Writing to be Read

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***Just a note here, since Robbie is so modest. She has five stories of dark fiction coming out in anthologies this month. “The Siren Witch”, “A Death Without Honour”, and “The Path to Atonement” will appear in Dan Alatorre’s Nightmareland horror anthology, and “Missed Signs” and “The Last of the Lavender” will be featured in the WordCrafter paranormal anthology, Whispers in the Dark.

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Should there be messages/morals in children’s books?

Posted: September 11, 2019 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Books, Character Development, Children's Books, Fairy Tales, Fiction, Showing vs. Telling, Voice, Writing | Tags: Children's Books, Children's Stories, Children's Writing, Growing Bookworms, Robbie Cheadle, Writing to be Read | 46 Comments

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The idea that children’s picture books should contain a strong moral or message seems to be very popular among authors of books for young people. This notion probably emanates from parents and caregivers who are of the view that books are a tool for instructing their young, especially in our modern world of so many more risks to the welfare our children than ever before.

This idea does, however, always bring to my mind the lyrics of the song, A British Nanny sung by David Tomlinson, from the original movie of Mary Poppins:

“A British nanny must be a general!
The future empire lies within her hands
And so the person that we need to mold the breed
Is a nanny who can give commands!
Mr Banks: Are you getting this Winifred?
Mrs Banks: Oh yes dear, every word
A British bank is run with precision
A British home requires nothing less!
Tradition, discipline, and rules must be the tools
Without them – disorder!
Catastrophe!
Anarchy – In short you have a ghastly mess!”

This is an amusing song and you can listen to it here:

The idea of a story or picture book containing a message is not a bad one. It is very much about how the message is presented in the story that will decide whether the book appeals to children or not. After all, children’s writers want to write books that children want to read again and again, not books that their parents think they should read.

My own children have taught me that children run a mile when they think that a book contains an overt moral or message. With this in mind, how then can a parent or caregiver select a book that both teaches and entertains?

Firstly, what the reader will takeaway from the story should be considered. It is not necessary to write out a moral at the end of a tale in the manner of Aesop’s Fables, the message can be subtle, for example, a polluted river that poisons a river or lake and results in all the fish and water creatures dying and the resolution of that predicament by cleaning up the river and preventing future contamination of the water. Children will understand the message without it being spelled out for them.

Some other tips for choosing books that will entertain as well as teach children are as follows:

Make sure that the book is character driven with memorable characters that make the reader care about them. For example in Heidi by Johanna Spyri, the author makes the reader really care about Heidi, Clara and even Grandfather as he changes from a grumpy old man into a tender caregiver. I can remember crying when Heidi goes away from Grandfather to live with Clara in the city;
The language and voice of the story should be suitable for a child and should be interesting and fun. The idea of family members all helping each other and their parents is strongly conveyed in Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree series of books through the expectations of the parents and the behavior of, and awareness of their family dynamics by, the children;
Showing and not telling is another essential ingredient to a good children’s story. I think Roald Dahl is a master and demonstrating exactly where unkind and selfish behavior gets you in life, think of the fate of the two aunts in James and the Giant Peach or the Twits from the book of the same name.

What do you think about children’s books that contain messages? Should they be subtle or overt? Let me know in the comments.

About Robbie Cheadle

Hello, my name is Robbie, short for Roberta. I am an author with six published children’s picture books in the Sir Chocolate books series for children aged 2 to 9 years old (co-authored with my son, Michael Cheadle), one published middle grade book in the Silly Willy series and one published preteen/young adult fictionalised biography about my mother’s life as a young girl growing up in an English town in Suffolk during World War II called While the Bombs Fell (co-authored with my mother, Elsie Hancy Eaton). All of my children’s book are written under Robbie Cheadle and are published by TSL Publications.

I have two short stories in the horror/supernatural genre included in Dark Visions, a collection of 34 short stories by 27 different authors and edited by award winning author, Dan Alatorre. I also have three short stories in Death Among Us, a collection of short murder mystery stories by 10 different authors and edited by Stephen Bentley. These short stories are all published under Robbie Cheadle.

I have recently published a book of poetry called Open a new door, with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.

Find Robbie Cheadle

Twitter: BakeandWrite

Facebook: Sir Chocolate Books

Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s Growing Bookworms segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress.

