Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2011
304 pages
Genre: Biography/Memoir
Publication Information
When Alice Ozma was in 4th grade, she and her father decided to see if he could read aloud to her for 100 consecutive nights. On the hundreth night, they shared pancakes to celebrate, but it soon became evident that neither wanted to let go of their storytelling ritual. So they decided to continue what they called "The Streak." Alice's father read aloud to her every night without fail until the day she left for college.
Alice approaches her book as a series of vignettes about her relationship with her father and the life lessons learned from the books he read to her.
Books included in the Streak were: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, the Oz books by L. Frank Baum, Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, and Shakespeare's plays.
"Ozma's work is humorous, generous, and warmly felt, and with a terrific reading list included, there is no better argument for the benefits of reading to a child than this rich, imaginative work." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Sweet, engaging, and obviously inspiring...this is the perfect book to hand any curmudgeon who needs reminding that reading makes a difference or thinks that today's youth are all blasé. Highly recommended." - Library Journal
"Starred Review. Ozma has written a memoir as rich and revealing, witty and warm, confident and compassionate as works by people who may have been around a few more blocks, but who probably haven't read as many books. Persuasive and influential, poignant and inspirational, Ozma's exuberant paean to the joys and rewards of reading - and being read to - is a must-read treasure for parents, especially, and bibliophiles, certainly." - Booklist
"A warm memoir and a gentle nudge to parents about the importance of books, quality time and reading to children." - Kirkus
"The Reading Promise is a powerful testament to the difference a parent's devotion and the act of reading can make in a child's life. A rare and triumphant story." - Chris Gardner, author of he Pursuit of Happyness
This information about The Reading Promise was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Alice Ozma, a recent Rowan University graduate, currently lives in the Rittenhouse Square area of Philadelphia, PA. She is passionate about literature, education, and working with children. Find out more about this author by visiting her website: www.makeareadingpromise.com.
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