Susan Long Hall, '76
Straight Talk About Reading: How Parents Can Make a Difference During the Early Years, by Susan Long Hall and Louisa C. Moats. Paperback, 384 pages; McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books, October 1998; ISBN: 0-8092-2857-2.
Hall, president of the Illinois branch of the International Dyslexia Association, writes from the perspective of a parent whose own child had difficulty learning to read. Moats is an educational researcher, consultant, and writer who is project director for the District of Columbia site of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Early Interventions Project.
Straight Talk has been described by a reviewer as "a book that should be read by all parents of children who are learning to read or are having difficulty with reading and by educators of preschool and elementary students."
In a foreword, G. Reid Lyon, chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch of the National Institutes of Health, points out that "It is unusual that a book about reading written for parents can be informative, understandable, and true to the scientific basis for understanding reading. To my knowledge, this book is the first of its kind."
"It is a fabulous book and entirely perfect for the parent audience," says Shirley Cramer of the Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities. "So many books are written with the professional/expert in mind in our field, and it is thrilling to see one written so clearly for parents."
Return to Alumni Authors