A children’s picture book literary tasting

Posted: August 14, 2019 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Books, Children's Books, Classics, Fiction, Growing Bookworms, Reading, Stories | Tags: Beatrix Potter, Children's Books, Children's Stories, Classic Children's Literature, Dr. Suess, Growing Bookworms, Korky Paul, Richard Scarry, Valerie Thomas, Writing to be Read | 41 Comments

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This month on Writing to be Read, I thought it would be fun to do a children’s picture book literary tasting to give readers an opportunity to sample short extracts from some wonderful children’s picture books. Interesting toddlers and small children in books and the written word lays the foundation for future readers and there is nothing like a great picture book to entice them into the book world.

Imagine you are at a picnic and the snippets in this post are delicious and varied food items.

Fondant art picnic

The wonderful Dr Seuss

Dr Seuss’ delightful rhyming verse picture books are the perfect reading material for small children and beginner readers. There is a lot of benefit to the sound and word repetitions in these books which is comforting and confident enhancing to children in this age and learning bracket.

Dr Seuss also includes messages about friendship, environmental friendliness and sharing in his books which can’t go amiss.

I see his books as the hamburgers at the picnic.

Green Eggs and Ham (Dr. Seuss)

“And then I got mad.

I got terribly mad.

I yelled at the Lorax, “Now listen here, Dad!

All you do is yap-yap and say, Bad! Bad! Bad! Bad!

Well, I have my rights, sir, and I’m telling you

I intend to go on doing just what I do!

And, for your information, you Lorax, I’m figgering on biggering

and BIGGERING

and BIGGERING,

turning MORE Truffula Trees into Thneeds

which everyone, EVERYONE, EVERYONE needs!“

From The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. You can purchase all of Dr Seuss’ books here: Dr Seuss Amazon US

The creative Richard Scarry

Richard Scarry is an amazing artist and children’s book author. He is know for his brilliant artwork personification where pigs, dogs, hippos and other animals wear clothes and take the roles of humans in his fantasy world. His books are aimed at a variety of age groups from toddlers to young children and teach them about a variety of things such as their ABCs for the youngest age group to What do people do all day?, Cars and trucks and things that co and A day at the airport. My boys loved these books and listened to me read them over and over again.

Richard Scarry books are the French fries at the picnic.

Hardcover

““Ho! Ho! Ho! And who are you?” asks a

great big fellow in red trousers. Mr Frumble

explains that he needs his skipickledoo

repaired so that he can get to the North Pole.

“Ho, ho, but you ARE at the North Pole!

I’m Santa Bear and these are all my helpers.”

Welcome!””

From The Night Before the Night Before Christmas! by Richard Scarry. You can buy all of Richard Scarry’s books here: Richard Scarry Amazon US

The artistic Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter wrote beautiful stories about the trails and tribulations of the small animals she had as pets and also studied during holidays to Scotland and the Lake District. The most famous of Beatrix Potter’s books is The Tale of Peter Rabbit. My personal favourites are The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, which features a hedgehog, and The Tale of Two Bad Mice, which features two naughty mice, Tom Thumb and his wife, Hunca Munca.

The Beatrix Potter books are the delicious cake at the picnic.

The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle (Illustrated)

“Hunca Munca tried every tin spoon in

turn; the fish was glued to the dish.

Then Tom Thumb lost his temper. He put

the ham in the middle of the floor, and hit it

with the tongs and with the shovel – bang, bang,

smash, smash!

The ham flew all into pieces, for underneath the

shiny pain it was made of nothing but plaster!”

From The Tale of Two Bad Mice by Beatrix Potter. You can purchase all of Beatrix Potter’s books here: Beatrix Potter Amazon US

The fun Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul

Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul have teamed up to create the Winnie the Witch series of children’s picture books which feature a sweet and unconventional witch called Winnie and her sardonic cat named Wilbur. Winnie likes black and eats funny foods like batburghers, but Winnie has a heart of gold and is always trying to do nice things to impress and entertain the “little ordinaries” who attend the local primary school. Unfortunately, Winnie’s attempts to do conventional things always ends in disaster and Wilbur has to try to bail her out of her debacles. My son, Michael, and my two nephews loved these books and I read them many times to an attentive and fascinated audience. These books are more modern and include references to technology in the form of computers and mobile phones which appeals to modern children.

I see the Winnie the Witch books as the sweet and tempting cupcakes at the picnic.

