Good Night, Sleep Tight - Review and Giveaway

 

After my first baby was born I did all the activities you did with your first child including reading to her. Once she could sit up it was wonderful to have her in my lap as I read her books. It was fascinating to watch her wide-eyed and point to the pictures or words. To this day I am very sure that reading to her at a young age attributed to her advanced reading skills. We have a vast collection of our favourite books and I have to say that I love reading books by local authors such as Mem Fox.

I was fortunate enough that Scholastic have sent me a copy of her book Good Night, Sleep Tight to review.Good Night, Sleep Tight was inspired by research suggesting that children who have learnt six nursery rhymes by age four will usually be in the top reading group by eight. The book revives seven classic nursery rhymes for new generations and highlights the importance of parents reading aloud to their children. She had written it many years ago but she has now revised it to include two children and the illustrations by Judy Horacek are marvellous.

Our bedtime routine starts off with brushing teeth, going to the toilet and then reading the children books only if they are in pyjamas. So they always get dressed and sit on my daughter's bed. They absolutely love this book because it includes well-loved nursery rhymes like round and round the garden and pat-a-cake, which I get them to sing to me.

There are lovely pictures in this book and I enjoyed getting the children to spot different things and asking them questions. They love being involved and getting into the book. My almost 5yr old son has dozens of questions when I am reading. He had a great memory bank so he was already saying things as there is some fun repetition as well. My 6yr old daughter's favourite part of the book is when the ladys' are trotting on their horses. I love that she can read and although I do try to correct her, it's best if we don't so that they don't feel like it's a test. My 3yr old daughter enjoyed the nursery rhymes and the tickling part. As you can tell this book suitable for all ages.

 Mem Fox has been a literary consultant in Australia, the United States, Taiwan, Guam, Singapore, Soth Africa, Uganda and Tanzania. She is a well-known writer of many best selling picture books for children and several non-fiction books for adults.

Here are her top-ten comandments for reading aloud to children:

Mem Fox’s Ten Read Aloud Commandments

1. Spend at least ten wildly happy minutes every single day reading aloud.
2. Read at least three stories a day: it may be the same story three times. Children need to hear a thousand stories before they can begin to learn to read.
3. Read aloud with animation. Listen to your own voice and don’t be dull, or flat, or boring. Hang loose and be loud, have fun and laugh a lot.
4. Read with joy and enjoyment: real enjoyment for yourself and great joy for the listeners.
5. Read the stories that the kids love, over and over and over again, and always read in the same ‘tune’ for each book: i.e. with the same intonations on each page, each time.
6. Let children hear lots of language by talking to them constantly about the pictures, or anything else connected to the book; or sing any old song that you can remember; or say nursery rhymes in a bouncy way; or be noisy together doing clapping games.
7. Look for rhyme, rhythm or repetition in books for young children, and make sure the books are really short.
8. Play games with the things that you and the child can see on the page, such as letting kids finish rhymes, and finding the letters that start the child’s name and yours, remembering that it’s never work, it’s always a fabulous game.
9. Never ever teach reading, or get tense around books.
10. Please read aloud every day, mums and dads, because you just love being with your child, not because it’s the right thing to do. 

I really hope that you'll share the joy of reading to your children and thanks to Scholastic for also having this same sentiment by having three (3) copies to Giveaway!!! Just leave a comment below to be in the running. I'll draw a winner on Friday, 21st December in the morning.