Interview with Literacy Expert Diane W. Frankenstein

Diane W. Frankenstein is an expert in the field of childhood literacy. She recently shared her expertise in a book for parents and teachers called Reading Together: Everything You Need to Know to Raise a Child Who Loves to Read. I received a complimentary copy of this book for reviewing purposes, then contacted Ms. Frankenstein to answer questions about literacy, parenting, and education.

What is your background?

I hold a Master's Degree in Children's Literature and Language Arts, with a specialty in teaching the Holocaust to Adolescents through Literature. As part of my training, I developed a graduate degree in Children's Literature at San Francisco State University.

I have been an Educational Consultant in children's and adolescent literature since 1989. In addition to my work with over 150 different school communities, I have consulted for organizations including the American Association of University Women, California Association of Independent Schools, Girl Scouts of the USA, Young Presidents Organizations (YPO), YMCA, United Nations Association, Parenteen: Parents Coalition of Bay Area High Schools and others. I consult throughout the United States as well as in Asia and Europe. Since 1998 I have consulted in China, specifically Beijing and Hong Kong, where I conducted workshops for both the international and local school communities. I will be returning to Asia to work in February and March in 2010.

From 20 years of lectures and workshops with parents and teachers, I developed the method I call "Conventional Reading," which has trained a generation of parents who can assist their children to read with pleasure and who have profited from this unique method.

My work with parents, focuses on introducing them to the multi-faceted world of children's literature, teaching them how to help their children get more out of the books they read. In addition, I consult with schools where I work with administrators, librarians and faculty in developing dynamic and relevant literature components to their curriculum. My work with children centers on helping them find what to read, showing them how to get more from their reading and discover the excitement and pleasure reading offers

Why did you write this book?

The origin of the book comes from over 20 years of conducting classes and workshops for parents and educators, in both the US and internationally, helping children find their "home run books" and showing children how to mine stories for their treasures. These are books I have used in my classes and workshops and the questions and the conversations come from listening to, and talking with children, parents, and teachers.

In my work with parents, children and school communities, I saw firsthand the difference it makes in the life of children when they have the advantage of good reading skills. After I created the degree in Children's Literature and Language Arts, I began to offer classes that supported the efforts of parents to raise children who love to read. But I soon noticed another outcome that had far reaching implications for the relationship between parent and child. Parents began to contact me with comments along the lines of, "You changed the way I communicate with my child." Reading Together was about instilling a love of reading, but the byproduct was that it gave parents a way to talk to their children about their concerns, which intimately strengthened their relationship. Reading Together is as much about reading as it is about parenting-parenting through reading and talking. I began to see that nurturing the parent-child relationship in this way was changing the world, one family at a time. My work with parents soon extended to working with school communities-teachers, librarians and administrators-as well as other individuals who work with children: pediatricians, social workers, and psychologists. Conversational reading, the method I use to read with children, gives the adults in the lives of children the means to support the emotional and intellectual growth of their child.

Why is it so important today?

Some things never change-every child deserves and needs the advantage of being a good reader but today, more than ever, children, living in a high-tech world need higher level thinking skills and children learn to think creatively and critically through conversations where they acquire the vocabulary they need to become good readers. As E. M.Forster said, "How can I know what I think t ill I see what I say?" (Reading Together p. 14)

What makes it unique from all the other books about reading currently available?

Most books about reading offer age appropriate recommendations with story synopsis. As good as some of these guides are, I never felt they went far enough. They do not address to need to show children how to engage with the books they read which is what we call active literacy. My experience is that a book of suggested titles has limited use.

Reading Together offers grade appropriate reading recommendations and demonstrates how we learn to talk and think about what we read which promotes active literacy. Reading Together provides conversations that puts the story in context. Reading Together is a book for parents and educators to use with children that offers specific questions, conversation starters, and other reading strategies with the goal of children finding more pleasure in reading. My goal with Reading Together was to write a user friendly guide for both parents and educators- And having Reading Together receive a starred Library Review and now the recent GOLD Mom's Choice Award^® confirms that my objective was accomplished.

Define a "good" reader.

Comprehension is the linchpin to becoming a good reader-making and finding meaning in a story and getting off the plot line-this describes a good reader. A child's ability to make connections -between what they are reading, to other books and ideas, and to their experiences -defines a good reader.

Why do parents and children stop reading together?

Parents mistakenly think that once their children can read on their own, they no longer need to be involved. The most recent study to address the challenge of getting children to read comes from the 2008 Scholastic study "The Kids and Family Reading Report," which shows that "kids' reading drops off after eight years, and that parents can have a direct impact on getting kids to read . . . When kids start reading independently, parents need to become more, not less, involved . . . parents must play a key role in helping their older children select books that capture their imagination and interest . . . Kids say that one of the main reasons why they do not read more is because they cannot find books that they like to read." Simply put? If pleasure doesn't drive reading, kids don't become readers. (See pages 3-4, Reading Together)

How early should parents start reading with their children?

