Professor Slughorn Reads Fairy Tales

Can you imagine what Harry Potter's Professor Slughorn would sound like reading children's stories?

Picture if you will....  You are sitting comfortably, sipping a cup of tea, and thumbing through a book of classic fairy tales. Suddenly, the striped pink chair across the room comes to life and magically transforms into Professor Slughorn who then proceeds to read to you.

Crazy idea? Maybe not. Did you know that Jim Broadbent (the actor who plays Professor Slughorn in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) is the narrator for the audio CD that comes with Storytime: First Tales for Sharing collected by Stella Blackstone and illustrated by Anne Wilson?

He is also the narrator for the aptly named book, The Prince's Bedtime written by Joanne Oppenheim and illustrated by Miriam Latimer.

You haven't truly geeked out with books until you've heard both of these and shared them with a child. Both are published by Barefoot Books and available in paperback editions with included CDs. Storytime would be an excellent gift for expectant parents or a young child just starting to learn about classic stories. It includes 7 tales, including "The Ugly Duckling," "Goldilocks," and "Stone Soup."

The Prince's Bedtime is a rhyming tale that is perfect for a young child who is reluctant to go to bed. Grandmothers will appreciate being the heroes of this story, and book lovers can probably guess what finally did the trick!

Happy reading.

Magical offer: Save 20% on these titles at Barefoot Books when you use code SUMMER2014 at checkout. Shipping is free when you spend $60.

How to Find the Good Books in Scholastic Fliers

It's that time of year again. Scholastic book club fliers will be coming home in backpacks, tucked in to parent mailboxes, and displayed suggestively in classrooms and front offices.

These fliers are full of tantalizing "discounts" on books, shiny toys and novelties, and lots and lots of fluff. If you take the time to dig a little, you can find the gems. After spending many years ordering as a parent and administering book club orders for two entire schools, I developed a 3-step process for putting together an order.

• Free choice: Your child is allowed any single book in the flier. No questions asked.
• Remove the junk: Physically cross out the undesirable books
• Evaluate the rest: Consider value and content quality

1. Free choice

Hand the flier to your child and ask him/her to select any book and give the flier back to you. Circle it. Order it. Impose a maximum cost if you must, but don't object or roll your eyes.

Why? Children deserve the opportunity to select a book to own that they want. Reading should be a pleasurable activity, and all books "count," especially for reluctant readers.

2. Remove the junk.

Using a crayon or ball point pen (not felt tip or Sharpie), cross out the following:




Licensed characters, celebrities, movie novelizations






Books that come with toys, novelties, jewelry, etc.






Spin-off titles based on popular book characters






DVDs, software, and video games





Anything you personally dislike

3. Evaluate the rest.

Consider value for price (and keep crossing things out!)

All books are paperback unless otherwise specified. To keep prices low, Scholastic reprints books from other publishers using low grade paper and lower resolution images. These books are essentially disposable.

All books priced $4 and under are the same physical quality. This means that if you are paying more than $1, you are probably paying a huge markup (100-400%). Bear in mind that Scholastic is a for-profit company. They took in millions and millions and millions of dollars in revenue last year.

Paperback books 24 pages or shorter are usually bound with staples. There will be no words on the spine. This practice keeps prices low, but insures that the books won't last long. The industry word for this is "saddle stitched" which sounds better than "staple-bound."

Hardcover books and board books sold on Scholastic are often cheaper on Amazon. Buy them there and donate the difference in cash to your school.

Do the math with book sets to determine the price per book. Ignore the comparison "retail" cost.

CDs that come with books will be loose in paper sleeves.

Consider book dimensions. "Mini" and "pocket" books may be much smaller than you expect, and Scholastic no longer reveals the sizes of books in their descriptions. Most Scholastic imprints are smaller than the original publishers' editions.

Read reviews on Amazon



"Disappointment" "So boring"





"Hysterical!" "This is a winner!"


Once you've narrowed things down, consider your budget and finalize your order. Make your teacher really happy by ordering online. That means less work for him/her and an extra $3 in book credit for the class. Just be sure that if you start shopping online (which is EXACTLY what Scholastic wants because online shoppers tend to spend more when they have their credit cards out), you use the same level of caution and selectivity.

Happy shopping and happy reading!

10 Read-Aloud Ideas to Try Today

I've seen many lists of read-aloud tips for parents and teachers. These are the habits I have developed through hours and hours (and hours) of practice. Every child is different, and there is no right or wrong when it comes to sharing good books.


1. Pause for a count of two after each sentence. Force yourself to slow down by pausing at the end of each sentence. The pause gives children a moment to absorb what you've just read and helps you start the next sentence at a good pace.


2. Read the speech verbs in the same tone of voice as the dialog. "'What are you doing?' she shouted!"


3. Make faces as you read even if your child isn't looking. When you are smiling, it comes through in your voice. Some points in a story call for frowns or expressions of surprise or confusion. Simply making a face will help you convey that emotion in your voice.


4. Use the book (and your body) to physically demonstrate action. If someone is jumping in a book, toss the book itself. Taking a bow? Tilt down the book in a dramatic bow. A sudden surprise? Drop the book entirely.


5. Occasionally leave off the last word of a rhyming sentence and have your child guess what it should be. This is a great pre-reading skill for young children, as well as an opportunity to be creative (praise the "wrong" answer if your child manages to make a good rhyme)


6. Read adjectives, particularly those important for a scene, in a voice that could be described by the adjective. Slow. Joyous. Silly. Loud. Shaky. (You just read those to yourself in a silly voice, didn't you?)


7. Introduce a new and unfamiliar book by pretending you are reluctant to read it. "I'm not sure if I should read this story. It's pretty silly."


8. Break into song (or laughter) every once in awhile. Rhyme lends itself to being sung. Make up a tune for a couple of lines (don't be surprised if you are expected to use the same melody for all subsequent readings). Or bust up laughing at something. Laughter is as contagious as a yawning.


9. Create suspense and anticipation by stopping dramatically at certain points in the story. "And then they slowly opened the heavy, creaky door....." (stop and clean your glasses or take a long drink).


10. Wonder out loud about what is going to happen. "How is she going to get out of this mess? Do you think the alligator is going to lend her a broom?"