My friend, Rich Greif at Everybody Wins! USA, asked me, Mrs. P of the free children' site MrsP.com, to respond to some very good questions. Of course, in my role as an honorary board member of this wonderful organization, I am always happy to comply!
Why do you believe reading aloud to children is important?
Mrs. P: It always helps a person learn how to do something well by seeing someone else do it well. And when you read to a child, you compel her to use her imagination, which can be a very addictive pleasure. Once you've escaped into that world, you always want to go back, and the best way in is through a book. The most interesting and successful people I know are book addicts. Hmm, all this talk has given me an uncontrollable desire to go read a book. Are we done?
What are you doing to encourage reading books aloud to children?
Mrs.P: I absolutely LOVE reading books to children on my website and in my videos and audio books, and I hope my joy shines through and makes other people want to experience that same joy. Now are we done? There's a book in my purse that I swear practically opened up and just said, "READ ME!"
Why did you decide to get involved with Everybody Wins! and how have you worked together to promote reading to children?
Mrs. P: I'm a big fan of Everybody Wins! and its one-on-one interaction between the child and the reading mentor. It's so simple, yet so wonderfully effective. I've had the great pleasure of reading to kids at schools in New York and Los Angeles through Everybody Wins! A little girl in New York told me my reading was "magical," which is something I'll remember the rest of my life. Moments like that have pushed "buying fancy shoes" way down on my list of important things.
What can we do to encourage more parents, children, teachers and adults to read to children regularly?
Mrs. P: It's a very busy world with many flashy things competing for our attention. It's easy for something as quietly beautiful as reading to a child to get lost in the shuffle. I hope Everybody Wins! and my Mrs. P website and downloads will help keep reading to children alive in everyone's hearts and minds.
What projects are you currently working on or do you have in development?
Mrs. P: I just held my first ever kids' writing contest, which was a smashing success. I was very encouraged by the writing skills of the entrants, who were from all over the country, and we've decided to hold the contest every year. My Techno-Elves have been developing a new, interactive reading-challenge for my website that I think will help make reading books competitive good fun. We'll have our first Mrs. P interactive book coming out in the fall. We've even started developing a Mrs. P TV show which looks super-duper-fun, and not just because I'd get to be a cartoon character. Gosh, that sounded like a wonderful way to end this interview, didn't it? I'm not just saying that because I'm dying to go read this book, I really think it's a good way to end it. Really. Truly. I do.
Why do you believe reading aloud to children is important?
Mrs. P: It always helps a person learn how to do something well by seeing someone else do it well. And when you read to a child, you compel her to use her imagination, which can be a very addictive pleasure. Once you've escaped into that world, you always want to go back, and the best way in is through a book. The most interesting and successful people I know are book addicts. Hmm, all this talk has given me an uncontrollable desire to go read a book. Are we done?
What are you doing to encourage reading books aloud to children?
Mrs.P: I absolutely LOVE reading books to children on my website and in my videos and audio books, and I hope my joy shines through and makes other people want to experience that same joy. Now are we done? There's a book in my purse that I swear practically opened up and just said, "READ ME!"
Why did you decide to get involved with Everybody Wins! and how have you worked together to promote reading to children?
Mrs. P: I'm a big fan of Everybody Wins! and its one-on-one interaction between the child and the reading mentor. It's so simple, yet so wonderfully effective. I've had the great pleasure of reading to kids at schools in New York and Los Angeles through Everybody Wins! A little girl in New York told me my reading was "magical," which is something I'll remember the rest of my life. Moments like that have pushed "buying fancy shoes" way down on my list of important things.
What can we do to encourage more parents, children, teachers and adults to read to children regularly?
Mrs. P: It's a very busy world with many flashy things competing for our attention. It's easy for something as quietly beautiful as reading to a child to get lost in the shuffle. I hope Everybody Wins! and my Mrs. P website and downloads will help keep reading to children alive in everyone's hearts and minds.
What projects are you currently working on or do you have in development?
Mrs. P: I just held my first ever kids' writing contest, which was a smashing success. I was very encouraged by the writing skills of the entrants, who were from all over the country, and we've decided to hold the contest every year. My Techno-Elves have been developing a new, interactive reading-challenge for my website that I think will help make reading books competitive good fun. We'll have our first Mrs. P interactive book coming out in the fall. We've even started developing a Mrs. P TV show which looks super-duper-fun, and not just because I'd get to be a cartoon character. Gosh, that sounded like a wonderful way to end this interview, didn't it? I'm not just saying that because I'm dying to go read this book, I really think it's a good way to end it. Really. Truly. I do.
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