Why is reading so important?
February 15, 2015
I am continually asked, “Why is reading so important?” Many people believe reading is important for success in school and they are correct. But that reason alone does not adequately speak to the real importance and value that comes from being a reader.
We read to know and to understand ourselves and our place in the world but I have come to see that the real power that reading bestows upon a person comes about because reading allows us to encounter, to meet, to face and to experience the world. A person cannot really know something until they have experienced it and the literary experience becomes the passport of entry to the encounters that bring about the knowing I am speaking of.
To know is not the same as To Encounter and it is through story that we come to meet and better understand others and ourselves. This is how we expand our capacity for empathy, this is what it means to be a compassionate human being.
Being a reader is a lifelong gift and one that parents are instrumental in cultivating in their children.
A perfect family read with children of all ages
February 12, 2015
Parents the world over want the best for their children. I just returned from working in Hong Kong and I had the good fortune to meet and work with so many parents. One dad in Hong Kong, when asked why he signed up for the Master Class on Conversational Reading said, “I learned that I […]
Thank You Bring Me A Book Hong Kong
January 27, 2015
I want to thank all the individuals who participated in the weeklong workshops. I was impressed with your enthusiasm and your eager participation. You came to each workshop, energized and ready to learn how to best Conversationally Read with your children. You came to understand: ~ Learning to ask good questions is an essential skill; […]
Don’t Count Books, Count Conversations
January 19, 2015
What matters is not how many books your child reads, it’s how many conversations she has about them.
“The answers aren’t important really…What’s important is—knowing all the questions.”
January 19, 2015
After years of Conversationally Reading, with adults and children I have begun to believe that the secret of living well is not in having all the answers but in pursuing unanswerable questions in good company, and inside good books. There is more power in the questions we ask, then in the answers we find.The quality […]
