About This Book

Kids today are caught up in the world of technical innovations: virtual reality games, cell phones at their ears, texting (using acronyms — which leaves one to wonder at their proficiency in writing, reading, spelling, or even understanding the written word). They say (they being the experts), that a fourth grader of nine or ten should now be reading with proficiently. That is to say that he/she should have learned to read, and should now be at the stage where he/she is reading to learn other subjects. But statistics show – according to NAEP [ National Assessment of Education Progress] that only 32% of U.S. public school children are reading at grade level, and that 65% of fourth-graders can barely read at all! Blame it on the pandemic? Maybe a few percentage points, but I think a large factor is the amount of time parents take to instill the joy of reading in their kids at an early age — even reading to one still in the womb!

Parents! You set aside a budget for your eighteen-year-old for college! Just as important, if not more, is setting time aside to read to your little ones during those precious formative months and years! Reading is the lynchpin for learning. It will bring a lifetime of dividends Now, all children like challenges . . . but, they need stimulation! So, at the end of each chapter you will find a short quiz — only four or five questions — designed to pique your child’s naturally curious, “what’s going to happen next?” mind. Other benefits become obvious, such as having parent/child interaction and discussion in an uplifting atmosphere; boosting your young one’s retention of the material; and, equally important to all else, helping develop your child’s joy of reading!