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Congratulations, Cheryl Bastian!
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I'm really proud of my good friend Cheryl Bastian for finally publishing a book called You Have to Read This One: Raising a Contagious Reader. I first met Cheryl almost 14 years ago, and I’ve been on the receiving end of her wisdom and kindness ever since. She and her husband Mike served as our children’s academic evaluators for over a decade, and she also led our large (former) home school support group for about 9 years. We were in a family-integrated home group which they led in the mid 1990s, as well as the EXCEL home school co-op that they organized a few years back. I trust Cheryl’s judgment so much that I’ve given her carte blanche permission to tell me anything she thinks I need to hear. (That's rare for arrogant little me!) She really took me up on that when she helped edit both of my books – her forthright advice had a major impact on the direction that each one took. I am grateful beyond measure for how she has not only shaped my writing, but my home schooling and my entire life as well. Cheryl has a passion for the subject of reading, but more than that she has a passion for equipping parents to teach their own children.
Even though I’ve been home schooling for over 15 years, own about 2000 books in 15 bookcases, and know “everything” (ha!) about reading already, this book motivated me to restore well-written literature to its rightful place in our daily schedule. I find that reading aloud to my younger children is the most effective way to start our day, but I sometimes skip it to get on with the rest of the “stuff” we need to do. So, thanks to Cheryl’s encouragement, I’m seeking to be more consistent with doing it daily, taking the time to discuss what the story was about, and even adding in an extra read aloud time in the afternoon as we are able. Let the workbooks wait – we’ve got great books to read!
Here is a peek at the back cover (the book is actually a bit bigger than this - the dimensions are 8.5" x 5.5") :
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