Raising Readers: How to Nurture a Child's Love of Books

by Megan Daley

Some kids refuse to read, others won't stop - not even at the dinner table!

Either way, many parents question the best way to support their child's literacy journey. When can you start reading to your child? How do you find that special book to inspire a reluctant reader? How can you tell if a book is age appropriate? What can you do to keep your tween reading into their adolescent years?

Award-winning teacher librarian Megan Daley has the answers to all these questions and more. She unpacks her fifteen years of experience into this personable and accessible guide, enhanced with up-to-date research and first-hand accounts from well-known Australian children's authors.

It also contains practical tips, such as suggested reading lists and instructions on how to run book-themed activities. Raising Readers is a must-have guide for parents and educators to help the children in their lives fall in love with books.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Education, Books About Books, Teaching, Adult

Paperback

First published April 2, 2019

About the author

Megan Daley is passionate about children's literature and sharing it with young and old alike. In daylight hours, Megan is a teacher librarian at St Aidan's Anglican Girls School in Queensland and was recently awarded the Queensland Teacher Librarian of the Year by the School Library Association of Queensland, as well as the national Dromken Librarians Award, presented by the State Library of Victoria.

A former national vice-president of the Children's Book Council of Australia, she is currently on the Queensland chapter of the board of the Australian Children's Laureate and on the Publications Committee of the National Library of Australia. She blogs about all things literary, library and tech. She also thinks sleep is overrated.

Reviews

[Cass Moriarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book review is a little different. I have in front of me a copy of the newly released Raising Readers – How to Nurture a Child’s Love of Books (UQP 2019) by Megan Daley. Not only have I read this book, but I have now covered the text with highlighted passages and scribbled margin notes! (Something I NEVER do to books…) I have also inscribed this copy to my daughter and her partner, with the words that it contains everything they need to know to instil a love of reading in Anaya (my granddaughter). As I flip through the pages, the highlighted colours – green, yellow and pink – shout out at me all the tips and tricks I found useful, and even more importantly, all the fantastic book suggestions for every age. This is a book that should be read by every parent, every carer, every teacher, every child-care worker and every librarian. This is a book that will not only guide you as to how and why you should care so much about your children’s reading lives but will offer practical advice and down-to-earth content that is easy to read, up-to-date, sensible and reasonable. This book will show you how to use books, and all other forms of reading material, whether you buy them new from bookstores or gather them pre-loved from second-hand shops, or whether you continuously update your shelves with library books.
The author is a teacher librarian and is possibly one of the most passionate readers (and champions of children’s literature) on the planet. This non-fiction book allows you to dip in and out, choosing the topics that most interest you at the time, or you can read it cover to cover, absorbing all the wonderful information and storing it for later.
Here is a glimpse of what’s inside. Chapter 1 is titled Raising a Reader – The Early Years and covers important tips for babies up to five years of age, including singing, playful reading and reading routines. The second chapter is about Reading and School and discusses everything you ever wanted to ask about phonics, sight words, readers and digital technology. Chapter 3 is in praise of The School Library (and librarians!) and book awards. Chapters follow on everything from reading spaces to makerspacers, from kids with reading challenges to how to use picture books at all ages. Megan Daley covers every literary genre and PROVIDES LISTS OF BOOKS FOR EACH GENRE AND EVERY AGE RANGE. Invaluable. (Those sections are particularly highlighted!) She talks about book clubs, book competitions, book launches, Book Week, ebooks, audio books, apps and gaming. And she finishes with chapters on Reading for the Future – Sustainability and Nature, Reading Mindfully, Acknowledging and Reflecting Diversity, and some excellent tips on handling dark reading content and everything from how to make a Book Week costume to how to host a book party to how to be an excellent book gifter. She includes extensive contributions from authors and children’s literature experts and a comprehensive endnotes section. This book condenses over 20 years of professional experience, and the voice of her popular blog Children’s Books Daily, to provide an essential guide to books, literature, reading and most importantly, to the young reader in your life.

[Rebecca Bowyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raising Readers, by Megan Daley, is the book I wish I’d been able to read before I had kids.

Not because I need tips on how to interest my boys in books – they’re both voracious readers and my youngest takes books to bed as though they’re teddies – but because it would have helped lower my stress levels significantly.

I knew I was supposed to read to my children early and often. But I worried endlessly because my 6-month-old kept trying to eat the pages; my 1-year-old would only listen to half the book before running away; my 3-year-old would look at the pictures instead of the words.

