When my daughter and I invite friends over, she scurries off to play with her friends and I relax into adult talk. I remember sitting on my grandmother's kitchen floor playing and relishing the sounds of adult women talking around me. My daughter suffers from the separation that comes when you don't live near or with extended family.
Recently I discovered The Mother Daughter Book Club by Shireen Dodson, published by HarperCollins. I love the subtitle: How Ten Busy Mothers and Daughters Came Together to Talk, Laugh, and Learn Through their Love of Reading. The author is a busy career and community woman who worried about her daughter slipping into the distance that swallows so many adolescents. She wanted to keep her daughter's self-esteem high and find deeper ways to communicate. And she wanted her daughter to hear the perspective of other women. The Mother Daughter Book Club gave so much more. The book club was about explaining, questioning, identifying, exploring and discovering how reading and talking enrich and strengthen the self and relationships. Dodson gives directions about how to start, what to read, and even offers discussion guides. There are scattered booklists from young adult authors, and celebrities like Tipper Gore, Kaye Gibbons, and Jamie Lee Curtis. I like best the stories the mothers and daughters share about their own experiences. I read the book in a day and called a friend..."I've got too much on my plate, I told her...talk me out of this!" She didn't want to. She wanted to join.
Recently another parent-child reading resource came into my hands.
At the end of this commentary I'll give a the toll free number you can call for information. I've been asked countless times "how do you read to children?" Mostly I just do it intuitively and when I'm pressed, I have a hard time nailing down my specific behaviors. From now on when I'm asked that question I'm going to recommend Patrick Fraley's audio tape, Read it Again! How To Read Aloud to Kids. Fraley is one of the most successful voice-over actors in Hollywood. He's also the father of four restless boys. These two credentials give him the gift of knowing how to capture children's imagination and hold their attention with captivating readings. Best of all, he gives a great audio performance that will inspire and excite parents who want to improve their read aloud skills. He has an inviting storytelling style, his voices are wonderful and I like how he models storytelling with children on the tape. The easiest way to get his tape is to order it by calling Audio Partners. Their toll free number: 800-231-4261.