“Winnie turned around, and there behind her

was a great crowd of people. They were

running along the road towards her house.

***

They crowded into her garden

They took off their coats, their

hats, their boots, their gloves,

and their scarves.

***

They sat in the sunshine

They walked on Winnie’s flowers

They put orange peel on Winnie’s

grass. They paddled in Winnie’s pond.”

From Winnie in Winter by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul. You can buy all their books here: Valerie Thomas Amazon US

I hope you have enjoyed this literary tasting. See you next month.

About Robbie Cheadle

Hello, my name is Robbie, short for Roberta. I am an author with five published children’s picture books in the Sir Chocolate books series for children aged 2 to 9 years old (co-authored with my son, Michael Cheadle), one published middle grade book in the Silly Willy series and one published preteen/young adult fictionalised biography about my mother’s life as a young girl growing up in an English town in Suffolk during World War II called While the Bombs Fell (co-authored with my mother, Elsie Hancy Eaton). All of my children’s book are written under Robbie Cheadle and are published by TSL Publications.

I have recently branched into adult horror and supernatural writing and, in order to clearly differential my children’s books from my adult writing, I plan to publish these books under Roberta Eaton Cheadle. I have two short stories in the horror/supernatural genre included in Dark Visions, a collection of 34 short stories by 27 different authors and edited by award winning author, Dan Alatorre. These short stories are published under Robbie Cheadle.

I have recently published a book of poetry called Open a new door, with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.

Find Robbie Cheadle

Twitter: BakeandWrite

Facebook: Sir Chocolate Books

Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s Growing Bookworms segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress.

The benefits of listening to audio books

Posted: July 10, 2019 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Audio Books, Books, Children's Books, Fiction, Growing Bookworms, Reading | Tags: Audio Books, Children's Stories, Growing Bookworms, Reading, Robbie Cheadle, Writing to be Read | 33 Comments

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I love listening to audio books. There is no better way, in my experience, to appreciate a good book than listening to it being read aloud by a skilled reader. I listen to approximately four audio books in a six week period, many of which are classic books.

My love of listening to stories started when I was a little girl, although audio books were few and far between then. I remember listening repeatedly to a cassette with four stories about a family’s adventures in the wild west of America which I was given as a birthday present. My father also bought me a couple of LP’s, including Disney’s Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty, and I listened to these often.

During our music appreciation lessons at school, our teacher played us the audio books of Peter and the Wolf, a symphonic fairy tale for children, which comprises of a narrator telling a story while an orchestra illustrates it. The intention of this composition is to introduce children to the individual instruments of the orchestra and it did its job well for me, as listening to this story is one of my remembered highlights of my childhood and I have never forgotten the names of the various instruments and the sounds they made. If you are interested in listening to this brilliant story, you can find it here:

I also remember listening to the Sparky books at school. This series comprises of Sparky’s magic piano, Sparky’s magic echo, Sparky’s magic baton and Sparky and the talking train. The magic of these stories is still readily available to me if I sit and conjure up my memories of listening to them as a child. The audio versions of these stories made a huge impact on me as I don’t remember any story that I read myself as vividly.

When my boys were small I searched for, and purchased, all of the Sparky stories and Peter and the wolf as audio books for them. We used to listen to them in the car when we traveled, together with an array of nursery rhyme CD’s. My boys grew to love music and both of them learned to play instruments. Michael still plays the drums and intends to learn the guitar as well.

Audio books are a wonderful way of teaching children to appreciate literature and also grammar. They enable children to learn and understand complex language above their own reading levels and illustrate the benefits in story telling of punctuation, enunciation and emphasis.

Audio books make literature more accessible to children who struggle with reading, giving them an opportunity to enjoy the text without struggle to decipher difficult text. It teaches children new words and phrases, thereby expanding their vocabularies. In addition, in a modern world of shortening concentration spans in children due to television and computer games, audio books teach children to sit and listen.

I used audio books extensively as a tool to help Michael learn to enjoy books and develop a love of reading. When Michael was four years old, I discovered Naxos Audio Books and I bought a significant number of these for Michael. We listened to non-fiction books, including Famous Heroes of the American West, The Vikings and Great Scientists and Their Discoveries, fairy tales, including Grimms’ Fairy Tales and fiction, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, New Treasure Seekers, The Phoenix and the Carpet, Five Children and It, The Children of the New Forest and The Coral Island. Amazingly, Michael loved The Children of the New Forest and The Coral Island and listened to them repeatedly during his bouts of illness.