My kids are now 6 and 9 and I know, now, that all of this is perfectly normal ‘reading’ behaviours for younger kids.

Megan Daley is a teacher librarian and the author of the fabulous website, Children’s Books Daily. In Raising Readers she gives parents simple explanations and tips for each reading stage from babies to teens. There’s also a great ‘How to’ section at the back – how to host a book party, how to host a book club for kids (oh, heaven! cries my inner child) and how to be ‘an excellent book gifter’.

Daley’s advice is interspersed with fascinating short sections from more than 20 bookish people – from authors to librarians, psychologists to academics and, of course, young readers themselves.

Here are a few of my favourite takeaways from Raising Readers:

Allowing kids to choose what they read is important BUT it’s also okay (and recommended) to sometimes choose bedtime stories yourself to expose kids to a greater variety of books. This was a great relief to me – sometimes I feel a little guilty for saying ‘no’ to yet another Minion book because I just want to read something else for a change.

‘Home corner' at early learning centres is named after the dress ups and props that allow kids to re-enact scenes from home (am I the only person who had no idea?). Books and imaginative play directly interact with each other and help kids understand the world around them.

Early school ‘readers’ are written by authors to specific briefs – the topic, how many words and which actual words to include and how many times (thanks Pamela Rushby for this fascinating insight!).

This would make a great gift for a baby shower or parent with a child starting school. Or you could just buy it for yourself any old time if you’re interested, because it’s chock full of fascinating things you never knew about kids and reading!

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally loved this book. I feel like Megan Daley is my spirit school librarian. Her ways to get kids reading align perfectly with mine. Her genuine experience on the coal face of school librarianship, meeting kids from across the reading divides make this book feel authentic. Her lists of books are fabulous, yes, they'll date a bit, but they align with my ideas of the books that work for kids in my experience. I enjoyed this so much more than others I've read which come from a more teacherly perspective. If you want to know what kids read, ask someone who works with them every day, who has innovative ideas and who sidles up alongside readers and finds out what they want and what they think. Megan Daley does this. Highly recommended reading for anybody who works in school libraries, it'll confirm what you know anecdotally from your work and it'll give you great responses to parents and teachers who question your reader centric methods. Fabulous read.

[ALPHAreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Raising Readers: How to nurture a child’s love of books' is the non-fiction how-to book that the Australian publishing industry needed - written by teacher librarian, 'Queensland Teacher Librarian of the Year' and recipient of the national Dromken Librarians Award AND blogger over at 'Children's Books Daily' - Megan Daley (phew!)

This book was not written specifically for authors, but in my role as a literary agent, editor, author and youth-literature advocate that was the way I came to view this resource ... and though it was not intended as such, I found it to also be a great stockpile of info for new and emerging authors; so that's the point from which I'm reviewing it.

Straight up in the introduction, Daley explains the purpose and usefulness of the book;

'Raising Readers' is a guide for parents and a resource for educators. Like all good non-fiction books (my teacher librarian hat is on now), you can dip into this book as needed or you can read it from start to finish. I will walk you through each stage of a child's literacy development - from birth to adolescence - and offer advice, connect you with the right books at the right times, share pieces of wisdom from my literary friends, as well as some tips and tricks to ensure your family's or classroom's reading journeys are as memorable and as engaging as they can be.

All of which is true, and means this book is for *anyone* who cares about children becoming readers for life, and having their imaginations constantly expanded and nurtured.

But there are ways that the book can be used as a call-to-arms and a guiding-light in lateral ways too, which I am sure Daley was also aware of when writing. Like how she constantly highlights throughout, the overwhelming importance of teacher librarians in schools and what a well-managed and cared-for library does to a school community, especially in improving literacy (something that literally *all* of the studies and science show correlates too).

Coming from a family of mostly primary-school teachers from the public-schools sector, I know that not every school has a funded library, and not every child has access to what is essential learning and living in books. 'Raising Readers' has some great guides and how-to's in talking about the need for thoughtful library collections and teacher librarians to manage them, should any parent reading this want help in appealing to a school board or funding committee. While a chapter on 'Acknowledging and Reflecting Diversity' can even be used by those school communities for whom funding and access is *not* the issue, but broadening horizons and being mindful of inclusion *is.*

Likewise for any educators and librarians struggling on ever-tightening budgets, Daley's words will be both balm and lightning-rod for talking-points and back-up!

