Words that Cook! Parenting with children’s books™
Educational TV/DVD Series
Winner of the International Reading Association
2005 Broadcast Media Award for Television
“Words that Cook! genuinely empowers parents in one of their most important roles: preparing their children for a lifetime of reading. Great ideas for bringing reading into the home are not only offered, but also demonstrated. And the list of recommended children’s books for each episode is invaluable!”
— Maggie Head, Children’s & Young Adult Librarian
“The Words that Cook! DVDs are a perfect addition to the parent resource shelf. As a parent I find the series engaging, and supportive of my desire to support literacy in my family. Strategies, benchmarks and literacy development are clearly explained. As an educator I appreciate the many practical suggestions for optimizing communication between home and school in ways in which each parent, child and teacher is cherished.”
— Rosalind Forber, Kindergarten Teacher
“Words that Cook! generates an excitement around reading. The series gives parents ideas for selecting books as well as linking books with activities. Whether it’s a new sibling, a holiday, or a serious issue, parents learn how to make books an important part of everyday life.”
— Paula Polk, Director, Morse Institute Library
“Wow! This is really exciting, motivating and inspiring. I've got to get this program to the parents at my middle school. I feel that this program has the vital link necessary to solidify the partnership between home and school, between parent and teacher.”
— Karen Brenner, 6th Grade Teacher
“Live hosts standing in an animated ‘virtual-kitchen’ set discuss what elements are needed to foster a love of reading in children. Each short segment features an interviewed expert or parent interacting with lively tots and enthusiastic youngsters as he or she shares ‘recipes’ for successful book experiences. A youth services librarian, for example, links a picture book with a rousing rendition of ‘Old MacDonald’ in her presentation to a group of toddlers. Hints – including choosing books with large illustrations, talking about the pictures before reading the text, matching a child’s interest with appropriate books, and linking books to real-life experience – are captioned onscreen for emphasis. Finger plays and signing with tots are also discussed. Various book titles are recommended throughout the program, and an ending segment recaps tips and offers suggested reading choices for older children. For parents and educators.”
— Candace Smith, Booklist Review of Show 1 DVD, August 2005
“Teaching children literacy skills goes far beyond simply reading the occasional bedtime tale, but how can parents find the time and the means? Words That Cook!, an excellent 13-episode TV series, offers a goldmine of creative ideas to promote family literacy (their tagline is ‘parenting with children’s books’). Each episode is hosted by friendly adults Martine and Monty, who visit classrooms and homes, interviewing teachers, parents, and kids to ferret out ‘Recipes for Success.’ The eighth episode, Finding Inspiration for Writing, focuses on motivating children to undertake original, non-school-assignment writing, in order to gain valuable literacy skills through journaling, creative writing, and even bookmaking. Viewers meet a kindergarten teacher and her writing students, a mom who journals with her daughter, and a woman who demonstrates how to make a book out of household materials. All of the ‘Recipes for Success’ are reviewed at the end of the program, and a suggested reading list is presented. Down-to-earth, affordable, and realistic, this is recommended for parents of elementary school-age children looking for ways to enhance their children’s literacy skills and promote reading. Other titles in the series include Reading Starts with Interests, Writing Begins with Original Ideas, The Art of Storytelling, and Active Learning.
— E. Gieschen, Video Librarian Review, July-August 2006
101 Tips to Get Kids Reading and Keep Kids Reading
Informational Booklet
“I strongly recommend … 101 Tips to Get Kids Reading and Keep Kids Reading. We recently tried out tip #52 – listening to audio books in the car. It makes the eight-hour drive to San Antonio pass by more quickly. And Stockard Channing does a great reading of Ramona the Pest. We all know how important it is to read to our kids, from the day you bring them home from the hospital. But to raise kids able to handle the demands of elementary school in the 21st century, you need to do more than just read the books each night. This brochure has great practical advice on how to raise successful readers. I wish I could afford to send one to everyone on my list.”
—Meredith Rodriguez, 1st Grade Teacher
Read it Aloud!
A parent’s guide to sharing books with young children
Book
“Read it Aloud! A parent's guide to sharing books with young children, written by Monty Haas and Laurie Joy Haas, provides parents with numerous tips for effectively reading aloud with their children. The book's 27 chapters offer a wealth of practical advice for parents, caregivers, reading volunteers and others who share books aloud with children. Lots of activities and games are included, such as ‘Parachuting Porcupines’ to teach alliteration and ‘Pun Pictures’ to teach homonyms and puns. In addition, the book includes lists of appropriate children's magazines and references to lots of great children's books. Read it Aloud! A parent's guide to sharing books with young children offers ideas and techniques for bringing books into the center of families and for sharing excitement about books. [The authors] have focused particular attention on performance reading, follow-up discussion, related activities and wordplay – all things that parents can do today to prepare their children to think, communicate and succeed in the future.”
— International Reading Association
“Read it Aloud! A parent's guide to sharing books with young children is fabulous. Everything about it from the design to the content is outstanding.”
