How to Make Your Child a Reader for Life

Veteran teacher Kropp has revised his earlier Raising a Reader to include up-to-date information on literacy and recommendations on current and classic books for children from infancy through the teen years. Kropp focuses on how parents' involvement is crucial to making a child a reader for life, offering up three essential rules (""3 R's"") for reading: read with your child every day; reach into your wallet to buy good books; and rule the media by limiting time spent on TV, videos, video games and computers. Kropp covers reading methods such as phonics and whole language, as well as school issues, but emphasizes that the parent's role in developing a positive attitude toward reading is paramount, noting that statistics reveal a parent's attitude toward reading is the strongest predictor of whether a child will be a reader or not. Kropp prepares parents for ""danger times"" when kids may lose interest, notably at the fourth and ninth grade levels, and offers suggestions to keep children on target, including continuing to read aloud with older children and discussing reading materials as a family. He warns against artificial incentives or gimmicks and notes that modeling reading and staying involved in your child's progress is the best way to keep kids on track. Helpful lists of recommended books as well as titles specifically geared to satisfy reluctant readers are included. This is a useful volume for parents who are worried about their kids' reading development and success, packed with solid ideas for keeping the pages turning all through life. (Aug.)