As Daley mentioned, the ability to dip in and out of the book is there, or even flick through and look for breakout-boxes offering lists of recommended-reads and activities, etc. Though I will say that some of the books listed did run a little old, dating from the 90s and early-00s ... but I guess this was an attempt to actually *not* date the book by only listing current "hot-reads" that may not stand the test of time like many "classics" Daley mentions. And, look, if you actually want to keep up-to-date on YouthLit trends (which you SHOULD, if Daley's messaging leaves any mark on you!) then use the ever-evolving and vital resource of her: Children's Books Daily blog - and the focus on #LoveOzYA and #LoveOzMG recs is truly fabulous!

'Raising Readers' as I said, is also an invaluable resource for new and emerging authors. I'd say that on the writing and creativity front, 'Writing Irresistible Kidlit: The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Fiction for Young Adult and Middle Grade Readers' by Mary Kole (my FAVE!) is one-half of the conversation for the just-getting-started side, and Megan Daley's 'Raising Readers' is perfect for the next phase of an author's life, when they have to work and monetise their writing career. In this the final chapter of 'How-To Guides' is brilliant, particularly the section on 'How to host an author or illustrator visit'.

In this, Daley will give authors some idea of what is expected of them (how to talk about their books in terms of curriculum, what kids get out of visits with creators etc.) but more importantly, Daley having shown "the stakes" as they are for teacher librarians and schools, gives authors an appreciation of how *on-point* their presentations and interactions have to be; how rehearsed (but not *too* rehearsed) fun, engaging, educational, and above all - worthwhile. Because schools and libraries work to tight-budgets, and sometimes they're even battling against wider communities and adults who don't yet understand the value and importance of investing in nurturing a love of reading in children, at all ages.

Highly-highly recommend 'Raising Readers' for everyone and anyone who thinks that a world full of well-read kids engaged with their imagination and empathy is in everyone's best interests.

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything about this book.

[EmG ReadsDaily · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much to love about this book, especially if you want to raise readers!

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. The suggested book lists were so valuable. I think this book is a wonderful read for educators and those working within the library sector. Even if you're already implementing a lot of the suggestions it's nice to nod along to them.

[Shahedah · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

This book fills my heart with so much joy ❤️❤️

I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book’s publication from the moment I heard about it and it does not disappoint. Daley is informative and helpful, non-judgemental, and generally brilliant. Any book that has a section dedicated to ‘How To Create A Book Week Costume’ is a winner for me. The only reason I deducted half a star is that I have also since seen another newer book from the editors of the NY Times Book Review, which is a) much more beautiful as a book to own (hardcover, illustrated, high paper quality) and therefore more satisfying to a book lover, and b) for each age group/category the authors there also give more general advice on ‘What To Look For’ in selecting those books. Daley’s book-specific recommendations are fantastic for a present day Australian audience, but I also like the NYT approach of providing more universal and timeless guidance on book selection. I suspect I’ll just end up buying both books and referring to them often!

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Megan is a passionate advocate for children’s literacy. The language she uses in the book is very accessible, and the books contains heaps of practical advice. Highly recommend this book for any parent of young children.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just finished reading Raising Readers, by Megan Daley, a teacher librarian and blogger. Really, it would be more accurate to say I've finished my first stage of reading Raising Readers, because I'll be keeping this book close at hand for years to come. It doesn't have much to say about the mechanics of reading - that is not it's purpose. Instead, it is a rich source of knowledge and ideas of how to support your child's love of books, from baby right through to adolescence. The book is targeted at parents, but would be equally useful to teachers and librarians. 


The first half the book outlines how to support the growth of children from birth to proficient reader, with the second half of the book devoted to an exploration of the various genres, topics and formats available. Her personable style, humour and frequent use of anecdotes carries the book well, as does the smooth and logical progression of topics throughout the chapters. I found it was a light enough read that I could dip in an out of it in the few odd minutes between tasks.


In true librarian style, one of Megan's strengths is knowing where to get good information and stories. I loved the way she has drawn on her extensive professional network to pepper the book with snippets written by authors, illustrators and experts related to each topic, as well as adults and children sharing their experiences. The absolute best feature of the book, however, is the lists of relevant books that ends each section. They will keep me and my kids busy for years to come. Also handy is the chapter of how-tos at the end of the book, with everything from hosting author visits to running a book club and planning a book themed party. 


