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

The Enchanted(enˈCHant) Hour: The Miraculous(məˈrakyələs) Power of Reading(ˈrēdiNG) Aloud(əˈloud) in the Age of Distraction(dəˈstrakSH(ə)n)

By Meghan Cox Gurdon

Introduction

The time we spend reading aloud is like no other time. A miraculous alchemy(ˈalkəmē) takes place when one person reads to another, one that converts the ordinary stuff of life—a book, a voice, a place to sit, and a bit of time—into astonishing(əˈstäniSHiNG) fuel(ˈfyo͞oəl) for the heart, the mind, and the imagination.

“We let down our guard when someone we love is reading us a story,” the novelist(ˈnävəlist) Kate(ā) DiCamillo once told me. “We exist(igˈzist) together in a little patch(paCH) of warmth(wôrmTH) and light.”

She’s right about that, and explorations(ˌekspləˈrāSHən) in brain(brān) and behavioral(bəˈhāvyərəl) science are beginning to yield(yēld) thrilling(THril
) insights into why. It’s no coincidence(-ˌdens,kōˈinsədəns) that these discoveries are coming during a paradigm(ˈparəˌdīm) shift in the way we live. The technology that allows us to observe(əbˈzərv) the inner workings of the human brain is of a piece(pēs) with the same technology that baffles(ˈbafəl) and addles(ˈadl) and seems to be reshaping(ˌrēˈSHāp) the brain. In a culture undergoing what’s been called “the big disconnect(ˌdiskəˈnekt),” many of us are grappling(ˈgrapliNG) with the effects of screens and devices, machines that enhance our lives and at the same time make it harder to concentrate(ˈkänsənˌtrāt) and to retain(riˈtān) what we’ve seen and read, and alarmingly(əˈlärmiNGlē) easy to be only half present even with the people we love most. In this distracted age, we need to change our understanding of what reading aloud is, and what it can do. It is not just a simple, cozy(ˈkōzē), nostalgic(näˈstaljik,nə-) pastime that can be taken up or dropped without consequence(-ˌkwens,ˈkänsikwəns). It needs to be recognized(ˈrekigˌnīz,ˈrekə(g)ˌnīz) as the dazzlingly(ˈdaz(ə)liNG) transformative(tran(t)sˈfôrmədiv) and even countercultural act that it is.

For babies and small children, with their fast-growing brains, there is simply nothing else like it. For that reason, I’ve devoted(dəˈvōdəd) a substantial(səbˈstan(t)SHəl) proportion(prəˈpôrSHən) of this book to the young. They respond in the most immediately consequential(ˌkänsəˈkwenCHəl) ways when someone reads to them, and as a result they are the subject of most research on the topic. As we shall(SHal) see, listening to stories while looking at pictures stimulates(ˈstimyəˌlāt) children’s deep brain networks, fostering(ˈfäs-,ˈfôstər) their optimal(ˈäptəməl) cognitive(ˈkägnətiv) development. Further, the companionable(kəmˈpanyənəbəl) experience of shared reading cultivates(ˈkəltəˌvāt) empathy(ˈempəTHē), dramatically(drəˈmadəklē) accelerates(akˈseləˌrāt) young children’s language acquisition(ˌakwəˈziSHən), and vaults(vôlt) them ahead of their peers when they get to school. The rewards of `early reading are astonishingly(əˈstäniSHiNGlē) meaningful: toddlers(ˈtädlər) who have lots of stories read to them turn into children who are more likely to enjoy strong relationships, sharper(ˈSHärpər) focus, and greater emotional(iˈmōSHənəl) resilience(rəˈzilyəns) and self-mastery(ˈmast(ə)rē). The evidence has become so overwhelming that social scientists now consider read-aloud time one of the most important indicators(ˈindəˌkādər) of a child’s prospects(ˈpräsˌpekt) in life.

It would be a mistake, though, to relegate(ˈreləˌgāt) reading aloud solely(ˈsōl(l)ē) to the realm(relm) of childhood.

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https://www.amazon.cn/dp/0349422958/