Taking Books to Heart: How to Develop a Love of Reading in Your Child

The premise of this book by the founder of the Institute of Reading Development and author of The Literacy Hoax is sound: parents should establish a family reading hour that evolves as the child's skills progress. (For example, once the child learns to read, parents and child should read their own books separately during this time, then discuss what they read.) He also devotes a chapter to how schools teach reading, and he recommends books. However, Copperman's text is repetitive, and he generalizes, stating, among other things, that ""most'' elementary school teachers do not seek to instill a love of reading. Particularly grating are his explicit and at times patronizing 70 pages of instructions on how to read a bedtime story to a preschooler. This overdone book is of little use to parents who are already inclined to read aloud to their children. (October)