Immediately! Children come into the world ready to learn but not ready to enter school and be successful learners. Reading aloud to children and talking with them about the story is one of the most important activities adults can do with young children. A child who enters school with a vocabulary of 2000 words is at a disadvantage over the child who enters school with a vocabulary of 22,000 words. Conversation is where children acquire the vocabulary they need to get ready to learn to read, who enter school, ready to be successful learners.

At what age should parents stop reading together?

NEVER. As children mature, parents don't want to lose the habit of sharing ideas and taking with their children about what is important and what matters to them and having a conversation on those subjects , that come from a story, yields a richer and deeper conversation. As your children grow up, read with them, not only books but articles, newspapers-share with them something you are reading that you love (or dislike)-continue the habit of sharing and talking-this is as important in the adolescent and young adult years as it was when your children were little and you were helping them discover and figure out how the world works.

Why is it important to continue reading together, even into adolescence? How can parents convince an adolescent to continue reading together?

Don't waste precious time trying to convince an adolescent (or a younger child for that matter) of the importance of reading together -just read them interesting and compelling material. Passion and curiosity for what you are reading is contagious. Share with them something they are interested in and will have an opinion on-it could be a story in the news-just continue to read and share ideas.

What is conversational reading?

Read a book, Ask a question, Start a conversation. This is the essence of Reading Together.Conversational Reading is making comments an asking questions-it is talking with children about the tories they read. Conversational reading encourages a reader to linger, saunter, and contemplate a story; metaphorically speaking it is shinning a flashlight into a dark cave and saying, "Did you notice that? Look over there." Conversational reading helps children develop the ability to use words to express themselves and gives them a command of language. Children who talk about stories and the subject a story explores better understand that they read . Children who better understand stories becomes more confident readers, and this confidence directly impacts the pleasure children find in the stories they read. (p 8, Reading Together)

How can parents start conversational reading with older kids? Or is it too late?

It only takes one good questions to begin a good conversation. "What if?" is a powerful tool to jump start your imagination. See p. 16 of Reading Together to find "Conversation Starters" for any story.

What is a subject conversation, and how does it tie in to reading?

These are questions on some of the many challenges of childhood that parents want to help their children understand.Talking about what matters to children, whether it be inside a story (questions on the Story Pages) or outside a story (questions on the Subject Conversation pages), gives children the language they need to shape their thinking-it teaches them how to think. The Subject Conversation questions encourage reflection and give children the language they need to express themselves and broaden the conversations found on the Story Pages. The Subject Conversations ( p. 222 in Reading Together ) has turned out to be one of the most favorite sections of Reading Together.

How can parents and teachers at all levels work together to promote reading?

Model reading and talking about what you read-asking questions in the spirit of puzzlement rather than simplistic questions of comprehension which feel medicinal and which don't take you anywhere in your thinking. Model curiosity.

Why don't children today like to read?

Everyone likes a story but not everyone likes to read. Many children find reading difficult-they don't find books they like and they don't understand the story, Children only read for story so if they are working too hard to get to the story ( if the reading level is too difficult) they can't get to the story and reading becomes a chore and a bore. Children need the involvement of adults to help them find their "home run" books -books where they care about the characters and care about what happens to them. And in addition to reading books at the right reading level, they need books that speak to their emotional readiness for the story. Reading level and age and stage readiness are the key factors in helping children find their home-run books.

What is your advice for the reluctant or struggling reader?

Make sure the books they are reading are appropriate in terms of reading level and developmental readiness for the story-which means they are curious and interested in the story and on some level, are able to relate to the story. While children are honing their reading skills, I encourage parents and teachers to do more reading aloud to the child. Audio books are also terrific by adding more stories into their "memory bank" and they have the added benefit of increasing vocabulary. Audio books are not "cheating"-but not the abridged books.

How can parents truly instill a love of reading in their children?

Read what you love and you will love what you read. Talk with them about the story which shows they how to make a story their own.

What is your all-time favorite book?

Impossible to answer. It would be like asking me which of my sons is my favorite. BUT having said that, in Reading Together, I mention that it was the Scheherazade stories in the Arabian Nights that seduced me by the power of storytelling. I was hooked on, "And then what happened."

Do you have any other projects in the works?

I work full-time as an educational consultant and work in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the US and will be traveling to both Asia and London to work with different school communities with Reading Together . I am also doing more work in early childhood education and early literacy.

Where can readers find out more about you?

www.dianefrankenstein.com was created to be a resource for anyone who cares about children and reading.

How can readers contact you?

Also through my website www.dianefrankenstein.com

Thank you so much for your time!