Narrowing in on the chapter on learning to read, there were a few things I found interesting. She is utterly supportive of levelled readers, which I found surprising. I don't think I have ever heard a book lover talk of readers as any more than a begrudged necessity! I found her comments on them, as well as the snippet by author Pamela Rushby, rather thought provoking. (My own opinion on the topic is somewhat complicated and warrants its own post). I quite liked the list of comprehension questions on page 29, and like the idea of writing them on slips that go into a hat, to pull out a couple to talk about after reading a book. I also liked the sight word activities in the how-to chapter at the back of the book, in particular the idea of using a fly swat to swat words!


Putting my phonics nutter hat on for a moment (sorry), there were two things that I found worth mentioning. She defines phonics as "the teaching of letter-sound relationships". I think this definition is at the heart of the debate around phonics instruction, as it does not address the issue of phonemic awareness, the ability to pull the sounds apart and put them together into words. This is the area that many students will continue to struggle with unless taught explicitly. But here again, we delve into a topic that deserves its own post. 


The other line that puzzled me regarding phonics was this: "phonics is just one of many strategies used to teach reading and it should be handled with care and used sparingly." I am not really sure where this fear of phonics comes from, but then, I have only ever seen schools that have under taught it, not ones that have over-taught it. I would rather her say, "phonics should be taught effectively, with minimal time to maximum impact, so as to leave plenty of time for the very important matters of oral language and comprehension".  I want to apologise for being quite nit-picky on these phonics points. I also think it very fair to note what she says herself: her aim, expertise and passion are to support reading, not offer remedial advice to struggling readers. In the chapter on reading difficulties she urges parents to seek out expert help if their child is struggling.


I loved this book, and although much of the advice is common sense, there were plenty of new ideas for me to take away, which I look forward to putting into practice. I felt swept up in her love of books and more than once considered a career change to become a teacher librarian! This book won't tell you how to teach your kids to read, but it will give you wonderful ways to support the growth of well rounded book lovers.

[Wendy Bamber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous book to read as a parent and school librarian, because not only was it affirming for the work I’ve put into both of these roles, it also gave me ideas for the future. One particular page I enjoyed was seeing that Megan reads her picture books aloud “in one fluid and expressive reading”, not stopping and starting to discuss a point, and I thought Hallelujah! I have always read picture books in this way to my kids and my school groups and wondered if that was a little selfish. Not any more!
This was not the only take away from this book, of course not, I will return to this when it comes back to the library - I already have a parent reserve after putting a review in the school newsletter.
I made a note of the questions to be asked in a book club which I will try again at when we are post covid restrictions. And I will tell my picture book audiences that they can be ready to listen and put hands up at the end. Very easy to lose an audience if one kid keeps putting their hand up to tell a relatable story at every single page.
I’m actually going to read a few lines about Reading the Dark to my older kids this week, tell them why I like books that make my cry a little and ask them their experiences and why we think we like books like that. And maybe read Room on the Rock to some younger kids, to bring in current world events without overdoing it. The list of ideas goes on.
It is a pleasure to read about and remember a lot of what I love about my job.
Very readable for parents too, they can leave out the librarian pages, or read them and appreciate how lucky they are to have us.

[Betty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some useful lists of books, but otherwise a bit ordinary.

[Helen O'Toole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an absolute gem and should be required reading for every single person doing an education degree plus teachers already in classrooms. It is especially important to school administrators who have often become caught up in the reading wars around how to teach children to read and have forgotten the importance of creating readers for life. I couldn’t love this book more! Every chapter had me nodding in agreement and saying “Yes!” so loudly my better half came in to check what I was enjoying. Chapter 10 on the importance of continuing to read picture story books to children was a standout chapter as I hear parents and teachers say with pride that their child is now onto chapter books and seemingly dismiss these important books. The other chapter that touched my heart was chapter 14 Reading the Dark. As an educator I have seen at close hand the grief suffered by families after a sudden death of a child, parent or grandparent. My own family had its share of tragedy with the tragic loss of a beloved 3 year old, a suicide of a cousin and an uncle’s death in a motor accident. I loved this sentence: The very best creators of children’s books weave sorrow and heartbreak with love and comfort.”
Thank you Megan Daley for this superb book.

[Bear of MoonBear · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, though I didn't get to take away as much from it, as I would have, if I'd have read it at the beginning of my parenting journey. Much of the content discussed were things I already implement. I do like that there was a book list provided after each section and that alternative reading methods were acknowledged, such as audiobooks, graphic novels, and video gaming for example and given due credit.

