"A Wall Street Journal writer's conversation-changing look at how reading aloud makes adults and children smarter, happier, healthier, more successful and more closely attached, even as technology pulls in the other direction. A miraculous alchemy occurs when one person reads to another, transforming the simple stuff of a book, a voice, and a bit of time into complex and powerful fuel for the heart, brain, and imagination. Grounded in the latest neuroscience...

Discover practical strategies to make reading aloud a meaningful family ritual. The stories we read--and the conversations we have about them--help shape family traditions, create lifelong memories, and become part of our legacy. Reading aloud not only has the power to change a family--it has the power to change the world.  But we all know that connecting deeply with our families can be difficult in our busy, technology-driven society. Reading...

"The art of narration is the art of telling. It extends from oral traditions of ancient cultures to yesterday's headlines. We all want to tell each other things, and shared communication deepens our relationships and heightens our understanding. This book will show you how to make that natural activity a vital part of education that enhances students' understanding and relationship with knowledge, while allowing them to grow into skilled communicators"--Page...

"When the new teacher announces all 3rd graders must read in front of everyone on Parents Night, Trevor Lee and his best friend take action before his secret of not being a good reader gets out."--

"This Is the Path the Wolf Took is a funny, endearing story about a boy named Gabe who doesn't like the scary parts of stories, so when he "reads" books to his little sister, he leaves those parts out. He tells her the story of the Little Red Riding Hood, and as soon as the wolf shows up, a knight in shining armor (Sir Gabriel) swoops in to the rescue. He tells the story of the Three Little Pigs, but just as the wolf is about to blow the first house...

This lush romantic drama depicts a family of cigar makers whose loves and lives are played out against the backdrop of America in the midst of the Depression. Set in Ybor City (Tampa) in 1930, Cruz imagines the catalytic effect the arrival of a new "lector" (who reads Tolstoy's Anna Karenina to the workers as they toil in the cigar factory) has on a Cuban-American family. Cruz celebrates the search for identity in a new land.

Bella always dreamed of being a lector, just like her Grandfather, who reads novels, political essays and union news to the workers in a cigar factory. However, circumstances force Bella to take a job at the cigar factory to help support her family instead of getting the education she needs to be a reader. Then, her Aunt Lola is arrested with other workers after a union meeting, and radios begin to replace the lectors in the factories, and Bella must...