Interactive Read Alouds: Getting More Out of Sharing Books Aloud
By Dr. Jan Kristo, Professor of Literacy Education, The University of Maine

You found the perfect book to share aloud. You have a comfortable spot and the kids snuggle up around you to hear the wonderful book you've chosen to share aloud with them. But…do you begin to wonder if you're ever going to get through the whole book? The kids won't sit still. They're chatting away, interrupting, pointing out things that fascinate them at every turn of a page. Maybe you're thinking, how am I ever going to finish this page?
Interacting with your child during a read aloud is a natural thing; that's what should be happening. Some experts in the field of reading say that these kinds of interactions help children "tune in" to reading (Fields & Spangler, 2000). When you ask your child questions about the book and when you encourage him or her to talk about new words and the pictures or photographs, you're actually helping your child engage or tune in to the skills that children need to become readers. Young children spontaneously like to point out what they see or love to connect their own experiences with the content or the pictures. So, invite and encourage your children to do that; you'll be preparing them to become readers as well as getting them ready for reading instruction in school.

Here are several new titles that will spark lots of conversation.

Just Right Books for Toddlers:

Who Is Bigger? Who Is Smaller? And Who Has More? Who Has Fewer? Both titles are by Caroline Arnold. These are small accordion books housed in cardboard sleeves. (Charlesbridge Publishers, 2004)

Busy Fingers by C.W. Bowie and Illustrated by Fred Willingham and To Be a Kid by Maya Ajmera and John D. Ivanko are two new board books. To Be a Kid shows children from around the world. (Charlesbridge Publishers, 2004)

Children up to Five and Six Will Enjoy these New Nonfiction Titles:

Guess Who Hides and What's Inside a Fire Truck? Both titles are by Sharon Gordon and are part of the Benchmark Books BookWorm Series, 2004.

Fun Stories That Young Children Will Enjoy :

Bedtime, Nelly! By Jan Barger (Charlesbridge, 2004).

Duck, Duck, Goose! (A Coyote's on the Loose) by Karen Beaumont and Illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. (HarperCollins, 2004).

Super Sam! By Lori Ries and Illustrated by Sue Rama (Charlesbridge, 2004).

Fun with Poetry:

Drift Upon a Dream: Poems for Sleepy Babies by John Foster and Melanie Williamson. (Charlesbridge, 2004).

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Fields, M.V., & Spangler, K.L. (2000). Let's begin reading right: A developmental approach to emergent literacy. 4th ed. Columbus, OH: Merrill/Prentice Hall.