Love and Books Mix Well

There, in the night, where none can spy,

All in my hunter’s camp I lie,

And play at books that I have read

Till it is time to go to bed.

--Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Land of Story-Books”

*

The words read to us as children echo warmly throughout our lives.

Yes, teachers are the ones who do the heavy lifting in teaching children to read. It’s in the classroom that children take on the tough work of learning phonics, decoding words and becoming fluent readers. But it’s at home, with parents, that those beginning skills are cemented. And at home, with families snuggled up on the sofa before bed, reading becomes fun, an anticipated pleasure and, it’s hoped, the start of a lifetime habit for children.

*

The sun did not shine.

It was too wet to play.

So we sat in the house

All that cold, cold, wet day.

--Dr. Seuss, “The Cat in the Hat”

*

Few parents expect their child’s school to do it all. But for many mothers and fathers, stretched by jobs and chores, time to read with their children is scarce. Parents with poor reading skills or limited English face even tougher challenges in propelling their children toward literacy. But for all parents, building their children’s fledgling reading abilities is a challenge they must meet.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. Children who don’t have basic reading skills by the end of the third grade, age 9, set themselves up for a lifetime of academic failure. Children who aren’t fluent readers when they leave the third grade are more likely to end up on drugs, on welfare or in prison.

As part of its continuing series on reading, The Times has documented the extent of the failure. Only a third of California third-graders tested last year read at the national average. The picture is particularly grim in Southern California schools, with their crowded classrooms, too many poorly trained teachers, too few textbooks and minimal library resources. Poverty also exerts a powerful downward pull on literacy, as Times writer Louis Sahagun reported Sunday. In Los Angeles County, the number of children living in poverty doubled between 1991 and 1996, rising to 33% of school-age youngsters.

*

In the great green room

There was a telephone

And a red balloon

And a picture of--

The cow jumping over the moon.

--Margaret Wise Brown, “Goodnight Moon”

*

The Times launched its Reading by 9 crusade to improve that bleak picture, committing itself to work with parents, teachers and volunteers to ensure that all children in greater Los Angeles read in English by the third grade. Parents have a big role to play since teachers, even those with ample resources and solid training, cannot go it alone. So important are parents to reading success that some schools now require teachers to regularly meet with parents; others insist that parents sign a promise to see that their children read at home.

*

Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were--Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter. They lived with their Mother in a sand-bank, underneath the root of a very big fir-tree.

--Beatrix Potter, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”

*

Parents should do even more. They can set the stage for reading success in elementary school by helping preschoolers acquire both a positive attitude toward reading and specific knowledge--the alphabet, for example--that makes learning faster. Parents can also support classroom lessons by helping with homework and making reading a valued part of their family life.

The Kids’ Reading Room, a new daily feature in The Times’ Southern California Living section, can be a fun resource for parents and children. The Kids’ Reading Room features a continuing story that parents can read aloud, reviews of children’s books, a sports column and a review of the week’s events written for children, along with jokes, puzzles and other features aimed at youngsters 7 to 11 years old.

For younger children, “Read to Me L.A.” is an ambitious citywide campaign to educate parents and caregivers about the importance of reading to children, especially at an early age. The program, which debuted last week, hopes to train 100 volunteers to spread the gospel of reading citywide and to engage at least 10,000 parents in the coming year.

The Los Angeles Public Library already offers help. As part of Grandparents and Books (GAB), the library trains volunteers of diverse cultures to read to children and listen to children read to them. Since its beginning in 1989, GAB has trained more than 950 volunteers who have read to some 270,000 children.

None of these efforts alone will squeeze more reading time from parents’ busy days. But we hope they encourage more parents to try.

*

So when my nurse comes in for me

Home I return across the sea,

And go to bed with backward looks

At my dear land of Story-books.

--Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Land of Story-Books”

*

For more information, call toll-free (877) READBY9 or visit The Times Web site at www.latimes.com/readingby9.