Acknowledgments
Many experts in early childhood reading parents, researchers,
teachers, and others helped immeasurably to shape this book.
Many outside of the Department gave their time and talent. They
include Catherine Snow of Harvard and Elizabeth Sulzby of the University of
Michigan, who reviewed the manuscript at several different stages and offered
indepth guidance. Their input was particularly valuable, as both serve on the
National Academy of Sciences' Committee for the Prevention of Reading
Difficulties in Young Children. The committee's report served as the basis for
much information in this book. Elfrieda Hiebert, Director of the Center for the
Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) at the University of Michigan;
and Scott Paris, also of CIERA, helped in the initial planning and at every
step along the way. Another who helped, from the idea stage to the final book,
was Roger Nozaki of the GE Fund. Peer reviewers include: Sue Bredekamp and Pat
Spahr of the National Association for the Education of Young Children; Dave
McGloin of the National Education Association; Burnie Bond of the American
Federation of Teachers; Melinda Greene of the National Black Child Development
Institute; Dorothy Fowler of Bailey's Elementary School in Fairfax County,
Virginia, and a member of the Committee for the Prevention of Reading
Difficulties in Young Children; Susan Roman of the Association for Library
Service to Children, American Library Association; Bonnie Lash Freeman of the
National Center for Family Literacy; Mary Haggerty of Reading Is Fundamental;
Maggie Holmes of the National Head Start Association; Judy Cheatham of
Greensboro College, Greensboro, North Carolina; Norma Mota Altman of Emery Park
School, Alhambra, California; and Jim Zawada of the federal Consumer
Information Center. Thanks also to Gaylin Fuller, Library Media Specialist in
Fairbanks, Alaska, for his guidance on doing the illustration of Alaska Native
children on page 19; and to Marjorie Crammer, Children's Media Specialist in
New Carrollton, Maryland, and to the Waterloo Public Library in Waterloo, Iowa,
for their help in preparing the children's resources.
Many individuals at the Department also contributed to the
development of this book. Carol Rasco, Director of the AMERICA READS CHALLENGE
office, and members of her staff Kristin Bunce and Pamela Hughesoffered
guidance at every phase. Naomi Karp, Director of OERI's National Institute on
Early Childhood Development and Education (Early Childhood Institute), and Anne
P. Sweet, OERI's project officer for the Center for the Improvement of Early
Reading Achievement (CIERA), critiqued the book. Also, OERI's Deputy Assistant
Secretary Sue Betka, Renee Bradley of the Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services, and Carol Sue Fromboluti and Marilou Hyson of OERI's
Early Childhood Institute reviewed and advised on the book's development. Wilma
Greene of OERI's Publications Office edited the book. Kathryn Perkinson of
OERI's Outreach Office was the project manager. Special thanks to staff members
who reviewed sketches and offered many creative ideas: Julia Lesceux, David
DiSoto, Laura Loriahmady, and Donna Marie Marlow of the Migrant Education
Office; and Beverly Coleman, Norma Duncan, Sharon Morgan, Beth Fine, Gil
Garcia, Sandra Garcia, Summer Whitener King, Paulette Lee, Stephanie Prather,
Karen Suagee, and Barbara Vespucci of OERI.
Finally, our thanks to Bernice Cullinan and Brod Bagert, who
authored Helping Your Child Learn To Read, originally published by OERI
in 1993. Enormously popular, this book served as an inspiration and source for
much of the material in our 1999 book Helping Your Child Become a
Reader.
About the
Author
Andrea DeBruin-Parecki received her doctoral degree from the
combined program of education and psychology at the University of
Michigan, where she worked closely with professors who direct the national
Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. She is on the faculty
of the University of Northern Iowa's Educational Psychology Department in Cedar
Falls, Iowa. Dr. DeBruin-Parecki is an expert on family literacy programs,
particularly for low-income families, and currently serves on the International
Reading Association's Family Literacy Committee.
About the
Illustrator
Barbara McGee, a freelance artist from Greenbelt, Maryland, did
the inside illustrations. Her portfolio includes other OERI publications,
including the award-winning Helping Your Child Learn Geography,
published in 1996. In addition, she teaches art to preschoolers and
elementary-school students in Prince George's County, Maryland. She is the
Director of Programming for the Greenbelt Association of Visual Arts. The
association has established several programs for children, including an
after-school drop-in art program where local youngsters paint and sculpt.
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