I received Michael’s school report for the first half of the year recently and the teacher remarked on his excellent vocabulary and above average comprehension skills. I attribute his strength in these areas to all the audio books we listened to and all the reading aloud I did to him and his brother.

Did your children listen to audio books? If yes, did you experience these benefits? Let me know in the comments.

About Robbie Cheadle

I have recently branched into adult horror and supernatural writing and, in order to clearly differential my children’s books from my adult writing, I plan to publish these books under Roberta Eaton Cheadle. I have two short stories in the horror/supernatural genre included in Dark Visions, a collection of 34 short stories by 27 different authors and edited by award winning author, Dan Alatorre and three short stories included in Death Among Us, an anthology of murder mystery stories edited by award winning author, Stephen Bentley. These short stories are published under Robbie Cheadle.

I have recently published a book of poetry called Open a new door, with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.

Find Robbie Cheadle

Twitter: BakeandWrite

Facebook: Sir Chocolate Books

Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s Growing Bookworms segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress.

Should children read abridged classics?

Posted: June 5, 2019 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Books, Children's Books, Classics, Growing Bookworms, Reading | Tags: Children's Books, Classic Literature, Growing Bookworms, Reading, Robbie Cheadle, Writing to be Read | 50 Comments

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There are many wonderful classic books available to people who are interested in reading them. I have recently re-read War of the Worlds and The Time Machine, both by H.G. Wells and also Dracula by Bram Stoker. I read these books in my early teens and, while I did enjoy them, I don’t remember appreciating any of the subtleties of the development of the characters in these books or the psychological and philosophical aspects either. This is because I did not have the life experience at that time to appreciate these concepts and their incredible appropriateness and cleverness.

I have never restricted or limited my children’s reading choices. This is because I believe that children can only experience and visualise the written world in the context of their own life experiences. If a child has never attended a funeral, they cannot visualise the white and haggard faces of the surviving family, smell the heavy and potent aroma of the funeral flowers or understand extreme expressions of grief such as throwing oneself onto a coffin as it is slowly lowered into the ground, in the same way someone who as actually witnessed such events could. They can read and appreciate the words but their ability to picture the detail is limited to their own visual experiences. This is not the case with television which supplies a ready-made visual to put the image into your mind regardless of your own experience. It is for this reason that I think that abridged classics are appropriate, and even ideal, for children.

Abridged classics expose children to the joys of great literature and enable them to appreciate their stories without struggling to understand words and concepts that are beyond their current reading and life abilities. In other words, abridged classics stimulate an interest in the storyline and characters while not burdening the child with all the deep emotion and psychology that is present in many classic books. If the child is excited by the story, there is a high chance he will revisit the book as an adult and read the full, unabridged version with greater understanding and appreciation.

If you are interested in purchasing the Classic Starts books, you can find them on Amazon US here: Classic Starts series

I bought all the Classic Starts books as well as a set of abridged Shakespearean plays and Chaucer’s stories for my son. My older son was mesmerised by certain stories such as The Phantom of the Opera, The Secret Garden and The Red Badge of Courage. I well remember him recalling these books with such fondness that a few years later, when he was about 13 years old, he read the unabridged versions of these books with great enthusiasm. He also went on to read a significant number of other classic books and represent South Africa as part of the St John’s College Prep team at the Kids Lit Quiz in New Zealand in 2016. I remember Gregory laughing aloud over the abridged versions of Canterbury Tales and The Taming of the Shrew. I do think these cultural experiences of English help set him up with a love of reading for life.

Reading abridged classics also allows children to access books that have been written in old English and are difficult for modern children [and adults] to read for that reason. These books allow us all access to humorous, dramatically and other situations from the past and allow us to learn more about our own history and path of evolution and change.

Twenty Shakespeare Children's Stories - The Complete 20 Books Boxed Collection: The Winters Take, Macbeth, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo ... and More (A Shakespeare Children's Story)

“Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and caldron bubble.”

From Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Imagine a never reading these great words!

If you are interested in purchasing William Shakespeare’s book for children, you will find them on Amazon US here: William Shakespeare for children

I believe there is a lot of benefit to be had from reading abridged classics to your child and letting them read them on their own. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

About Robbie Cheadle

I have recently published a book of poetry called Open a new door, with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.

