Here's an excerpt from Chapter Two that struck a chord with me:

"Because words are essential in building the thought connections in the brain, the more language a child experiences – through books and through conversation with others, not passively from television – the more advantaged socially, educationally, and in every way that child will be for the rest of his or her life. Conversely, the fewer words a child experiences, learns and uses before school, the more stunted that child's brain will be."

She goes on to talk about television being a passive learning experience that has some value, but not the same as the back-and-forth interactivity that enforces a connection with language and ideas.

I agree completely. In both books and TV, the focus should be on getting a child to be an active participant in the story. 

Blue's Clues is the perfect example of the participatory kid's TV experience, a show I had the good fortune to be involved in. Every time we created a new episode, we had a blast thinking up visual gags and new character designs, but at the core of each of those early meetings was the understanding that our ultimate goal was to get the kids actively thinking and responding to what they saw on screen. It wasn't enough to simply entertain. Our job (not an easy one) was to get the viewers to want to help Steve and Joe so much that they just couldn't help shouting at the screen. It was better suited for developing problem-solving than vocabulary skills, but it was incredibly successful in getting kids' minds active.

Books should accomplish the same thing and even more so with vocabulary and language skills.

When I read to my 1-year old, he goes between listening quietly and jabbering and pointing. Personally, It's much more interesting for me to have him be active because we tend to read the same books over and over. After 1,000 reads of "All by Myself" by Mercer Mayer, I'm ready for some conversation from the little dude.

As an early reader, I enjoyed getting lost in books. It was a solo activity for the most part. However, what got me started and most involved was the teachers and librarians who read to the class, then asked us what we thought. It was a like a book club without the coffee and wi-fi hotspot.

Reading for entertainment is a luxury my older kids indulge in quite often. They don't really think about what it's doing for them from an educational standpoint. I would be worried if they did (I mean, they're kids for cryin' out loud). But my wife and I know what's happening. We wonder if they hadn't had that early interactive relationship with books from being read to, would they still be reading now just because they like it? Would their writing skills be as advanced?

Mem Fox's book really hit home when I think about creating illustration for children's books. More than just making pretty pictures, it's got to be about getting all those circuits firing in a kid's brain. A cute picture of a bunny is nice and fluffy and all, but to be successful in supporting a story visually, it's got to prompt a strong enough reaction to make a kid point and speak. It's got to "Change their lives forever."

That's quite a challenge. I better get back to it.