[Anna Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for parents with lots of wonderful information and ideas about raising children who love to read. It also is a good read for teachers and teacher librarians with practical ideas for creating a school wide reading culture.

[Houda Jubaili · Rating 5 out of 5]

audiobook - I loved the variety of topics covered in this book. The “Multimodal and Digital Reading” chapter was my favorite 💗

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous resource. Full review to come.

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I started reading properly in 2009 - that is, since I randomly decided to read Stephen King's It from start to finish, no matter how much I might struggle to commit - one particular irony is that I have always despised prescriptive reading. Despite flourishing into an avid devourer of books, I never liked having to read a novel merely because someone lent it to me and was eager to know what I thought. I certainly love getting books as gifts - in fact, it secretly annoys me that most of my family rarely ever does - but I never like being followed up on whether I have read it yet. "Yeah mate, it's sitting comfortably on my shelf right now; I'll read it when I read it".

Probably like many, if not most, people on Goodreads, selecting my next book is one of the things I most look forward to. Likewise, I love putting the title into the Goodreads search bar and adding it to my currently-reading shelf. I very rarely decide in advance what I will next go with; I just love to randomly go where my heart desires, whether it will be from one of the physical shelves in my apartment, or my old collection in or under my parents' house, my vast online library (courtesy mostly of Internet Archive), or indeed one the various libraries I patronise.

Naturally, my aversion to being told what to read does not fare well for me in my studies. Guiltily, I have not done more than glance at a few required readings before an exam. Especially when it comes to reading wanky academic articles about overly intellectualised subjects I'm pretty well sick of, I am still that impatient teenager whose reading credits are basically just Harry Potter and the Jurassic Park novel.

This book struck me very much as the sort of book I might have been prescribed for one of my education classes, and wouldn't have bothered with. However, since instead it was one of the daily specials on Audible, and my wife and I are currently trying to get our toddler more interested in reading, it did seem a very timely one for me to go with.

Megan Daley has written an amiable, easily digestible guide on how to approach reading with children, whether in the home or school environment. Also included are numerous lists of suggested works of just about every genre - so in that sense it would be worth getting the physical copy, or at least downloading the PDF that comes with the audiobook. I give it three stars instead of four, not for any objective reason, as it is a perfectly useful book for parents or teachers. Personally it was just a little too "woke" in places for my tastes, the humour was little cringey, and some of the authors quoted - especially one of them, whose name I can't remember, Spats or Spicks or something - sounded like pretentious assholes.

Either way, it's well worth reading, and it has a lot of useful tips I have already tried to take on board.

[The Book Squirrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Regarding the VERY short section on gender differences, I have to politely disagree with Megan (and Jacqueline's) stance, which is basically "let boys read about girls". Yes, we should promote the view that all books are for all children, but there ARE differences in what boys and girls like to read, generally speaking, and these differences should be respected. Yes, give ALL children good books, regardless of subject matter [age-appropriate, of course] and the gender of the main character, but there's nothing wrong with male characters for male readers and this dismissive "give them girl characters" attitude is not actually respecting the reader (would you dismiss a reader who likes cozy mysteries - and yes, there is a slight stereotype demographic for that genre - with a "let them read about all killers"? Or would you give a 17 year old books about octogenarians - well sure, if it was a good book, but you'd chiefly give them books about their own age group, because that's what is relevant to them, right?).
I read a comment on a blog thread once, where EVERY book publishers were promoting in a three-month period featured girls and were largely about relationships and "girl power". Nothing wrong with that, but when one dad commented, "Do you have a suggestion for a new release for my 11 year old son?", he was shouted down with "Girls have had mostly male characters in the past so now boys can deal with female characters." Not helpful and I sure hope this isn't our motivation in giving boys books with girl characters! Why should this generation of emerging boy readers be punished for previous biases in publishing? This attitude is more and more prevalent in recent years and I really feel for young boys who still need strong male protagonist role models in stories (and girls need good male protagonists in stories, too). I recently asked a group of librarians to name a few books which featured strong positive relationships between male-male characters (like an antithesis to Lord of the flies) which didn't get into gay relationships and they were stumped. Naming books with good relationships between male-female characters was no problem - The Explorer, The goldfish boy, Marsh and me... Books with male-male friendships ended up being largely about brothers.
When discussing boy readers, I prefer James Moloney's excellent "Boys and books", not a few paragraphs from two female authors (and if you're further interested in boys and education, look up the documentary "Gareth Malone's extraordinary school for boys").

