Jim Dale’s Tale

My nearly, nine year-old daughter would recognize Jim Dale’s voice in an instant; after all, she has listened to the Harry Potter audio books more times than I can figure.  But, her listening adventures didn’t start with Harry Potter; they actually began when she was four-years-old, as an eager listener to any one reading aloud.  Children naturally like to hear stories read to them, and as parents, many of us do just that.  Yet, life moves along, gets more hectic, and often we stop reading aloud to our children when they are old enough to read to themselves.  My advice: keep audio books in the house, the car, and on vacation at all times!  And, never stop reading aloud to your children.

Both of our children have listened to audio books since the age of four; our twelve-year-old continues to do so.  The younger child will draw and listen as a time to relax and find peace in her world.  Our older son listens to audio books while he is falling asleep at night.  Simply, put a CD player in your children’s rooms from an early age and get in the habit of searching for books of interest through Amazon or your library’s website.  When you visit a book store, write down titles.  Read book reviews. Compile lists of audio book titles to order through your local library system.  The benefits to doing this are children who possess strong, above grade-level vocabulary and comprehension skills.  It’s that easy