Between the Lions the Book for Parents: Everything You Need to Know About How Children Learn to Read--And What You Can Do to Help FROM THE PUBLISHER
Learning to read is one of the most important challenges children face, but parents don'talways know how to help their children master the complex skills involved. With this wonderful new book, based on the award-winning public television series Between the Lions®, parents of children ages four to eight will find all the information they need to help their children navigate this exhilarating — but sometimes mysterious — journey.
Since its premiere in 2000, Between the Lions has become one of the most popular children's series on television — and research shows that it actually helps children learn to read. Based on the literacy curriculum that underlies this innovative, entertaining series, The Between the Lions Book for Parents draws on the latest and most reliable research to give parents practical tips to help smooth their children's path to reading and writing. Practical, comprehensive, and fun, it's helpful both for children who are struggling a bit and for those who are moving along just fine. Parents will find a wealth of specific information about what children should learn every year, how to help them learn it, and how to tell if they're running into difficulties.
Whether your child isn't getting a comprehensive program of instruction at school or you just want to stimulate an interest in books at home, The Between the Lions Book for Parents is an essential addition to every parent's home library.
So enter the world of Between the Lions and help your child fall in love with reading.
About the Author:
Linda K. Rath, curriculum director for Between theLions®, holds a doctorate in education from Harvard University andhas been an elementary school teacher for more than twenty years.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Parents of preschoolers are probably familiar with the PBS children's series Between the Lions, which features a family of warm and fuzzy lion librarians and their cubs and friends. This book, by Between the Lions curriculum director Rath, and Kennedy, a journalist, is strictly for parents (despite the hokey lion cartoon illustrations sprinkled throughout the text). Part I focuses on the curriculum, but the real meat of the text is found in the following chapters, in which the authors provide an age-by-age guide to reading development, along with activity guides and book lists. While pointing out that each child is unique and follows his own path to literacy, the authors nevertheless offer parents a guideline for anticipated literacy and reading milestones from preschool to grade three. They outline the development of reading skills (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension) and reveal what kids should be learning in school as well as what parents can do at home to add reinforcement. Storytelling, reading aloud and creating a print-rich environment are just a few of the many suggested methods the authors provide to encourage a love of reading and help kids find success. The book's format is especially appealing; readers can cut to the chase and find the chapter that covers their own child, or read ahead to find out what skills will be coming up in future years. This is a helpful resource for parents who want to enrich their child's reading experiences. (Jan.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Parents who make reading proficiency a primary goal for their children are helping them lay a foundation for lifelong learning and enjoyment. With an Information Age economy that demands ever higher education levels for success, that goal has become even more important. Fortunately, educators and researchers, in collaboration with animators and puppeteers, have produced such landmark programs as Sesame Street and Between the Lions (BL) to help kids develop reading proficiency. Just like the show, this companion to BL entertains with an educational emphasis. Rath, curriculum director for BL, and Kennedy, an editor at the Boston Globe, offer parents insight into the mechanics of learning to read, guidelines for measuring progress by grade level, marvelous phonics, reading, and writing activities to try at home, and ways to help struggling readers. A helpful and supportive work that is also a good read, this is recommended for all early childhood and elementary education collections.-Kay Hogan Smith, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Lib., Lister Hill Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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