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Jennie Nash

Raising a Reader: A Mother's Tale of Desperation and Delight Hardcover – August 23, 2003

by Jennie Nash (Author)

3 ratings

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What were my kids born to do? That is the question I hope to help them answer. And because reading is the thing I love most, it's only natural for me to hope it will become something they love, too...The trouble is that reading is a particularly slippery passion to want to pass along because it's a skill most parents would agree their children have to master, to one degree or another.
--from Raising a Reader

Can passion be passed along from parent to child? Can you, in other words, make someone love baseball, ballet or books? Of course you can't - but that doesn't stop parents from trying. Jennie Nash was one of those parents - a parent so obsessed about getting her kids to read that her desire sometimes strayed into desperation; her hope often became an obsession; and instead of helping, her resolve got in the way. In the end, she found that, like so many of the things we do as parents, passing along a passion for reading happens in the push and pull of digging in and letting go, day in and day out, both because of and in spite of our efforts.

Nash shares stories and misadventures from the years when her young daughters were learning what it meant to have a relationship with words--and she was learning to let them. She reminds us how the magic moments happen in their own sweet time, by being together in the presence of good books and seeing each child as unique.

Each chapter of Raising a Reader ends with personal, practical tips and games that spring straight from the narrative. A comprehensive index discusses many of the books Nash has enjoyed with her children, providing a year's worth of titles for parents and their children to explore.

Print length

160 pages
Language

English
Publisher

St. Martin's Press
Publication date

August 23, 2003
Dimensions

5.78 x 0.64 x 8.54 inches
ISBN-10

0312315341
ISBN-13

978-0312315344
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For parents overwhelmed with the many technical advice books written by specialists and teachers, Nash's anecdotal guide to getting children to pick up a book might be a refreshing change. Nash is not an educator, nor is she a learning specialist. She is, however, the author of The Victoria's Secret Catalog Never Stops Coming: And Other Lessons I Learned From Breast Cancer and the mother of two daughters, aged 10 and seven, who are both avid readers. Thus, her guide bursts with examples of her own personal frustrations and triumphs. As she reports on how she made progress with her children's literacy, she shares insights and practical tips, suggesting, for example, that parents and children both keep journals to track the books they've read. Nash's use of personal stories may not be the most scientific way to teach children to read, but it could help parents who are feeling desperate or frustrated with the task of cultivating literacy.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Raising a Reader is for every parent who ever worried about a child's reading, who compared one child with another, who charted, prodded, prompted, and coaxed words into little mouths and minds. For any parent--timid, pushy, or frightened--who has a child entering school and literacy, THIS is the book for you."
--Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (August 23, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312315341
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312315344
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.78 x 0.64 x 8.54 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #6,318,113 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,489 in School-Age Children Parenting
- #6,157 in Parenting & Families Humor
- #6,293 in Reading Skills Reference (Books)

Customer Reviews:
3 ratings

About the author

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Jennie Nash

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Jennie Nash is an evangelist for book coaching, which gives writers 1:1 support so they can write books worth reading. She is the creator of the Book Coach Certification Program at Author Accelerator and has trained more than 100 book coaches.

Visit Jennie at www.jennienash.com and authoraccelerator.com

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Paul Lappen

Worth reading for any parent of young children

Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2005

Teaching a child to read, and getting that child to like reading, can be one of the most frustrating, and heartwarming, jobs for any parent. This book looks at one family's journey through such a process.

One of a parent's biggest wishes for their child is that they find something about which they are passionate, something on which they can build a life. For the parent, there is a fine line between passion and obsession, a line that is easy to cross.

It's hard to instill a love of books if the children don't have access to them. Regularly bring them to the local library, and let them take out a lot of books. If Child 2 doesn't progress in reading at the same rate as did Child 1, don't panic. Everyone progresses at their own speed.

Another way to instill a love of books is to set aside a reading period during the day. While the child reads a book, the parent should sit and read an adult book. The child will probably enter a phase in which they are interested in what the parent considers the children's literature equivalent of trash. Again, don't panic; they'll grow out of it.

Have faith in your child, especially if they are progressing too "slowly." Encouragement that the pieces will eventually fall into place is better than pushing. Realize that your children are individuals with different styles of reading.

Also included is a long list of reading suggestions for children of all ages. This book is a gem. It's very down to earth, and any parent can identify with it. For those parents worried that their child isn't reading "fast enough," take a deep breath, then read this book. It's time very well spent.

Helpful

Bette

Please get the author some chemical-balancing pills!

Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2006

The concept of this book is good. Whether you have always loved reading, or have come to love books more as an adult, we all hope our children will share this love, so anything offering tips on this sounds great.

But this fally severely short, via the obvious personality disorder of the author.

In Chapter 2, she relays a story wherein she punished her TWO YEAR OLD for ripping a book's page. She went off on the kid like a lunatic and REMOVED EVERY SINGLE BOOK FROM THE CHILD'S GRASP FOR 3 DAYS, and did not give in, no matter how much the poor child sobbed. Said author then justifies putting a book's value over that of her child with the following: "...my mistake existed within a larger spirit of abundance and delight." HUH???? If that story itself is not bad enough, the author then refers us to another source where one can find justification for such "obsessively good intentions."

I was tempted at that point to stop reading there, but I urged myself to go on, hoping that this was an isolated, bizarre incident, and to forgive, since we are all imperfect humans. BIG MISTAKE.

The author's passive aggressive behavior shows itself in a later chapter. "She let me point to the words of the text as I read, WHICH SHE USUALLY HATED." So let me get this straight. You KNOW your child finds it distressing when you do this, yet...you do it anyway?????

Just one more example of the author's obvious mental difficulties is her openness in rushing her children to eat, "Emily is a v-e-r-y slow eater," and do their homework, yet...she ALLOWS them the LUXURY of not hurrying ONLY where reading is concerned. (So her kids have to eat at a rapid pace like wolves and rush through their homework, risking bad grades??)

This book is unreadable because the author is so unlikeable. I feel for her children.

But don't take my word for it. Borrow it from a library and see for yourself.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

annette873

Good tips, but...

Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2005

I'm also a bookaholic mom, so I really wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, I found the author's message in conflict with her actions and had a hard time getting past that. This book presents itself as a guide on how to pass along your passions without being overbearing or minimizing your child's other interests. Nash wants to be able to do this almost as desperately as she wants her daughters to find the same meaning in reading as she has. Both are admirable goals, but the pushy tone pushed me away.

In the chapter titled Grace, Nash paints the picture of her family relaxing in a snowed-in cabin, each one reading by the cozy fire. You can tell this moment, down to the hot chocolate and popcorn, has been a fantasy for her, and she just can't help nudging it towards reality. Nash defines grace as allowing moments like this to "just happen" and encourages her readers to do the same. But she didn't allow the moment to happen - as soon as her youngest, portrayed as the non-reader, finishes her snack, mom prompts her to "pick a book and come read next to me."

If anything, the book served as a cautionary tale for me - when it comes to passions I want to pass on to my daughter, I'm reminded how hard it is to keep yourself in check. That said, Nash seems to have come to that same conclusion intellectually and can share it with her readers, but just finds it difficult to put into practice herself (a very human trait). I gave it three stars because the author provides good tips like keeping a journal of the books your children enjoy, and great reference lists of titles and authors.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful