Raising Bookworms: Getting Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment

I rate this item as something that parents should start early with their children. Although I have never been into fiction books as much as Biographies, AutoBiographies. I will recommend this book to two people I know that have Grandchildren one will be a year old in April and the other one with be 5 in August. I was born with some learning disabilities which made some subjects more difficult for me but I have also wanted to write.

I'm a huge bookworm myself, and love to introduce books to others, especially children, so when I came across Raising Bookworms, I just had to read it. Ms. Hamilton has written a jewel here, which I encourage all teachers, parents, grandparents, and friends of children to read. If there is only one book I would recommend to educators of young people, it would be this one. It is expertly written, easy to read, and offers a ton of ideas that encourage a love of the written word. I will refer back to it many times, I'm sure. What a joy to find such a helpful book as this one!

This is a wonderful new book that promotes literacy. The author offers many specific strategies that adults can use to encourage children to read and lists some recommended books and book-related activities for children from preschool age up through middle school. She addresses various concerns: "When should a child learn to read", "How do I know if my child has a reading problem", and "TV and the Internet", and suggests some additional resources: books, journals, organizations, programs and websites.

Raising bookworms by Emma Walton Hamilton is one of those rare books that you discover that will appeal to parents, grandparents and educators. Emma shows clearly how to foster a love of reading at different ages and stages carefully explaining the background in down to earth language without being too simplistic but using terminology familiar to educators. She takes each age group and after explaining ideas to foster reading she lists out her favourite books. This was an instant success with us because as most parents that read and love books you're always on the lookout for the next book to capture that next wave of enthusiasm or start a new interest. Another positive is that you don't have to read the book from cover to cover. The chapters are short and this book could easily be read in one sitting, if you needed. However, I have boys in three areas so read only those areas; babies and toddler, preschool and Elementary years. I'll read the middle school and beyond later on. Yes, there is a lot of repetition of ideas because each section can stand alone, but the repetition helps with the continuity of thought to be reminded about the big picture of reading and what you're trying to develop. I wouldn't encourage cover to cover reading but frequent dips especially if you feel at a reading loss or you've lost momentum. The sections I read gave new ideas and reminders that I could apply immediately especially the read aloud sections. I was disappointed that much more wasn't made of developing reluctant boy readers and their parents and counteracting the wave of boys switching off to books during the Elementary years in the frequently asked questions section. I did enjoy the frequent quotes.

Emma Walton Hamilton is the co-author of 16 children's books with her mother, the legendary actress/author Julie Andrews. Hamilton clearly shows her love of children and children's literature in this book. In a society of overcrowded classrooms and underpaid teachers, it is often easy for slow readers to get overlooked and slide through our educational system. In /Raising Bookworms/ Hamilton offers advice on ways to unglue our children's eyes from television, video games, and IPods and get their noses stuck in a book. Most parents know that is sometimes not an easy task to accomplish. Hamilton encourages parents to read with their children. She reminds us that it is never to early to read to your child and that teaching children how to read is not the sole responsibility of our teachers. /Raising Bookworms/ is full of fun and entertaining ways to get your children involved in reading. Hamilton has included "Emma's Family Favorites" for all ages of children and the different levels of education. As an avid reader and a mother of 5 children ranging from elementary school to college, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading /Raising Bookworms/ and finding exciting ways to share my love of reading with my children; who are more apt to win a war played on a video game than pick up a book and visit a whole new world in their mind. I will use /Raising Bookworms/ as a reference book for many years to come...one day I will be a grandmother. Reviewed by Terri Boggs