The Enchanted Hour : The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction

Title:

Author:

Gurdon, Meghan Cox, author.

Personal Author:

Gurdon, Meghan Cox, author.

ISBN:

9780062562814

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

xix, 278 pages ; 24 cm

Contents:

What reading to children does to their brains -- Where it all began : once upon a time in the ancient world -- Reading together strengthens the bonds of love -- Turbocharging child development with picture books -- rich rewards of a vast vocabulary -- power of paying attention - and flying free -- Reading aloud furnishes the mind -- From the nursery to the nursing home : why reading aloud never gets old -- There is no present like time.

Abstract:

"A miraculous alchemy occurs when one person reads to another, transforming the simple stuff of a book, a voice, and a bit of time into complex and powerful fuel for the heart, brain, and imagination. Grounded in the latest neuroscience and behavioral research, and drawing widely from literature, The Enchanted Hour explains the dazzling cognitive and social-emotional benefits that await children, whatever their class, nationality or family background. But it's not just about bedtime stories for little kids: Reading aloud consoles, uplifts and invigorates at every age, deepening the intellectual lives and emotional well-being of teenagers and adults, too. Meghan Cox Gurdon argues that this ancient practice is a fast-working antidote to the fractured attention spans, atomized families and unfulfilling ephemera of the tech era, helping to replenish what our devices are leaching away. For everyone, reading aloud engages the mind in complex narratives; for children, it's an irreplaceable gift that builds vocabulary, fosters imagination, and kindles a lifelong appreciation of language, stories and pictures. Bringing together the latest scientific research, practical tips, and reading recommendations, The Enchanted Hour will both charm and galvanize, inspiring readers to share this invaluable, life-altering tradition with the people they love most."--Amazon.com.

Examines how reading aloud makes adults and children smarter, happier, healthier, more successful, and more closely attached, even as technology pulls in the other direction.

Subject Term:

Children -- Books and reading.

Oral reading -- Psychological aspects.

Oral reading -- Social aspects.

Oral reading.

Reading -- Parent participation.

Genre:

Nonfiction.

Summary:

Examines how reading aloud makes adults and children smarter, happier, healthier, more successful, and more closely attached, even as technology pulls in the other direction.

Holds:

Available:*

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Summary

A Wall Street Journal writer's conversation-changing look at how reading aloud makes adults and children smarter, happier, healthier, more successful and more closely attached, even as technology pulls in the other direction.

A miraculous alchemy occurs when one person reads to another, transforming the simple stuff of a book, a voice, and a bit of time into complex and powerful fuel for the heart, brain, and imagination. Grounded in the latest neuroscience and behavioral research, and drawing widely from literature, The Enchanted Hour explains the dazzling cognitive and social-emotional benefits that await children, whatever their class, nationality or family background. But it's not just about bedtime stories for little kids: Reading aloud consoles, uplifts and invigorates at every age, deepening the intellectual lives and emotional well-being of teenagers and adults, too.

Meghan Cox Gurdon argues that this ancient practice is a fast-working antidote to the fractured attention spans, atomized families and unfulfilling ephemera of the tech era, helping to replenish what our devices are leaching away. For everyone, reading aloud engages the mind in complex narratives; for children, it's an irreplaceable gift that builds vocabulary, fosters imagination, and kindles a lifelong appreciation of language, stories and pictures.

Bringing together the latest scientific research, practical tips, and reading recommendations, The Enchanted Hour will both charm and galvanize, inspiring readers to share this invaluable, life-altering tradition with the people they love most.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

How reading aloud confers cognitive, emotional, and social benefits.In her heartfelt first book, Gurdon, children's book reviewer for the Wall Street Journal, makes an earnest, but unfortunately repetitive, case for reading aloud. Drawing on her experiences of nightly reading to her five children, scientific studies, interviews, and anecdotes, the author argues that when one person reads to another, "a miraculous alchemy takes place" in which "the ordinary stuff of lifea book, a voice, a place to sit and a bit of time" transforms "into astonishing fuel for the heart, the mind, and the imagination." Children who are read to show "a quantifiable difference in brain function" compared with children deprived of this activity, according to many pediatricians. Based on such studies, the American Academy of Pediatrics concludes that reading daily to young children "stimulates optimal patterns of brain development and strengthens parent-child relationships" and, furthermore, "builds language, literacy, and social-emotional skills that last a lifetime." Gurdon urges parents to put down phones and iPads in favor of books, underscoring the difference between listening to a story and watching it on a screen. When children follow a story on video, researchers have found "the decoupling of vision, imagery, and language." Well-versed in children's literature, Gurdon cites more than 100 books that have the potential to build vocabulary and impart "vicarious emotional experiences." In The Story of Babar, for examplewhich takes under seven minutes to readthe child "will see tenderness and catastrophe, fear and comfort, pride and anger, death, marriage, sorrow, and joy." Besides developing language facility, empathy, and cultural literacy, reading aloud creates a deep bond between reader and listener, sweeping them together "in a lovely neurochemical tsunami." "When we read to other people," she writes, "we show them that they matter to us; that we want to give our time and attention and energy in order to bring them something good." An appendix lists six pages of suggested stories for reading aloud.An inspiring argument for sharing the joys of reading. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.