Excerpted from Chapter Three of The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease (Penguin, 2006, 6th edition). For a list of all topics covered here and in the print edition see Chapter Three question list.

Chapter 3: The stages of read-aloud—continued

How can illiterate or semiliterate parents read to their children?

Fifty years ago, this would have been an insurmountable problem, but not now. One kind of book and a piece of technology help to save the day. The books are wordless and predictable books (or easy readers) and the technology is the tape deck or CD player.

Thirty thousand years ago, in a step toward writing, our ancestors used cave drawings to tell stories without words—and wordless books follow that tradition. These books convey a story without using words; pictures (interpreted orally by the reader) tell the whole story—books in pantomime, if you will. The parent who can’t read (or can’t read English) has little difficulty in looking at the pictures and talking the book to the child.8 The popularity of this genre has increased in recent years, and there are now dozens of wordless books in print, from the simple (like Deep in the Forest by Brinton Turkle) to the complex (The Silver Pony by Lynd Ward, or Tuesday by David Wiesner). Ask your librarian for the wordless books in the library's collection.

Forty years ago, a person had to be blind to obtain a book on tape in America. Now thousands of titles are available for parents or anyone wishing to listen, learn, and enjoy a good book, all for free at the public library. Illiterate or semiliterate parents can listen to these recorded books along with the child, and hearing them often enough, will begin to memorize them. The illiterate parent and child can sit together and listen to a book, even follow along on the page. They’re sharing time and a common story. Is someone else’s voice better than the parent’s? No, but it’s a whole lot better than no story at all. Taking the time to listen beside the child—instead of watching TV or talking on the phone—sends a message to the child about the importance the parent places on books. For parents or teachers of older children, see Audio Books for a discussion of children’s books on audiocassette.

Could you read chapter books at preschool level?

In 1999, my daughter came home for Thanksgiving with a letter she had received from my grandson Connor’s preschool teacher at Battery Park City Day Nursery in New York City. “You’re going to love this!” she exclaimed as she handed it to me. I’ve shared it with almost every teacher and parent audience I’ve had since then. The teacher was a talented young woman with fourteen years’ experience working with four- and five-year-olds, and here’s what she wrote:

For anyone unfamiliar with Stuart Little, it’s a charming 130-page novel by the same person who wrote the classic Charlotte’s Web. Karleen Waldman understood that children are ready for chapter books long before most people think they are. Our continued exclusive reliance on four-minute picture books is an insult to their growing minds and attention spans. No, Ms. Waldman didn’t begin the year with a novel, nor did she abandon picture books for chapters. She began with picture books and built the children’s attention spans (see class photo, right). By the end of the year, these same children had also heard Cricket in Times Square by George Selden, and Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Florence and Richard Atwater. I’m not suggesting we abandon picture books. Instead, add a few novel pages and then a daily chapter to the picture books you read to preschoolers.

What about reading aloud nonfiction?

Nonfiction will often read like a boring textbook unless there's a strong narrative to it. One of the publishing highlights of the last two decades has been the proliferation of outstanding picture books devoted to American history, many of which contain a strong story line. Here are some that make excellent read-alouds:

NEXT: How and why do you read to preteens and teens?

Chapter Three — p. 1   p. 2   p. 3   Footnotes