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Wan (2000) shares with us that:
Research indicates that reading prepares the mind, nurtures the spirit and educates the soul. It is one of the most influential factors which parents and teachers can offer children. Reading aloud to young children offers them a legacy of cognizance and creativity. Story-reading plays an important role in children’s learning (p. 6).
Wan, G. (2000). Reading aloud to children: The past, the present and the future. ReadingImprovement, 37(4), 1-15.Retrieved from: http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.rowan.edu
Arnold and Colburn (2006) share:
“It’s easier for children to read words they have already heard” (p. 26).Reading aloud to children initiates this process.Arnold, R., & Colburn, N. (2006). It’s a gift to be fancy. School Library Journal. July.Additionally, reading aloud to children “conditions the child’s brain to associate reading withpleasure, creates background knowledge, builds vocabulary, and provides a reading rolemodel” (p. 4).Trelease, J. (2006). The Read-Aloud Handbook. New York: Penguin Books.Mem Fox (2008) tells us:Read-aloud sessions are times when parents and children fall in love with each other.Parents who read aloud regularly to their children get to know their kids well and doteon them more because the things little kids say and do during a read-aloud are so funnyand adorable. People who tell me they haven't got time to read every day for tenminutes make me choke. We have to make time. After all, it's fun! It's hilarious!It's gorgeous! (p. 179).Reading aloud to our sons and daughters also helps them to learn the best kinds of universalvalues, which will help them grow into being pleasant children now, and good citizens later.It advances their speech, enlarges their brain, makes them happy, and helps them to besuccessful at school and in life. It also gives them sky-high self-esteem.They realize that we love them dearly. (Fox, 2008, p. 180)Fox, M. (2008). Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will ChangeTheir Lives Forever. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.