The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction

Meghan Cox Gurdon

Paperback

9780349422961

A miraculous alchemy occurs when one person reads to another, transforming the simple stuff of a book, a voice, and a bit of time into complex and powerful fuel for the heart, brain, and imagination. Grounded in the latest neuroscience and behavioural research, and drawing widely from literature, The Enchanted Hour explains the dazzling cognitive and social-emotional benefits that await children who are read to, whatever their class, nationality or family background.

The author argues that this ancient practice is a fast-working antidote to the fractured attention spans, atomized families and unfulfilling ephemera of the tech era, helping to replenish what our devices are leaching away. For everyone, reading aloud engages the mind in complex narratives; for children, it's an irreplaceable gift that builds vocabulary, fosters imagination, and kindles a lifelong appreciation of language, stories and pictures. Bringing together the latest scientific research, practical tips, and reading recommendations, The Enchanted Hour will both charm and galvanize, inspiring readers to share this invaluable, life-altering tradition with the people they love most.

Contents:

1. What Reading to Children Does to Their Brains

2. Where It All Began: Once Upon a Time in the Ancient World

3. Reading Together Strengthens the Bonds of Love

4. Turbocharging Child Development with Picture Books

5. The Rich Rewards of a Vast Vocabulary

6. The Power of Paying Attention - and Flying Free

7. Reading Aloud Furnishes the Mind

8. From the Nursery to the Nursing Home: Why Reading Aloud Never Gets Old

9. There Is No Present Like the Time