FOR PARENTS  >>

Reading Resources

Reading to your child and listening to him read are two of the most important things you can do to raise a strong, enthusiastic reader. 

Reading Tips

A good reader doesn’t necessarily know every word or immediately understand everything he or she reads. He or she does know STRATEGIES for figuring out unfamiliar words and understanding difficult material. Encourage your student to work these into her reading routine:
  • Before reading, skim the book cover, and preview the text. Search for a few known words and discuss what’s happening in the pictures. Make a prediction about what the story will be about.
  • While reading, pause, think about the story, and visualize what’s happening.
  • When stuck on a word, first, check the picture and get your mouth ready to say the first sound of the matching word. Ask yourself, “Does it make sense?”, “Does it look right?”, “Does it sound right?”.
  • Reread when confused to clarify.
  • Ask questions while reading, “Why did?”, “I wonder?”, “How Come?”
  • Read familiar texts to build fluency and read every day for at least 20 minutes.

Book Suggestions

THEME: GENEROSITY AND GIVING 
  • The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (All Ages)
  • One Winter’s Day by Christina Butler (Grades PS3–1)
  • Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming (Grades K–3)
  • When Stories Fell Like Shooting Stars by Valiska Gregory (Grades 1-3)
  • An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Pollaco (Grades 1–5)

​THEME: EMPATHY AND KINDNESS 
  • A Chair for my Mother by Vera B. Williams (Grades PS3–K)
  • A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead (Grades PS3–2)
  • How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham (Grades K–2)

THEME: BLACK HISTORY MONTH
  • The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles (Grades K-2)
  • Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine and Kadir Nelson (Grades 2-5)
  • Harlem by Walter Dean Myers (Grades 2-5)
  • Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport (Grades PS-2)

THEME: POETRY
  • Meet Danitra Brown by Nikki Grimes (Grades 2-5)
  • The Cuckoo’s Haiku and other Birding Poems by Stan Fellows (Grades 1-4)
  • Bees, Snails, and Peacock Tails by Steve Jenkins (Grades PS-1)
  • The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes (Grades 3-5)