The Value of Reading Aloud to Children

By: Librarian Molly

Technology certainly has its benefits and we here at TILT use it as a tool to help make literacy accessible to all children. We cannot and would not want to put the genie back in the bottle as far as technology goes, yet we still place great value on time honored literacy tools–namely reading aloud to children. 

We are reading about several current studies that point to the fact that an increasing number of children are not being read aloud to. The School Library Journal recently posted this quote from Jim Trelease, author of the iconic The Read-Aloud Handbook, “The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading, is reading aloud to children.” At TILT we take reading aloud seriously, or better put, as serious fun. The value of reading aloud to children of all ages fosters more than a leg up in their literacy journey. Just a few of the benefits of reading aloud include: development of empathy, fostering imagination and creativity, vocabulary building, and long term academic success. 

We are intentionally trying to ignite and sustain excitement in reading aloud. TILT partners with preschools and after school centers to provide high quality books, both new releases and classics, to be read aloud to the children in their care. Every month a fresh batch is delivered so that children and their educators feel excited about discovering new stories in settings close to home and in far away lands. We also provide new books–current best sellers for kids from toddlers to teens, at no cost, to our book club members every month. TILT partners with Professor Waltermelon who singularly provides an unforgettable read aloud experience at many locations throughout the city.

Providing books and partnering with a star read aloud icon is our attempt to help quell the decline in reading aloud to children. We are able to do many of these programs by mining all the riches that our public library has to offer. Library resources are available to all families–the library is a great equalizer in making high quality reading material available to anyone. We know that you can make a difference in reading aloud to someone in your life. Join us in making a read aloud comeback.