UPDATE: I'm finished. Overall, this is good, but it didn't hold my attention. It has some good tips, but it didn't really give me any information that I didn't already know. The first third (particularly talking about reading difficulties and disorders) is more interesting than the last two thirds. It was also very girl-orientated in parts (such as some of the book lists).

[Shreedevi Gurumurty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some kids refuse to read, others won't stop-not even at the dinner table! Either way, many parents question the best way to support their child's literacy journey. When can you start reading to your child? How do you find that special book to inspire a reluctant reader? What can you do to keep your tween reading into their adolescent years? Award-winning teacher librarian Megan Daley, the passionate voice behind the Children's Books Daily blog, has the answers to all these questions and more. She unpacks her twenty years of experience into this personable and accessible guide, enhanced with up-to-date research and firsthand accounts from well-known Australian children's authors. It also contains practical tips, such as suggested reading lists and instructions on how to run book-themed activities.Raising Readers is a must-have resource for parents and educators to help the children in their lives fall in love with books.As someone who rediscovered their love of reading, this book was an absolute gem. The tips offered were creative and informative. To raise good readers, you read from day one, you share books daily,you reread favourites, libraries and bookstores are always the go-to place, thinking and talking all about books, you live by your words, and see educational opportunities in every single type of book imaginable.
Look for new books and authors that your child may enjoy.
Organize an area dedicated to reading and writing tools.
Visit the library for story time and book recommendations.
Encourage your child to talk about what they've read.

Talk to your child, and sprinkle interesting words into your conversation.
Offer a variety of books to read.

Read with your child every day.
Expand your home library to include magazines and nonfiction.
Ask questions if you're concerned about your child's development.
Decide to raise a reader!

[Megan Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pictures, words, music, travel… another great pleasure in life is reading. I’m thrilled that pre-orders of "Raising Readers" by my Brisbane based friend, award-winning teacher librarian Megan Daley @childrensbooksdaily have arrived. I purchased these as #gifts and am waiting to buy my own signed-by-the-author copy to keep when Megan comes down to Melbourne.

I’ve followed Megan’s blog #ChildrensBooksDaily for many years, her intelligent insights have been a great source of book inspiration and guidance, she’s definitely helped me raise readers. In particular, long before friends tragically died (and more recently after my own brother’s heartbreaking death), in my volunteer photography work with Make-A-Wish I sought Megan’s recommendations on helpful #DeathAndDying books for young and old alike (search #grief on her website and you’ll be directed to an abundance of helpful literature).

Raising Readers is the perfect gift for all parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, friends & educators who care about helping the children (& teenagers, it’s never too late, our battle with screens sometimes seems insurmountable) in their lives to fall in love with books.
People who have developed a love of reading are generally kinder, more decent humans. Reading helps you connect and escape. I’m very glad to share this wonderful book far and wide #RaisingReaders is essential reading for all. Books help heal, words open minds and change our world for the better.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a highly readable and engaging book to guide, inspire and support parents, teachers and teacher librarians to engage children and teenagers with literature. Megan Daley draws on personal experience as a mother, teacher, teacher librarian and awards judge to provide a fascinating narrative comprising of personal experience, professional expertise and research in the field. The added inserts from experts in the various fields she covers add alternative perspectives and suggestions to support home and school reading engagements. Chapters deal with different age groups at home and in school, the significant role of the school library, reading spaces, stamina, competitions and social engagements between young readers, balancing the reading diet, multimodal and digital reading and the power of visual stories. It would be easy to compartmentalise this as a book for early years and primary aged students but it is much more than this. Sage advice transfers into the realm of teenagehood. Sections are supported with interesting and varied book lists of Daley's favourites rather than better known titles and the latter sections provide lists of practical advice on all things bookish. Highly recommended for every parent's bookshelf and all school and public libraries. Grab a copy today and enjoy the read and the insights.

