"Reading for Our Lives challenges the bath-book-bed mantra and the idea that reading aloud to our kids is enough to ensure school readiness. Instead, it gives parents easy, immediate, and accessible ways to nurture language and literacy development from the start. Through personal stories, historical accounts, scholarly research, and practical tips, this book presents the life-and-death urgency of literacy, investigates inequity in reading achievement, and illuminates a path to a true, transformative education for all"-- Provided by publisher

Includes index.

We should all be readers -- Beyond bedtime stories: the truth about getting kids ready to read -- The long run: how to nurture reading at each age and stage -- Yes you can: five touchstones for parents who dare to teach -- You're hired: essential lessons every parent can--and should--give kids -- Nourishing words: the lasting impact of early language -- Taking turns: how to make conversation a habit from day one -- Sound instruction: the tenor of reading success -- L is for Liberation: how to help kids crack the alphabetic code -- Word wisdom: how to spell your way to better reading -- Extra credit: how savvy parents keep learning -- Raising all readers -- how to assess childcare providers and schools from an early-literacy perspective.