What to Read When: The Books and Stories to Read with Your Child--and All the Best Times to Read Them [Paperback]

Pam Allyn (Author)

Book Description

The books to read aloud to children at the important moments in their lives.

In What to Read When, award-winning educator Pam Allyn celebrates the power of reading aloud with children. In many ways, books provide the first opportunity for children to begin to reflectively engage with and understand the world around them. Not only can parents entertain their child and convey the beauty of language through books, they can also share their values and create lasting connections.

Here, Allyn offers parents and caregivers essential advice on choosing appropriate titles for their children—taking into account a child’s age, attention ability, gender, and interests— along with techniques for reading aloud effectively. But what sets this book apart is the extraordinary, annotated list of more than three hundred titles suitable for the pivotal moments in a child’s life. With category themes ranging from friendship and journeys to thankfulness, separations, silliness, and spirituality, What to Read When is a one-of-a-kind guide to how parents can best inspire children through reading together. In addition, Pam Allyn includes an indispensable “Reader’s Ladder” section, with recommendations for children at every stage from birth to age ten. With the author’s warm and engaging voice throughout, discussion questions to encourage in-depth conversations, as well as advice on helping kids make the transition to independent reading, this book will help shape thoughtful, creative, and curious children, imparting a love of reading that will last a lifetime.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This volume by Allyn, director of the literacy organization LitLife, reminds parents that through reading aloud they can teach the beauty of language and joys of rhythm and rhyme and introduce their offspring to the Big Wide World. Part one of this book—a combination of Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook and Anita Silvey's 100 Best Books for Children—offers 10 reasons why parents should read to their kids: to develop shared values, to fall in love with language, to build comprehension, among them. Useful, too, are Allyn's Four Keys, revealed in an apt mnemonic, READ: a Ritual of coming together in an Environment conducive to reading with Access to the right book at the right time for a Dialogue. Chapter Four's 14 landmark books, from Pat the Bunny to Harry Potter (with Margaret Wise Brown, Dr. Seuss and Maurice Sendak titles included) will resonate with parents, but the best feature may be a brief section called How to Read Aloud, which teaches parents exactly how and why to read to children in order to elicit interest, engagement and response. The bulk of the book is Part three, all the best books for the moments that matter most, an alphabetical listing of 50 themes, from adoption to New Baby to Your Imagination. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Targeted principally at parents, Allyn’s earnestly utilitarian guide to read-aloud books for children promises to “help you find the perfect books for the perfect times.” To that end, she offers a potpourri of self-help tools including a “reader’s ladder” of titles for children from birth to age 10, 50 thematic lists of “all the best books for the moments that matter most,” 10 reasons for reading to kids, and four keys for helping children become lifelong readers. All of this material has its uses, but its presentation is often either cloying (especially when the author invokes her own family) or a bit too rah-rah for some readers. Her knowledge of the history of children’s literature is occasionally a bit spotty (she praises Margaret Wise Brown without ever acknowledging the influence of Lucy Sprague Mitchell), and is Stuart Little really suitable for reading to a six-year-old? Nevertheless, the author is at her best when she is discussing the inarguable—almost ineffable—importance of reading to and sharing books with kids. And here her enthusiasm and genuine passion are infectious. One hopes her spirit is catching. --Michael Cart

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Avery Trade; Original edition (April 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583333347
• ISBN-13: 978-1583333341
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,817 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Children's Literature Guides

More About the Author

Pam Allyn is the Executive Director and founder of LitWorld, a global organization advocating for children's rights as readers, writers and learners. She is also the Executive Director and founder of LitLife, a national organization dedicated to school improvement. She is the author of the acclaimed and award-winning What To Read When: The Books and Stories To Read With Your Child-And All The Best Times To Read Them (Penguin Avery). Her most recent book is Pam Allyn's Best Books for Boys: How To Engage Boys in Reading in Ways That Will Change Their Lives (Scholastic). Her forthcoming book Your Child's Writing Life (Penguin Avery) will debut in August 2011.

Pam is widely known as a motivational speaker advocating for reading and writing as human rights that belong to all people. Her personal quest to bring literacy to every child stems from a deeper desire to bring dignity to every child, and to empower children to read and write powerfully, effectively and with passion in ways that will change their worlds and the worlds of others. Her work has been featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, Oprah Radio, The Huffington Post and in The New York Times.

Pam is on the English Language Arts Scope and Sequence Advisory Group for the New York City Department of Education, and the Advisory Boards of the Dream Charter School in Harlem, the Amherst College Center for Community Engagement, James Patterson's ReadKiddoRead, Penguin Publishing's We Give Books and the Millennium Cities Initiative Social Sector.

Visit pamallyn.com for more info on Pam's work.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for All Parents, April 8, 2009

By 

Sarah B. - See all my reviews

This review is from: What to Read When: The Books and Stories to Read with Your Child--and All the Best Times to Read Them (Paperback)

This is an incredible treasure -- helpful and chock-full of information -- with a warm and wise narrative voice. Discover the best book to read when your child is nervous about going to the doctor or having a first sleep-over, loses a beloved first pet or gains a new sibling. Or simply, peruse the book for good bedtime reads. It's like having a personal shopper to sort though all the books on the shelves, describe them and provide specific recommendations...Sarah

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not overly impressed, May 25, 2010

By 

emarina - See all my reviews

This review is from: What to Read When: The Books and Stories to Read with Your Child--and All the Best Times to Read Them (Paperback)

I have to be honest and say that I was disappointed in this book. It is not as thorough as I was expecting. I suppose it could be useful to a parent that read no books as a child or has no memory of the books read. The lists offered were very basic. Very few suggestions were new to me and many great books were left out. Book is comprised of very short lists, the introduction to the lists are more detailed than the lists themselves. I would definitely not recommend this book. Time would be much better spent browsing your local library or book store.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, Amazing Book! Perfect for Parents, friends, aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins!, April 8, 2009

By 

R. Coleman (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What to Read When: The Books and Stories to Read with Your Child--and All the Best Times to Read Them (Paperback)

This books is absolutely wonderful! I have just ordered it for all of my friends with children. Whether an aunt or uncle, grandparent, parent or friend of a child, this is the perfect book for you! The titles that Ms. Allyn recommends are fantastic and the gentle but informative way in which she teaches about the read aloud can benefit all. I am expecting my first child and cannot wait to begin the journey of reading aloud to him or her. Thank you, Ms. Allyn!