Read Aloud

Most of us work hard to bring a book to life while reading it aloud to children. But we can bring the author of that book to life, too.Jim Trelease, in "The Read-Aloud Handbook," suggests that adults find a copy of Lee Bennett Hopkins' "Books Are By People" and "More Books By More People." These paperbacks contain interviews with children's authors.Also, Trelease suggests a visit to the local library, where you can research the author. Often the information you need is on the book's dust jacket.

I love to read, and I've been doing it ever since I was able. My wife is also an avid reader. But my wife and I are blind, and we can't get our hands on very much to read. There are services for us, of course. Government entities and nonprofit organizations convert books into Braille, audio, or digital form for our use. But only 5 percent of all books published undergo such a conversion. A few more are available as commercial audio books, but these are often abridged, and those that are unabridged are quite expensive.

Bedtime is not the only time to read with a child. Have books handy at home, and pack some with you when you leave. Books can be helpful in the following situations:* Preparing for new experiences* Relieving stress* Reducing fears* Offering reassurance* Getting silly* During an illness* During time-outs* On the bus* In the car: Yes, stories on tape are a great way to share tales. A road trip also can be a time for passengers to read aloud to drivers.- From "Valerie & Walter's Best Books for Children" by Valerie V. Lewis and Walter M. MayesPub Date: 9/20/98

Jennifer L. Nelson is an award-winning poet and a playwright. She has a natural affinity for August Wilson, a dramatist so painstaking that even his stage directions -- which never are meant to be read aloud -- exhibit the imagery and cadences of fine verse. Staging Wilson's Gem of the Ocean for Everyman Theatre is taking everything that Nelson's got to give. And she couldn't be happier. Performances A full production of "Gem of the Ocean" runs from March 19-April 27 at Everyman Theatre, 1727 N. Charles St., . $16-$35.

Being considered your child's first teacher of reading may sometimes seem overwhelming to parents and caregivers. But remember, you have many advantages. Your young child naturally loves and trusts you, and (sometimes!) is an attentive audience that you can work with one-on-one. Trust your instincts, be patient, and provide plenty of encouragement, and you can make learning to read adventurous and fun!Most importantly -- read, read, read books to your child. Many parents choose to read before bedtime, but any time of day is a good time for reading.

Here are some read-aloud don'ts for grown-ups:Reading stories you don't enjoy yourself. Your dislike will show in the reading, and that defeats your purpose.Feeling you have to tie every book to classwork. Don't confine the broad spectrum of literature to the narrow limits of the curriculum.Reading above your child's emotional level.Selecting a book your child has already heard or seen on television. Once a novel's plot is known, much of their interest is lost. You can, however, read a book ahead of its appearance on television or at the movies.

Bedtime is not the only time to read with a child. Have books handy at home, and pack some with you when you leave. Books can be helpful in these situations:* Preparing for new experiences* Relieving stress* Comforting fears* Offering reassurance* Getting silly* During an illness* During time-outs* On the bus* In the car: Yes, stories on tape are a great way to share tales. A road trip also can be a time for passengers to read aloud to drivers. -- Valerie & Walter's Best Books for Children by Valerie V. Lewis and Walter M. Mayes

Read Aloud TipsNot all books are best utilized as stand-up read-alouds; some are too unwieldy and need to lie flat; some are really lap books, best experienced one-on-one; some are so interactive that they need to be where the child can put his hands on them.Most books will benefit from a caring adult's reading them aloud, but think twice before performing for a large group a book with fold-out pages, tabs, or intricate illustrations that need to be seen to make the story work.Know your audience.

"Of all the qualities a teacher might possess, the most contagious is enthusiasm. Are you enthusiastic about books? Do your students ever see you with something other than a textbook in your hand? Have you shared with your class a book you stayed awake reading until 2 o'clock in the morning? Have your read a magazine article or newspaper column to your students about something that really interested you? "If you want your science or history class to be alive, wrap the facts and figures, the dates and battles, in flesh-and-blood novels.

Frank B. Edwards, author and creator of Mortimer Mooner, believes the key to a child's future is not in lessons, teams or tutors, but in the books on her bedside table. Edwards wrote "10 Steps to a Kid-Literate Family," for Canadian Family magazine. They are adapted here.1. Start reading aloud to your child early. Just because they cannot talk yet doesn't mean they won't like a good story.2. Make reading a part of the regular family routine.3. Show that reading is a useful skill. Toy assembly instructions, cake recipes and shopping lists provide practical reading experiences with obvious rewards.