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent practical and incredibly readable guide for promoting reading. The author draws on her professional experience as a teacher librarian, and on her personal experience as a parent, to provide suggestions and explain in plain language the most recent research and best practice. Having heard Megan speak at a conference, I had the added bonus of being able to 'hear' her voice as I read this. While primarily aimed at parents, this book has plenty to offer teachers and librarians as well. It's a shame that the lists of suggested titles don't include more recently published books - some of those listed are quite old and possibly dated now (I can think of a few that I had in my school library 20 years ago and the book covers of those editions will not have aged well!) However any school librarian, public children's librarian or bookseller worth their salt will be able to provide plenty of similar and more recent suggestions. It did feel like the book ended quite suddenly (I was expecting some kind of conclusion or summary chapter), but otherwise this is an incredibly valuable book - lots of ideas for running school library events, activities at home to support reading, and generally down-to-earth advice. Highly recommended for new parents and school libraries.

[Morgan the Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fantastic book and resource for parents, teachers and librarians.

I am both a parent of a toddler and studying my Master of Information Management to become a librarian to work in a school.

Reading is so important in the development of growing minds but it feels like its importance is falling further and further from the wayside. Which is such a shame because there is a magnitude of research out there that proves its importance.

Anyway, Megan Daley has done a fantastic job with Raising Readers. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have pages and pages of notes to help promote a love of reading for at home and in a library!

Key make it fun, talk about it and role model it, because you will also get great enjoyment out of it!

Includes great reading lists as a guide that you can add to as well as guides to help set up reading activities.

[Natalie Triggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a superb how-to for any parent, teacher, teacher librarian, grandparent, the list goes on. . Covering how to instill a love of  reading from birth, through to young readers to adolescents, it is written from the heart, but backed up with academic research. I have personally covered mine with a coloured post it note system from ideas that I want to use in my school library, when I have one of my own, to passages that made me laugh, to things I want to mention to my brother about my niece and her reading. Its something you can dip into if you need some advice, the back has some how to guides covering things like how to create a maker space to how to be a good book gift giver!

Do yourself a favour and pick yourself up a copy (or a few to give as gifts as well!!!)

[Kerryn Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know Megan Daley is a teacher librarian and she is preaching to an appreciative audience in a dedicated library worker BUT I still think this book should belong in all schools alongside other amazing reading advocacy books like The Book Whisperer. Megan puts into words so clearly everything that I want to share with my school leaders while also giving many supporting ideas to help unlock the reader hiding within every child. Children who read unlock many more doors and open others even wider and I spend countless hours very week helping them to find the key. Raising Readers has added more than a few extra keys to my arsenal.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paperback 246p

I borrowed this book as I have a 7 year old daughter who is struggling with school readers, but *loves* to be read to. I also have a 11 year old son who loves a Treehouse story and not much else. So I was hoping this book would provide ideas to encourage their reading journey.

Instead this book provided reassurance, and the fact my kids want to read is good, and just let them read what they want to read, rather than *force* them to read a "proper" book.

This book is written by a teacher/librarian, and there is plenty in this book for teachers, schools and librarians, as well as for the worried parent.

[Lorena Ballesteros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encontré este libro sumamente útil, tanto para reflexionar sobre la importancia de la lectura en los niños, como para aterrizarlo en estrategias que se pueden aplicar en casa. Hay que tener en cuenta que fue escrito por una autora y bibliotecaria australiana, y que mucho de lo que dice está orientado a su país y su comunidad. También creo que es una herramienta útil para educadoras o personas que trabajan como libreros.

Me encanta la lista de recomendaciones que da en cada capítulo. Son cuentos y libros en inglés, pero valen mucho la pena.

[Ms Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need to fully admit that Megan Daley is my super-star TL crush and I would love to be half the TL she is. One day- maybe.

This is an excellent read, not only for teachers and educators but also for parents who are wanting to develop (and sustain!) a love of reading in their children. It’s choc-full of ideas that don’t require too much effort but have long-lasting effects.

I listened to this, but it’s designed to be a dip in and out book which makes it versatile and easy to navigate. It’s engaging and entertaining and non-condescending.

It is geared more towards younger children (hence the “Raising” in the title I guess) and I would have loved more about how to get “once were readers” back into the game but I guess, if that love, joy and value of reading is instilled early on, then it’s there for life! (Although it may be dormant for a while). Yay for reading and for all the authors and illustrators of all the books in all the world.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had this book sitting next to my bed for quite sometime before I eventually picked it up. And I’m really disappointed in myself, as I should have read it 100 times over by now.
It is fabulous and needs to be read by all teachers as well. So much insight and expresses the value of reading and the teacher librarian.
As a TL myself, I still learnt some new tricks of the trade throughout the book.
Absolutely love this book - and for anyone with an interest in children reading.