Though I don’t go out of my way to read parenting magazines (and I will likely never have it together enough to “Pack a Super-Fun Lunch!”), if I do see one, I’ll give it a browse. I was so glad to discover Nic Stone‘s article “My Boy and the Bus” in the February 2018 issue […]
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Raising readers is the goal of every reading parent and is at the heart of the Horn Book’s mission.
Field Notes: Lucha Libros: Bilingual Battle of the Books
November 28, 2017 by Leave a Comment
On May 3, 2017, fifty-six second- and third-graders and their parents gathered in the Pasadena Public Library’s Donald R. Wright Auditorium for the final battle of our third annual Lucha Libros reading competition. That month’s selection was Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox / El Superzorro. As I looked around the room and felt the excitement […]
Books in the Home: What My First Grader Taught Me About Reading
August 22, 2017 by Leave a Comment
What does it mean to learn to read? As a former first-grade teacher and a professor of literacy education, I have constructed plenty of answers over the years. But witnessing the process as a parent has led me to challenge any overly simplistic explanations and assumptions I had held. The most important things I’ll probably ever […]
Share your summer reading lists
June 23, 2017 by Leave a Comment
With schools finished for the season, most have posted summer reading lists. Back in my school days, I remember two kinds of lists: the ones with required reading (classics to be read before grade 9) and the much-preferred lists of books we were encouraged to read just for fun. At the Horn Book, we create […]
BGHB at 50: Saffy’s Angel by Hilary McKay
May 23, 2017 by 1 Comment
In celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards, established in 1967, we will be publishing a series of appreciations of BGHB winners and honorees from the past. Further installments will appear in the Magazine and on hbook.com/bghb throughout 2017. Here is a conversation I had on the phone with my nineteen-year-old […]
On “Radio Penderwick,” bedtime (audio)books, and more
January 13, 2017 by 1 Comment
Just like their print counterparts, audiobooks play many roles in the home. This week we looked at some different ways audiobooks accompany families — at bedtime during road trips, and really any time (or, Rachael Stein’s case, all the time). Here’s a roundup of our mini-celebration. At Family Reading on Monday, Kitty Flynn shared her […]
Books in the Home: “Mommy, Do I Have White Skin?”: Skin Color, Family, and Picture Books
November 16, 2016 by 2 Comments
When my son was five, he was watching TV when a commercial came on that showed a woman slathering her peach-colored arms with lotion. He glanced down at his own brown arm. After poking it with a finger, he asked: “Mommy, do I have white skin?” It was a moment that seemed straight out of […]
If There’s Something Strange in the Neighborhood…
October 24, 2016 by Leave a Comment
I’ve been collecting Halloween-y type books for a few years, and when my kids were old enough to understand the significance of the candy-fueled holiday, they really got into reading about ghosts and goblins and trick-or-treating mishaps. We’ve actually made something of a tradition of bringing out the Halloween books at the beginning of October, […]
Surviving Road Trips with Audiobooks
October 12, 2016 by 1 Comment
It began with Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking. I was planning a four-hour road trip with my kids, and I was searching for something besides the fail-safe DVD to entertain them during the drive. Admittedly, as an author, I rail against relying too heavily on movies, TV, and gaming. Yes, they’re convenient, and keep lunacy on […]
Help! My newborn hates to read.
September 19, 2016 by 9 Comments
By now, we all know the benefits of reading to children from birth. The emotional bonding, the language development, the cognitive skills. Plus, there’s a sleep benefit, as Dr. Robert Needlman of Reach Out and Read discussed at the Horn Book’s Fostering Lifelong Learners symposium a few years ago. Tiny babies need to learn to […]
