Meghan Cox Gurdon is a book reviewer for the Wall Street Journal and also a mother of five. She has, therefore, a great interest in children's books and the benefits of reading: this book is an investigation of the specific benefits of reading out loud, backed with some very interesting science. She talks to researchers, educators and other parents and writes very convincingly about what they see as the good that reading together, out loud, does. It is a shame in some ways that all the anecdotal evidence comes from adults (parents, teachers and so on) rather than children but I suspect they would all just agree that what they loved most about being read to was the attention, the closeness or even just the gift of a parent or carer's time...

What was particularly moving for me was not necessarily just the parts about reading with children - although it did have me yearning to do more storytimes at work - but those sections talking about reading to other adults. Either partners sharing books or poems they loved or people reading to older relatives, a parent perhaps, who can no longer read for them selves. Like children, adults can benefit from those moments of attention, of closeness and of gifted time and I found it emotionally satisfying to realise that that gift can be given back to the parents who first shared a love of reading with their offspring.

Subtitled, “The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction,” this is a book, and a subject, which is dear to my heart. I have worked in education all my life, I am a voracious reader, a reading mentor and – like the author – have spent many happy hours reading to my children. As such, this is something of preaching to the converted, but it was still an enjoyable read about the importance of reading aloud, which came from an article the author wrote for the ‘Wall Street Journal’, called, “The Great Gifts of Reading Aloud,” which was later extended and became this book.

So, what does reading to children achieve? Well, it stimulates brain development, strengthens the parent/carer-child bond, builds vocabulary and improves social and emotional skills. What is, perhaps, more damaging, is what happens to children who are not exposed to the joys of reading. Too much screen time – whether television, tablets, or playing online games – combines to create deficits in language and attention. This results in children who are less ready for school and who are behind in language skills - a gap which starts early and rarely closes. Indeed, reading to young children is one of the most significant indicators of a child’s academic prospects.

Although this does look at reading to adults, and considers the recent popularity of podcasts, and audio books, the book does concentrate on reading aloud to children. However, with so many news stories recently talking about the widening gap seen in disadvantaged children in education, this book does offer lots of great suggestions to help you discover the joy of reading aloud to your child, and help them improve their life skills along the way. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

A mixture of results from studies that research neurological development as well as personal anecdotes. This book explores the power of reading aloud and its benefits to all age groups.