ReadAloud.org is proud to announce that the winner of the first Hilda the Spokesgoat plush toy giveaway is Caitlin of Louisville, Kentucky!
Caitlin joined ReadAloud.org to show her support for reading aloud. When she signed up, she was automatically entered into our weekly drawing for a Hilda plush toy. Congratulations, Caitlin!
You can show your support for reading aloud by joining ReadAloud.org today – and you just may win a Hilda plush toy of your very own! Tell your friends and family about the importance of reading aloud – and don’t forget to read aloud with your family every day!
“Five more minutes!”
“Why do I have to go to sleep now?”
“Can I have a drink of water?”
“I have to use the bathroom.”
It can be very frustrating for parents when bedtime becomes a battleground. But reading aloud just may pave the way for a truce.
How? By becoming part of a child’s nightly bedtime routine.
Experts say that establishing a bedtime routine is one way to put nighttime skirmishes to rest. The classic Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care notes that it’s “very helpful to have a bedtime routine. When things happen in the same way every day, it gives a young child a comforting sense of control.”
Bedtime routines can include quiet play, a bath, brushing teeth, prayers, songs, and perhaps most important, reading aloud with a loved one. Repeating the same actions each night lets the child know what to expect; it calms and soothes them and better prepares them for sleep.
And, in addition to sending Johnny those all-important sleep signals, reading aloud each night at bedtime builds his love for reading and adds to his growing literacy skills. “Just 20 minutes a day,” says the National Children’s Reading Foundation, “promotes family bonding, encourages listening and language skills, and gives children a strong reading foundation.”
Besides, what better time is there to take up a book than right before bed? Snuggling with a warm, just-bathed child as she rests in your arms, rapt with the story and pictures in the book you are reading… it might just be the perfect way to end your day – and hers!
Want a great way to get started? Download ReadAloud.org’s calendar and stickers! You and your child can place a fun “Hilda the Spokesgoat” or Read Aloud sticker on the calendar for each night that you read aloud together.
Need more encouragement? Here are some testimonials from other parents about bedtime and reading aloud!
• “How to transition smoothly from reading aloud to bedtime”
• “Reading for children”
• “Looking for a good book?”
When is the best time to read to your child? There’s no right answer, of course, but one of the easiest ways to make reading aloud a habit is to make it part of a routine.
For many parents, bedtime is the ideal time to read aloud with children. Reading a book together can wind down active children and become part of an evening ritual that signals bedtime is imminent. More than that, bedtime reading can become a beloved and cherished time of the day for both parent and child.
OK, now what to read?
One of our first recommendations is a classic aimed at babies and preschoolers: Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd.
Goodnight Moon’s simple story, with vivid color and black and white illustrations, takes a child through a bunny’s bedtime routine. Every object in the room is named and wished goodnight, as the illustrations depict the room growing darker and more peaceful.
The book is filled with memorable rhymes and evocative pictures. Children too young to read will be captivated by its rhythms and engaged by identifying the objects that bunny wishes “goodnight” to. Soon, your child may have memorized the story and be reading it along with you. He or she may even adopt bunny’s nighttime routine and wish his or her own cherished objects “goodnight,” too!
And since it’s the season for Halloween, we can’t resist mentioning one other book we suggest you pick up: Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody by Michael Rex, aimed at children ages 4-8.
Older brothers and sisters or former devotees of Goodnight Moon will immediately see the humor in this “petrifying parody.” The familiar rhymes and rhythms of Brown’s classic tale are adopted to a “cold gray tomb” that features – not kittens, mittens, and a mouse – but goons, Martians and werewolves. The full color, humorous illustrations will have children searching out the creepy inhabitants of the tomb and reading along with you. It’s a fun way to get in the spirit of Halloween, and to revisit memories of the beloved classic Goodnight Moon.
But the most important thing is not what you read with your children, instead it’s that you read together at all. We hope that you’ll make it a part of your routine!
Like all good spokespeople — er, spokesgoats — Hilda can’t be contained by the Internet alone. No, he has to get out in the world and deliver his message in person… er, in goat.
That’s why Hilda is talking with children and families each and every day at the Black Bear Jamboree dinner theater in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Using his unique ability to speak to live audiences (and his considerable charm), Hilda is telling children and families from across the country why it’s important to read aloud together every night. He’s also sharing his favorite book for the holiday season, Cole Family Christmas, which features his best friend Ruble Cole –- and a very handsome goat, too.
Hilda is proud to be part of the Jamboree, a daily dinner and show where performers dazzle audiences with musical numbers from the 50s, 60s, and 70s as well as country, gospel and patriotic music. Already, hundreds of children have heard Hilda speak about the importance of reading aloud and been charmed by his barnyard antics!
Hilda is a talking goat.
Yes, leadership can come from the most unexpected places.
Hilda may be an unusual spokesperson, but he is an impassioned voice for families reading aloud together. He first appeared as a minor character in the family story, Cole Family Christmas. Now, he has developed into a major character in his own right. He is traveling the country to tell people the Cole family’s story – and most important, about the Cole family’s tradition of reading aloud together.
Harnessing innovative technology that allows him to interact in real time with live audiences, Hilda is telling people in person and via the Internet about the importance of reading aloud. Indeed, as Hilda well knows, experts have proved that children who are read to by parents are more likely to succeed in school.
Hilda hopes that visitors will explore the website, including daily video about reading aloud and related topics. Most important, though, Hilda hopes visitors will come away sharing his passion for the cause of reading aloud.
