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Dr.

Dorit Aram
Thursday, October 16th
11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Erickson Room: 116H

How Do Parents Choose Books to Read to Their
Children?
Many childrens books are published yearly around the world. In light of the constant increase in
childrens book publications and the large availability, being able to select good books to read to children
becomes more meaningful. In my talk, I will discuss the ways parents select books to read to their children. I
will present a study that investigated the considerations that guide parents when they make book selections.
Further, I examined whether parents in education or caring professions are more skilled at book selection
compared to parents in other professions. Lastly, the relationship between parents book selection skills and
the frequency of book reading will be presented. Participants included 104 parents to children aged 4-7.
Evaluation included a book choice task where parents selected between two books, one of which was
recommended by experts. Parents were asked to account for their book selection and detail their opinions of
good children's books. They also completed a questionnaire measuring attitudes toward good children's
literature, defined by: language complexity, socio-emotional complexity, and structural complexity. The
study opens a window to a better understanding of the way parents choose books for their children. Guiding
parents in selecting good childrens books can lead to a more meaningful reading experience and promote
frequent shared book reading.

Prof. Dorit Aram is a Professor and head of the Counseling Program in Tel Aviv
University's School of Education, Israel. Her research focuses on adult-child interactions and
their implications for early literacy and social-emotional development, in Hebrew and Arab
communities. Addressing needs in special populations, her work examines these interactions in
parent-child dyads of children with hearing loss, ADHD, and low socioeconomic background,
and among precocious readers. Prof. Aram has conducted early interventions aimed at
improving preschool teachers as well as parents mediation and children's early literacy and
social emotional development. Prof. Aram was the president and now is a board member of the
Israel Literacy and Language Society. She is also on the board of the Israeli Branch of the
World Organization for Early Childhood Education (OMEP) and on the board of the Israeli
Organization of Cognitive Education (Subgroup of the International Association of Cognitive
Education Psychology).
2014-2015 Literacy Colloquy Presentation

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