It came to her while she was passing through an airport, watching kids tentatively pass through scanners and eye security guards patting down their parents. Stormy Friday, author of several books on managing facilities, had finally found a vehicle to write her first children's story: It would soothe children's fears of flying by having her Siamese cat and two British shorthairs take on an airport caper. "A lot of young children are afraid to go through the metal detector," said Friday, who owns a consulting firm in Annapolis.

It came to her while she was passing through an airport, watching kids tentatively pass through scanners and eye security guards patting down their parents. Stormy Friday, author of several books on managing facilities, had found a vehicle to write her first children's story: It would soothe children's fears of flying by having her Siamese cat and two British shorthairs take on an airport caper. "A lot of young children are afraid to go through the metal detector," said Friday, who owns a consulting firm in Annapolis.

LONDON - A day after the detention of eight Muslims by police, leaders of the country's 2 million Muslims issued a letter yesterday calling on believers in Britain to shun extremism and political violence. The statement, signed by the secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, was sent to imams, scholars and all other leaders of mosques, Islamic organizations and institutions throughout Britain. It was to be read out at the country's 1,000 mosques tomorrow. The council said the letter was in the works even before Tuesday's arrests and seizure of a half-ton of potentially explosive ammonium nitrate in the largest counter-terrorist raid in Britain since the immediate aftermath of the Sept.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Declaring their love for him "no matter what," John Allen Muhammad's three young children became part of the grim testimony yesterday on whether he should be sentenced to death for killings that still have no clear explanation. "Why did you do all those shooting?" Muhammad's youngest daughter, 10-year-old Taalibah, wrote in a letter read aloud in court yesterday by her mother, Mildred Muhammad. It was a bitter child-custody battle with Mildred Muhammad that prosecutors say sent the former soldier into a rage and possibly sparked last year's sniper rampage that spread terror in the Washington region.

Does software exist to convert text to audio? If so, which would you recommend? It's far easier for a computer to turn written text into speech than for it to wreck a nice beach (I mean recognize speech). Enormous subtleties of human speech have prevented computer-makers and software writers from attaining reliable conversion of stuff like casual oral interviews, telephone calls and even radio and television broadcasts into computer-ready text. Each computer must be trained for an individual user's unique voice to get acceptable results.

Thanks to delegates for courage to speak Our thanks go to Delegate Bobo and her 10 General Assembly colleagues for their letter of protest to President Bush ("11 Assembly Democrats send Bush protest letter," March 27). I do not agree with Delegate McMillan that this is not the time or place for disagreement. How long should we be silent? How many people have to die, suffer and lose their loved ones before we are allowed to speak? Yolanda Bruno Columbia Article on reading called misleading As a longtime reading instruction specialist, I found part of the article by Laura Shovan, "Pupils make best friends with words" (March 26)

Walk into my three-storied neighborhood book joint only at the risk of being struck blind by the glittering displays of Christmas books. From Truman Capote to Jimmy Carter to that pioneer of self-help, M. Scott Peck, there is no shortage of writers who have jumped at the chance to spin their versions of the meaning of Christmas. And -- at least if you're inclined to believe fulsome flap copy -- most of them run that microscopic gamut from "heart-warming" to "an instant classic." Why is my slightly maudlin, Christmas-loving heart largely unwarmed?

In case you've noticed the growing crowds of moms, dads and tots cramming into library children's rooms, get ready - more are on the way. At least, that's the hope of State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick, who will unveil a statewide early-reading campaign tomorrow at the Towson branch of the Baltimore County Public Library, 320 York Road. In an effort to increase library use by parents and day-care professionals, libraries statewide are taking part in a two-year media blitz, titled "It's Never Too Early," featuring posters, billboards and radio ads, paid for with $147,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent federal agency.

Putting aside the obvious and very traditional, what literary work do you urge to be read aloud on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Why? Clarinda Harriss is chair of the Towson University English Department. She has published three collections of poetry and contributed to scholarly works on poetry. Her work appears in many magazines. She edits and directs BrickHouse Books Inc., Maryland's oldest continuously publishing small press. "The Cherry Tree Carol" -- an anonymous song, medieval, alive and well in Appalachia and audible on any number of bluegrass or roots recordings.

Baltimore really will be "the city that reads" one day in September, when volunteers pore over novels and newspapers, menus and magazines in a 24-hour readathon intended to address the city's dismal literacy rate. At 100 locations across the city, volunteers will read aloud in one-hour shifts around the clock, starting at 6:30 a.m. Sept. 26. The event, called Need-to-Read, is meant to raise awareness about illiteracy and raise funds to address the problem. Thirty-eight percent of the city's adults are functionally illiterate, meaning they read at or below the sixth-grade level, said Marlene McLaurin, chief executive officer of Baltimore Reads, a literacy group that is organizing the event.