Find Robbie Cheadle

Twitter: BakeandWrite

Facebook: Sir Chocolate Books

Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s Growing Bookworms segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress.

How reading encourages diverse thinking

Posted: April 10, 2019 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Books, Children's Books, Diversity, Fiction, Growing Bookworms, Reading | Tags: Children's Books, Diversity, Growing Bookworms, Reading, Robbie Cheadle, Writing to be Read | 27 Comments

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We all want our children to grow up to an environment free from bias and discrimination. We want them to have opportunities to achieve their dreams and to believe they can accomplish anything. We also want our children to feel included and loved in all situations, from school, to home to religious institutions.

The best way to achieve this is to weave diversity into the fabric of our children’s lives. We can do this in many ways, one of which is by providing our children with a selection of multicultural books which allow them to imagine experiencing life in a different way and from a different perspective.

When you read multicultural books you are transported to a different culture and are exposed to new ideas about housing, food, schooling, transport and religion. I always remember when I read the books written by Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë as a teenage girl. These books were my first real exposure to the poor treatment of children and women during the Victoria era. I was horrified by the terrible conditions the orphaned girls experienced at Lowood School and the terrible illnesses that ravaged the learners. Later on in my life I read books about the lives of several female Victorian writers and I came to realise just how restricted their lives were. Female’s were not considered to have the intelligence or seriousness necessary to write novels. My own mother experienced discrimination as a young girl when her father refused to buy her a school uniform when she won a scholarship to attend a local grammar school. He didn’t believe in educating girls.

As I have walked my path as a reader, I have read a wide variety of books about life in numerous countries from the great cities of the USA, London and Paris to country towns and rural villages in Africa and Asia. Through reading, I have experienced life in Japan, China and Chile. I have tried to share these experiences with my own children by reading them abridged versions of classic stories like The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting, a story of an empathetic doctor who travels to Africa and has adventures on this great continent, The Last of the Mohicans by James Fennimore Cooper, set in Upper New York State during the French Indian wars, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee set in Alabama and Oliver Twist set in Victorian London. They have also read a number of more recent books set in various countries.

Multicultural books teach us about other peoples cultures and religious beliefs and helps to instill positive attitudes about acceptance and tolerance. Some of the books that spring to mind that I read to my pre-teen boys are Fattipuffs & Thinifers by André Maurois which teaches children about segregation in an entertaining and light hearted way, I am David by Anne Holm, the story of a boy who escapes from a Bulgarian communist concentration camp and makes his way to Denmark, and The Diary of a Young Girl written by Anne Frank, that tells of her life as a young Jewish girl growing up in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation. These sorts of books help teach children that while we all have different religions, celebrations and traditions, we are actually all the same. We all need to eat, drink and sleep. We all aspire to an education, job and happy family life.

While it is good for children to understand history and learn from the mistakes of the past, it is best to select titles that present a variety of points of view so as to prevent stereotyping.

The modern world is becoming more cosmopolitan and diverse due to the ease with which people can travel and communicate. My son plays computer games with friends from all over the world including India, the UK, the USA and Dubai. His school provides a boarding option and caters to boys from all over the world and a variety of different backgrounds, including Chinese, American, British, German, French and a number of African countries. There are Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Christian boys all attending classes together, doing activities and sports together and enjoying themselves as a group. Diversity is a popular topic with many modern authors and I have recently read three lovely picture books aimed at teaching children about acceptance in a fun and simple way.

Myrtle the Purple Turtle by Cynthia Reyes is about Myrtle, a turtle who is purple and, as a result, she and her family are different from other turtles. You can read my review on Goodreads here: Goodreads review of Myrtle the Purple Turtle.

Kids get it by Sally Huss is a story about self-worth and the equality of all children in the eyes of God. You can read my Goodreads review here: Goodreads review of Kids Get It.

The cover of Who do I see in the Mirror? by Vese Aghoghovbia Aladewolu shares “the important message relayed to children is to love the skin they’re in.”. You can read my Goodreads review here: Goodreads review of Who do I see in the Mirror?

There are also a large selection of non-fiction books for children which describe the cultures and lives of the people of the world.

What do you think about the role of books in promoting diversity? Let me know in the comments.

About Robbie Cheadle

I have recently published a book of poetry called Open a new door, with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.

