Poetry is traditionally taught - at least it was taught to me - as a kind of thing you have to endure in English class; there's no sense of it applying to your life. But poetry, good poetry, is the stuff of life. Poetry asks us to slow down and to think about what we're reading, but also to experience it.
Reading aloud from birth is one of the most powerful predictors of literacy and school success. More than a warm bedtime ritual, it's a daily act that wires a child's brain for language, strengthens bonds with caregivers, and sparks a love of learning. Yet, headlines warn of trouble. A recent study reveals that only 41 percent of children between birth and age 4 are read to frequently, a dramatic drop from 64 percent in 2012.