Pediatrician Policy, Book Ideas, Read-Aloud Tips, Holiday Promo  /  Dec 2015



American Academy of Pediatrics
Prescribes Reading Aloud to Children
We hope you are as thrilled as we are by the AAP's recommendation that pediatricians promote literacy as an essential component of primary pediatric care. The academy's extensive policy statement includes numerous references, and begins:

"Reading regularly with young children stimulates optimal patterns of brain development and strengthens parent-child relationships at a critical time in child development, which in turn builds language, literacy and social-emotional skills that last a lifetime."

BookTree is proud to offer the highest quality illustrated literature available in  support of this critical family activity!

                                              - Kathy Balch, BookTree Founder
For More on Literacy and Books:
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Book Spotlight: Las vacaciones de Roberta

What happens when Roberta becomes bored during a vacation and ventures out on her own? Author Silvia Francia blends humor and engaging artwork with some deep themes of expectation, disappointment, overcoming fear, and moving from conflict to friendship. Las vacaciones de Roberta, available in English translation as Roberta's Vacation , is featured in BookTree's Spanish program.
Dialogic Reading: Help Your Child
Tell The Story to You!
  1. Pause before words or sentences, and let your child fill in the blanks.
     
  2. Ask your child to recall something that happened, or if it's a familiar story, something that will happen.
     
  3. Ask open-ended questions, e.g., about what your child thinks is happening or how a character might feel.
     
  4. Teach vocabulary and stimulate brain development by asking what/where/when/why/how questions, pointing to illustrations whenever appropriate.
     
  5. Build a bridge from the story to the real world by asking questions like "remember when we did something like this?" and encouraging your child to explore similarities and differences with respect to a real experience.
Research studies show Dialogic Reading to be highly effective in developing a child's language skills and thinking. For more, see this article by Brookings Institute scholar Grover Whitehurst.
Holiday Promotion at Partner Locations!

Special Offer:  Email us  a photo of a receipt for $25 or more from a BookTree partner retail location, and we will email you back a gift certificate for 2 free months of BookTree*. Great stocking-stuffer gift for a family who you think might enjoy trying BookTree!

This promotion is valid for the following neighborhood shops where BookTree members can pick up and return book totes: A Child's Delight (SF Cow Hollow, Corte Madera, San Rafael), Chloe's Closet (SF Bernal Hts, SF Inner Sunset), Memento Press (SF Union Square), Mom's the Word (SF Presidio Hts), Small Frys (SF Noe Valley), Toy World (Greenbrae), Paper Caper (Burlingame), Adventure Toys (Los Altos), and Cheeky Monkey Toys (Menlo Park).

*Limitations: This is a 2-month free trial, redeemable by families who have never received a BookTree tote and are not currently signed up for BookTree. Limit one redemption per household. Receipt must be for purchase of $25 or more and show a December 2015 date.  Cannot be combined with other BookTree offers.  Offer expires 12/31/15.
BookTree serves over 200 locations in San Francisco, the peninsula from Sunnyvale north, Marin County,
and western Los Angeles County. Have an idea for a location we should serve? Email us!
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