Read Out Loud to Your Child!"This book is a must for anyone who is ever around children! Imagine how different the world would be if all parents, teachers, grandparents, and aunties read this book!" -Amazon review Reading aloud is the essential tool for preparing your child for kindergarten and beyond The single most important thing you can do for your child. Longtime elementary school teacher Kim Jocelyn Dickson believes every child begins kindergarten with a lunchbox in one hand and an "invisible toolbox" in the other. In The Invisible Toolbox, Kim shares with parents the single most important thing they can do to foster their child's future learning potential and nurture the parent-child bond that is the foundation for a child's motivation to learn. She is convinced that the simple act of reading aloud has a far-reaching impact that few of us fully understand and that our recent, nearly universal saturation in technology has further clouded its importance. Essential book for parents. In The Invisible Toolbox, Kim weaves her practical anecdotal experience as an educator and parent into the hard research of recent findings in neuroscience. She reminds us that the first years of life are critical in the formation and receptivity of the primary predictor of success in school language skills and that infants begin learning immediately at birth. She also teaches and inspires us to build our own toolboxes so that we can help our children build theirs. Inside discover: Ten priceless tools for your child's toolbox Practical tips for how and what to read aloud to children through their developmental stages Dos and don'ts and recommended resources that round out all the practical tools a parent needs to prepare their child for kindergarten and beyond If you enjoyed books like Honey for a Child's Heart, The Read-Aloud Handbook, Screenwise, or The Enchanted Hour; you will love The Invisible Toolbox from a 21st century Charlotte Mason.

EndorsersKim is seeking endorsements from a wide variety of contacts in education, psychology, publishing, and pediatric medicine that understand the importance of early literacy experiences. In addition, she is reaching out to heads of organizations that actively promote early literacy. Amy Dickinson: Advice columnist, NPR panelist "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!" "A Book on Every Bed." Amy has already agreed to read a galley once a publisher has been secured. Jeff Conyers: Executive Director, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Jim Trelease: Author, The Read-Aloud Handbook, 7th edition Dr. Richard Chang: pediatrician, Sierra Pacific Pediatrics Dr. Kathryn Lin: pediatrician, Sierra Pacific Pediatrics Dr. G. Gabrielle Starr: President, Pomona College; Scholar in Literature and Cognitive Neuroscience Dr. Louise K. Taylor: Assistant Executive Director of School Employers Association of California; former Superintendent of Monrovia Unified School District Kristen Sorth: Director, St. Louis County Library and "Born to Read", a program that partners libraries with maternity hospitals Alice Ozma: Author, The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair: Author, Research Associate in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Associate Psychologist at McLean Hospital, The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood & Family Relationships in the Digital Age Dr. Robin Berman: Author, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, UCLA, Permission to Parent: How to Raise Your Child with Love and Limits Jennifer Cervantes: Author, Tortilla Sun and The Storm Runner (Disney-Hyperion Rick Riordan Presents, September 2018) OrganizationsUpon publication, Dickson anticipates speaking and networking opportunities through the following: Foothill Country Day School, where she currently teaches, as well as its preschool, The Seedling School CAIS (California Association of Independent Schools) conferences NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) conferences Southern California Association for the Education of Young Children, a regional preschool organization where Dickson has delivered a keynote Local public and private elementary schools and preschools Local colleges and departments of education Hospitals who offer community outreach courses for expectant and new parents Pediatricians who promote literacy with new parents (In 2014 the American Academy of Pediatrics advised that its practitioners encourage all new parents to read aloud to their babies) Local libraries in southern California where Dickson has already spoken "Born to Read," a program through the St. Louis County Library system in her former hometown, that gifts new parents with a book, a library card, information on early literacy experiences, and invites them to a birthday party at the library when their child is one-year-old. Non-profits that promote literacy: Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, Reach Out and Read, Children's Reading Connection, First 5 California SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) Dickson is a member and has many contacts in the children's book publishing world Local bookstores (Barnes and Noble, Montclair, CA and Vroman's in Pasadena, CA) Left Bank Books in St. Louis, MO, former hometown KMOX Radio in St. Louis, one of the Midwest's largest radio markets; Dickson was interviewed there when her first book was published; they love hometown authors Los Angeles Times: Dickson will write an op-ed Claremont Courier: Local newspaper has interviewed Dickson before and will be contacted St. Louis Post-Dispatch and regional newspapers have interviewed Dickson and will be contacted MIZZOU Magazine: Alumni publication of alma mater, the University of Missouri-Columbia; they recognize and often write articles on alumni publications Princeton Theological Seminary: recognizes alumni publications Social MediaDickson regularly blogs and posts to her two websites, kimjocelyndickson.com and invisibletoolbox.com. She is also active on her Facebook page, Reading and the Invisible Toolbox. She also contributes to fractuslearning.com, a site for parents and educators and writes for LinkedIn Pulse.

About the Author
Kim Jocelyn Dickson is a parent, author, and educator with thirty years of classroom experience. She graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary with a Master's degree in education and a focus on developmental psychology and spirituality. She has taught in public and private schools in the East, Midwest, and West Coast of the United States. Currently, Kim lives in Southern California where she teaches, writes, and presents on the importance of early literacy. Learn more at: www.kimjocelyndickson.com and the invisibletoolbox.org.


Book Information
ISBN 9781642502039
Author Kim Jocelyn Dickson
Format Paperback
Page Count 126
Imprint Mango Media
Publisher Mango Media