Find Robbie Cheadle

Twitter: BakeandWrite

Facebook: Sir Chocolate Books

Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s Growing Bookworms segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress.

Developing imagination and creativity through reading

Posted: March 13, 2019 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Books, Children's Books, Growing Bookworms, Reading | Tags: Children's Books, Creativity, Developing Creativity, Growing Bookworms, Reading, Writing to be Read | 33 Comments

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“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Einstein

It takes imagination and creativity to make the leaps of logic, faith and inspiration necessary for new inventions and technological development. As the human race stands on the brink of the digital revolution which is already changing the way we live, work and relate to each other, we need to empower our children with the skills they need to cope with an increasingly faster paced and continuously changing world. The development of critical thinking skills and creative problem solving abilities are essential in order for our children to thrive and excel in the work places of the future.

How do we go about instilling these vital skills in our children?

Creative and imaginative play is an excellent way of developing “out of the box” thinking skills in children. Another important way of developing imagination and creativity is reading.

Reading books and hearing stories stimulate a child’s imagination through the adventure, characters and illustrations. Books introduce children to new ideas, experiences, concepts and behaviours that they may not encounter in their own lives. Encouraging children to read a wide variety of genres of books, including fantasy, non-fiction, comedy, poetry and historical fiction, opens up their minds, allowing them to explore new information, emotions and cultures and lead to greater understanding and empathy.

Reading forces a child to use critical thinking skills and logic to process what is being read and understand the concepts and ideas contained in the book. While you read, you create images, thoughts and opinions in your mind.

Reading is exercise for the brain, the more you read the better your concentration will be and the better you will be able to think in a clear and concise way. Reading completely absorbs the mind as it takes effort to read the words, comprehend what is being said and to analyse the deeper meaning and why the author has written about a particular subject in a specific way.

Reading aloud empowers children with better vocabularies, sentence structure and communication skills, enabling them to share their imaginative and creative ideas better.

It is the ability of human beings to be imaginative and creative, to experience great emotion and passion and to invoke these same feelings in others, that ensures we will never become “robotised”. People who have these characteristics will always be valuable to our society and that is what we all strive for, to raise children that will add value to society and, by doing so, lead happy and fulfilled lives.

About Robbie Cheadle

I have recently published a book of poetry called Open a new door, with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.

Find Robbie Cheadle

Twitter: BakeandWrite

Facebook: Sir Chocolate Books

Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s Growing Bookworms segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress.

Alternating reading with your child

Posted: February 13, 2019 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Books, Children's Books, Growing Bookworms, Reading | Tags: Children's Books, Children's Stories, Growing Bookworms, Reading, Robbie Cheadle, Writing to be Read | 54 Comments

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When my son, Michael, was in Grade 2 at school we discovered that he had an audio processing problem and this was inhibiting his ability to read fluently. It took Michael longer to read a book or perform an activity in class than his peers and his teacher was concerned about his ability to cope in Grade 3. The work load increased significantly when the children moved from the pre-prep (ages 5 to 8 years) to the prep school (ages 9 to 13 years) and they needed to work faster in order to keep up.

I was more concerned about my son’s mental well-being and confidence. I had noticed that my little boy was becoming withdrawn and reserved. I took him for a series of test by a child psychologist and together we decided that Michael would benefit from a remedial school. We enrolled Michael at a good remedial school in Johannesburg the year he turned 9 years old. This was an excellent decision for all of us as the remedial teachers at the school also gave me a lot of advice about helping Michael to develop a love of reading despite his learning barrier. I desperately wanted Michael to love books and reading as much as I did so I was delighted to embrace their advice which was very successful for us.

One of the methods of assisting Michael with learning how to read faster and more fluently was for me to alternate reading paragraphs and pages with him. Michael would select a book of his choice. In the beginning it was always Winnie the Witch or Horrid Henry books. He would read one page and I would read three. I would help him when he got stuck with a word and sometimes read with him if a sentence was particularly complex. This method enabled Michael to enjoy the story and it moved along at a pace that was fast enough for him (and me) not to become frustrated and forget the beginning of the story before we reached the end. If the book Michael selected was a bit more difficult than usual, we would alternate reading paragraphs instead of whole pages to ensure that frustration didn’t set in with Michael. In this way he was able to read the occasional book that was above his reading level at the time.

