorite lily pad, Mama noticed. And she remembered.

"Splish was still little and Mama knew it. It takes time to learn to read! It doesn't happen overnight. She understood, too, that someday his reading would just take off, just like those motorcycles Splish loved to watch. Mama's job between now and then was very clear. Because she homeschooled him, Mama knew Splish. Lots of quality time spent together revealed plenty about her son. This wise mama was paying attention--every day.

"Mama was patient. She knew the lesson that Tia Turtle knew well: slow and steady wins the race. And win it, Splish would! It just would take a little time."

There is absolutely nothing from a kid's perspective in that long section. It's all about Mama's inner works. Where is the action? Where is the kid's eye view?

Then there's what happens when Splish finally reads:

"Mama's grin grew wide. She beamed at her son. Mama was wise. She had known that Splish would understand how to put letters together some day."

The kid finally reads and the first comments are all about how wise Mama is?

There are also a lot of negative comments about the fact that Splish can't read. Splish mutters, "What's wrong with me?" or is embarrassed he can't read. I don't want to give those ideas to my son. There is nothing wrong with him being a pre-reader. Although some kids might think that, those thoughts might come from suggestions (like this book gives) rather than their own thoughts.

There is one religious comment in the book. It was a turnoff for me, but since there was only one comment in the whole book, I would not dismiss this book based simply on it. It comes in another long, boring paragraph about the parents:

"Splish had wanted to read for as long as he could remember. Papa read God's Word, the Bible, aloud to the family almost every night, and Mama read stories to her little ones during the day. Splish's parents loved the written word. Their love created in Splish and his siblings an appetite to know that same love--to discover for themselves the hidden treasures in books. Reading seemed like such fun!"

I have gone through our book and shaded out about 20% to 25% of the text that does not progress the story or that insinuates that there is something wrong with a child that can't read. It's still not well written, but now it's faster paced and more relevant for a 5 year old.

I wish I had noted before I bought this book that the four glowing reviews it previously received were all written within 8 days.

As a homeschool mother with a struggling reader, I am thankful for this book. Gena's story of Splish is encouraging both to the emerging reader, and the parents.

Splish's mom encourages him that it takes time to learn to read, and everyone learns at their own pace. This lesson is repeated throughout the book, and Splish's feelings about his inability to read will resonate with any child facing a similar struggle. The book will validate their feelings, and show them they aren't alone in their struggle. Splish's eventual success will give hope to beginning readers.

The story also includes gentle lessons for the parents about how to teach reading to a child who is struggling. These subtle reminders for the parents will help ease fears that their child will never learn to read, or that they are unable to teach their own child to read. The book will encourage the parents to persevere, be patient, and not compare their child with others.

_And Then Mama Said ... It Takes Time To Learn To Read_ will be a blessing to every homeschool family, and to every beginning reader. It will especially encourage the child who has struggled longer than others, and is discouraged. Splish's story encouraged both myself, and my struggling reader. It will be on my list to purchase for future students.

Thank you, Gena, for addressing a common area of concern to homeschool families, and for doing it so well.

This is truly a delightful story! My daughter identified with Splish's struggle to read. She exclaimed "Yay!" when Splish read his first words - she truly made friends with the characters in the book. Her favorite was Rory Raccoon.

Not only is there a message of patience for emerging and struggling readers, but there's a message of encouragement for parents.I also appreciated the writing level. The author used some very descriptive adjectives and nouns that made this an interesting and educational read - not a dumbed-down reader. Each two-page spread has a full page of adorable illustrations that reflect the emotions of the characters so well. There are vocabulary words listed in the back of the book that led us to our bookshelf and an investigation of animals that hibernate. Plus, there are some fun science pages in the companion activity book. It was like a mini unit study for us! We enjoyed an afternoon of frogs, ants, raccoons...and reading!

Splish is a young frog that desires to read more than anything else. His father reads the Bible aloud to his family daily. His mother reads to him, his older brother and younger sister can both read, and all of his friends read as well, but somehow Splish has been left behind. Frustrated by his lack of reading abilities, he doubts his Mama's patient, wise words as she repeatedly assures him that it takes time to learn to read, and he will indeed master the art.

In her capacity as a homeschooling mother, Mama frog soothes Splish each time he expresses his fears that he will never, ever learn to read. "And then Mama said, `It takes time to learn to read, Splish...'" forms the repeating element of encouragement for all young children impatient for the inevitable breakthrough necessary before fluent reading skills emerge. Mama frog continues to read to Splish daily and to encourage his reading efforts until the developmental leap is made and Splish realizes that his Mama was right all along: it does take time to learn to read.

As any adult who has taught a young child to read can attest, the waiting period between the desire and the eventual achievement of that goal is often a frustrating, disappointing time. Gena Suarez, co-publisher of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and homeschooling mother of five, knows this stage of life well. She is intimately familiar with this tenuous time, and provides encouragement for young students and their teachers in And Then Mama Said...It Takes Time to Learn to Read.

When read aloud, Suarez's text brings out the best nurturing Mama voice inside each of us. Paired with bright, bold illustrations from Kevin Collier, young readers will be swept into the world of Bliss Hollow and reassured that all things occur in God's perfect timing. Collier's drawings of the frog family and their animal friends are filled with saturated colours and are somewhat cartoon-like in their rendering - always an appealing style for children.

Splish's simple story entered into our family's life the day after I heard my own five-year-old daughter voicing her frustrations with her lack of reading skills. "I can't read, and I'm never going to be able to!" her sentiments echoed Splish's precisely. Though I reassured her that night that yes, she would read, but it took time and practice, I heard doubt in her voice. Just learning to blend three letter words, she had her eyes set on lengthy picture books and the meaty, read-aloud chapter books we share together as a family. Children raised in a reading home find this waiting period particularly difficult.

Sharing the story of Splish's frustrations and eventual triumph seemed to settle her fears and anxiety. Never drawing conclusions between her situation and the little frog's we simply read through the story several times together. She noted similarities between the frog family and ours, "Oh Mommy, those frogs are Christians. Oh! They homeschool too!" Having the reassurances of her father and myself echoed by an independent third party - in this case a storybook - finally convinced her that we were telling the truth. Despite the worst of her fears, she would learn to read with time.

This proven ability to calm the anxiety of impatient young students, paired with guidance for mothers to persevere in patience, establishes Suarez's picture book as an essential addition to the library of all parents of pre-readers.