— Jim Trelease, Best-Selling Author and Read-Aloud Expert
“Great for teachers, child care providers, librarians and everyone who shares books with children. There's not another book like it!”
— Doreen Metcalfe, Children's Librarian
“Your coaching on pitch, tempo and ‘hamming it up’ definitely sparked even more interest – each chapter's end being greeted with a chorus of ‘Please, Pop, read one more!’”
— James Gurney, Award-Winning Author/Illustrator and Creator of Dinotopia
Read it Aloud!
Tips Tools & Techniques™
Distance Education Course
“I have learned the importance of using a variety of voices, facial expressions, and body language. ... The children definitely show more interest and can’t wait to hear more. I thought the CD was great. It was nice to hear the demonstrations. I thought it was well put together and feel I really learned some good techniques.”
— Kim Hart, Early Childhood Educator
“When I did my different assignments it was fascinating to see the reaction of my 2- and 3-year-olds. ... I will continue to use what I have learned in this course to help enhance my abilities to captivate the kids’ attention using my voice and facial expressions when reading a story and talking to the children.”
— Jessica Williams, Early Childhood Educator
“I came to this course with a solid awareness of interaction but now realize that
I can increase the depth of dramatic involvement and be more open to greater input from the children. ... I plan to further reflect on the Age-Appropriate Tips ... to further my foundation in that knowledge. And as a matter of keeping on track I also plan to consistently review the Course Objectives to be sure I am taking advantage of all that this reading aloud experience has given me.”
— Joyce Smola, RSVP Reading Volunteer
“I learned so much from this program. One of the techniques I found to be very useful for my age group was varying your pitch and becoming dramatically involved. ... The children got completely wrapped up in the characters from the book and were excited by what they were hearing.”
— Sandra Cesar, Early Childhood Educator
“This course reminded me of different ways to involve children in the storytelling and ways to use my voice to paint a picture as opposed to just reading words.”
— Jody Comer, Early Childhood Educator
“I have learned to slow down and add much more feeling to my reading. The greatest gains are in more enjoyment in sharing and receiving positive feedback from the children. ... This has been a fun course for myself and my child audience. She has picked up and is using these skills and is enjoying reading much more. She made a tape of her own to take home!”
— Betty Clough, RSVP Reading Volunteer
“I have learned the importance of energetic discussions that prompt kids to join in by asking questions of them. I think this helps withdrawn youngsters get used to their voices in a comfortable setting and to build self-confidence before they become self-conscious. ... I realized how kids’ spontaneity can be unlocked with the sounds in a story made by weather, emotions, characters, etc. ... I had underrated the importance of illustrations and humor in attracting and keeping children’s interest. Pictures prompt all sorts of questions that fuel interaction. ... Since working with your materials I have found my own reading more enjoyable and influenced by [a] renewed knowledge of sentence structure and literary devices (mostly similes). Where once I scanned now and then, I now read each word looking for a surprise!”
—Barbara A. Teich, RSVP Reading Volunteer
“This course was a good refresher course for me on how to promote language and literacy in preschoolers. ... The exercises made me aware of how much fun it can be for young minds to ‘play’ with sounds and words. ... I learned there are many ways for a story to ‘come alive’ for children. Hopefully by becoming an enthusiastic reader to children, they will develop a passion for listening to stories.”
— Linda Wilson, Early Childhood Educator
“I benefited from going over the vocabulary list. When I pick up a children’s book, I find myself looking at ways I can communicate the different words and ideas in the story to a child. ... [The course] helped me become more comfortable with the tone, speed and pitch of my voice. ... I learned new games that could be used to expand the reading experience for the child audience and increase their vocabulary. ... I enjoyed taking this course because I have always enjoyed reading, and I want to help children to do the same. Learning from this course will help me to develop ways to make the reading experience for my child audience more exciting and fun. Today it is harder for this to happen because we are competing with television and computers, so any help we can get from courses such as this is great.”
— Mary Jane Gauthier, RSVP Reading Volunteer
A Foundation for Literacy:
Reading Aloud, Storytelling & Writing
Distance Education Course
“This course reinforces the huge amount of learning that takes place in preschool ... gave me a better understanding of the wealth of knowledge that one simple young children’s book can convey ... The lesson plan format made me take the story apart and put it back together in a way that will capture children’s attention and interest ... The Internet sites for PBS and Reading Is Fundamental were outstanding ... I will use and recommend these sites. ... The assessment and evaluation Web sites have given me an idea to use self-reflection as an assessment tool for the teachers and myself.”
— Joan Aigen, Preschool Director
“It is difficult to learn and incorporate new things when you have been doing similar curriculum for so many years. For me, this course provided a jumping-off point for getting out of that rut ... I had not given much thought to telling stories from memory and using enhancements to make the telling more real. The reactions of the children let me know that this is something that I need to consider using more often ... I learned ... how to come up with ideas that challenge all the different learning styles. Although they will not all learn from the same activity, including several different plans as a part of the curriculum will allow more children to benefit from my teaching.”
— Lauren Hurley, Head Start Teacher
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