I encouraged Michael during these early years of learning to read fluently, to choose books comprised of a few short stories rather than full length chapter books. Despite the alternating reading, chapter books took longer for us to read together and Michael would sometimes lose the thread of the story before we reached the end of the book.

We continued with alternating reading for two years until Michael’s reading was sufficiently fluent and well-paced for him to start reading entirely on his own.

During this two-year period, I also read to Michael every evening after we had finished the alternating reading. The books I read to Michael were more challenging books than the ones we read together, and they appealed to his sense of humour and adventurous spirit. Michael loved being read to and it taught him good concentration and listening skills which I believe will benefit him for the rest of his life.

Alternative reading is beneficial for all learning readers and can also help a strong reader with their word pronunciation and vocabulary enabling them to move on to more challenging books more quickly.

About Robbie Cheadle

I have recently published a book of poetry called Open a new door, with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.

Find Robbie Cheadle

Twitter: BakeandWrite

Facebook: Sir Chocolate Books

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The Beginning: The benefits of reading to young children

Posted: January 9, 2019 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Children's Books, Growing Bookworms, Reading, Writing | Tags: Children's Books, Growing Bookworms, Reading, Robbie Cheadle, Silly Willy, Sir Chocolate | 34 Comments

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I have always read to my two sons. My reading to them started during my pregnancies. I read somewhere that reading to your unborn baby helps sooth the fetus and get him/her used to his/her parents voice. Any excuse to read was acceptable to me and I read the entire Jean Auel Earth Children series to Gregory during my second and third trimester.

Gregory was a difficult baby. He was born with a defect that resulted in him having eighteen operations between the ages of 1 and 6 years old. When he was crying and restless I used to read to him. It always helped him settle eventually and it calmed me too.

During my pregnancy with Michael I had a two year old toddler to read to. The unborn Michael was entertained by a series of books for small children like Rupert the Bear, Paddington and the Mr Men series.

Both my boys have grown up to be readers. It wasn’t as easy with Michael as he has an audio processing barrier which required some intervention but we have overcome that and he is now a prolific reader. Gregory was one of four boys selected to represent South Africa in the Kids Literature Quiz held in New Zealand in 2016.

My own experience in reading to my sons and to my nieces, nephews and any other children who are interested in being read to has illustrated to me the following benefits of reading to young children:

Bonding

Reading to your children helps you bond as mother or father and child. I have always had to work and it was wonderful to cuddle up to my boys after dinner every evening and read to them for an hour. It was a lovely time that we all looked forward to each and every day.

Develops concentration skills

Reading to your young child helps them to learn to concentrate for longer periods. I started off reading to Gregory for periods of about 15 minutes when he was fifteen months old and this gradually built up to an hour or more. I used to take Gregory with me to the doctor for my checkups during my second pregnancy and sometimes we had to wait for up to two hours to see the doctor. He would sit next to me quietly while I read to him and never gave me a moments trouble.

Develops discipline

Reading to your child encourages discipline as they learn to sit quietly and focus and listen. The receptionist at the doctor’s room used to comment on what a good boy Gregory was while we were waiting and how well disciplined he was. I believe that my training him to sit and listen to a story contributed greatly to his developing this important skill which plays an even greater role in his life now that he is in high school.

Encourages imagination and creativity

When you read to your child, they must use their own imagination to picture the characters and happenings in the story. It is not provided to them as with other forms of entertainment like television. You can help develop your child’s imagination and creativity by discussing the characters and setting with them and providing your thoughts on what they look like. You can also use mediums like lego to build the settings in the book you are reading and make the story more alive.

Develops language skills

The more your child hears different words and spoken language the more vocabulary and understanding of language they will gain. Reading a variety of different fiction and non-fiction books to your child will give them an extensive knowledge of words and concepts. Reading to your child also helps develop language fluency.

Develops empathy

Reading fiction to your child will assist them in learning how to react to different situations and expose them to different and more adverse circumstances than their own. It helps children learn empathy and understanding for those less fortunate than themselves.

In addition to the above benefits, reading is an essential skill to achieve success in most areas of study. If you can’t read and comprehend effectively, for example, you will struggle to answer a complex word problem in mathematics. Reading to your child and developing a love of reading goes a long way to achieving academic success.

About Robbie Cheadle

I have recently published a book of poetry called Open a new door, with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.

Find Robbie Cheadle

Twitter: BakeandWrite