Melody Schwarting's Reviews > How to Raise a Reader

A visually appealing and list-rich book about reading in the home, by the current editor of the NYT book review (former children's book editor) and the current editor of the NYT children's book review. Between them, they have six children and plenty of experience with raising readers (hint: be the reader you want your children to be).

Worth it for the lists, but honestly I found very little new material here. The value lies in its visual appeal and accessibility to busy parents: each paragraph has a header, and since it's written by two editors, the prose is finely-tuned. They should have cited more of their research, and frankly, could have gone a lot farther in the section geared to children ages 0-3. I loved the suggestion to get other adults besides parents having a mini book club with teens. I wish I'd had that as a teenager, and look forward to being that person for a teen or cajoling my family members to read with my kids.

Even though I'm years away from the pitter-patter of little feet, reading this book gratified me. I'm a dedicated reader, and my husband and I often spend our evenings reading together in our home library (who needs a "parlor" when you can have floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and assorted armchairs from the side of the road?). According to Paul and Russo, I'm already doing the three things I need to do to ensure my children read. First, I am a reader. Second, I spend a good part of my leisure time reading. Third, I have a lot of books. Also, we have a standing weekly library trip. So, while this book didn't instruct me much in my own reading life (nor did I expect it to), it gave me food for thought as I consider creating a bookish culture in my home. Just in case hanging book-themed art on the walls isn't enough....

I'd recommend this to busy parents who want to create a culture of reading in their home. The book recommendations are a bit skewed to recent publications, given the authors' professions, but they appreciate the classics, too. The long lists at the end, with categories like "Tearjerkers" and "Courage and Fear," are age-graded and particularly useful for readers (parents?) looking for particular types of books.