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The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared Audiobook
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(3.01) - 2,697 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
When Alice Ozma was in 4th grade, she and her father decided to see if he could read aloud to her for 100 consecutive nights. On the hundreth night, they shared pancakes to celebrate, but it soon became evident that neither wanted to let go of their storytelling ritual. So they decided to continue what they called "The Streak." Alice's father read aloud to her every night without fail until the day she left for college.
Alice approaches her book as a series of vignettes about her relationship with her father and the life lessons learned from the books he read to her.
Books included in the Streak were: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, the Oz books by L. Frank Baum, Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, and Shakespeare's plays.
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"This book reminded me of when my family went on our family holiday to Melbourne and I was about 6. My dad and I were reading Charlotte's Web (another great book) we took it on our hike up hanging rock and dad and I found a ill crevice where we sat for over an hour and he read me chapters 5-8. We got extremely sunburnt but it was one of my favourite memories with my dad. This book bought back all those memories. This book is so a,a zingy written and any child that has been read to by father or if you are a father reading to your child. Put this on your list of books to read."
— Jennifer (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“The Reading Promise is a powerful testament to the difference a parent's devotion and the act of reading can make in a child's life. A rare and triumphant story.”
— Chris Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Pursuit of Happiness -
“Tender, funny, and deeply readable, The Reading Promise tells the story of how a simple ritual became a treasured father-daughter tradition. Promise yourself to revisit what matters...promise you'll pick up this tribute to the ways in which books change lives.”
— Erin Blakemore, author, The Heroines Bookshelf -
“Clearly fabulous for libraries everywhere... My pick.”
— Library Journal -
“Alice Ozma has given us the gift of a remarkable love story. In her love of books, and of her father, we see the most-meaningful promises we might make to our own parents, our own children, and to ourselves.”
— Jeffrey Zaslow, coauthor, The Last Lecture -
“This is about so much more than books and reading. It's about single-parenthood and childhood, about raising a loving, witty, articulate kid, and all of it accomplished without anyone turning into the Alpha-Parent/Tiger-Dad.”
— Jim Trelease, author, The Read-Aloud Handbook -
Persuasive and influential, poignant and inspirational, Ozma's exuberant paean to the joys and rewards of reading-- and being read to-- is a must-read treasure for parents, especially, and bibliophiles, certainly.
— Booklist, starred review -
This is the perfect book to hand any curmudgeon who needs reminding that reading makes a difference or thinks that today's youth are all blase. Highly recommended." -Library Journal, starred review
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Ozma's work is humorous, generous, and warmly felt, and with a terrific reading list included, there is no better argument for the benefits of reading to a child than this rich, imaginative work.
— Publisher's Weekly -
A warm memoir and a gentle nudge to parents about the importance of books, quality time and reading to children.
— Kirkus Reviews -
Alice Ozma has given us the gift of a remarkable love story. In her love of books, and of her father, we see the most-meaningful promises we might make to our own parents, our own children, and to ourselves.
— Jeffrey Zaslow, coauthor, The Last Lecture -
Tender, funny, and deeply readable, THE READING PROMISE tells the story of how a simple ritual became a treasured father-daughter tradition. Promise yourself to revisit what matters...promise you'll pick up this tribute to the ways in which books change lives.
— Erin Blakemore, author of The Heroine's Bookshelf -
This is about so much more than books and reading. It's about single-parenthood and childhood, about raising a loving, witty, articulate kid, and all of it accomplished without anyone turning into the Alpha-Parent/Tiger-Dad. -Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook
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THE READING PROMISE is a powerful testament to the difference a parent's devotion and the act of reading can make in a child's life. A rare and triumphant story.
— Chris Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Pursuit of Happyness
Awards
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Selected for the May 2011 Indie Next List
The Reading Promise Listener Reviews
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" I really wanted to love this book, because I love the idea behind it. It just came up a little short. "
— Colleen, 2/10/2014 -
" Because I agree that reading (especially to your children) is so important, I was really excited about the premise of this book. A father reading to his daughter untill she went away to college seemed like the perfect book topic for me. While I found the story sweet and touching and the relationship between the author and her father the same, the telling of the story left something to be desired for me. The writing was just ok, and the book didn't feel like a cohesive and flowing story. It was an easy and quick read though, and I will always appreciate any story that celebrates the reading of books, so I do recommend it to those who feel the same. "
— Leslie, 2/10/2014 -
" A really sweet book about the importance of reading to kids. This would actually be a neat book for kids to read with a parent since that's what it's about........the story of a father who read aloud to his daughter every night for many years....without skipping a single night! "
— Artemisia, 1/26/2014 -
" In spite of its admirable premise it didn't live up to its promise. The structure was all there and the selection of titles and quotes was solid. In the end she was a bit too self congratulatory and cutesy. At another time perhaps it would have been an inspiring read but not this time. "
— Victor, 1/24/2014 -
" I picked this up at the warehouse during the sale last month, and I'll be honest, I wan't sure I would enjoy it from just a glance. But I was absolutely wrong. I loved this book. It's a memoir of a childhood lived in books and a manifesto in support of the printed word. Awesome. "
— Dawn, 12/31/2013 -
" A wonderful book about a relationship strengthened by time spent together reading. Every Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, teacher and librarian should read this! "
— Shannon, 12/28/2013 -
" Loved it. Finished in a day (riding in a car for 9 hours). "
— Lona, 12/18/2013 -
" Enjoyable book which I encourage you all to read; have to go with the idea that Ms. Ozma 'remembers' details that happened when she was 9. This is inspiring, but not saccharin. Her father is more curmudgeon than teddy bear -- loved it! "
— Lee, 12/17/2013 -
" amusing, entertaining and easy to read. "
— Christina, 12/4/2013 -
" This is the story of a father and daughter's relationship, framed by the reading promise, which is that they will read aloud each night before bed. And they do, until they decide that the streak will end on the daughter's last night at home before she goes to college. A very interesting premise. "
— Debbie, 11/28/2013 -
" Loved this book. I laughed out loud, read passages to my husband and son, and, of course, cried. Great story. "
— Nicole, 11/15/2013 -
" Nice read...and I've made the reading promise :) Hopefully my son will want to continue the tradition late into his teen years too! :) "
— Andrea, 10/26/2013 -
" What a great tradition to start at any age. "
— Elisha, 6/9/2013 -
" I discovered this book when at the library to pick up another book. I love serendipitous experiences like this. What a WONDERFUL book! I highly recommend it, especially for all our Esperanza educators. "
— Barbara, 5/22/2013 -
" Wonderful! Lovely story about reading, fathers and daughters and the love of books. It was so nice to read about the unique relationship between the pair. "
— Kari, 8/20/2012 -
" A cute idea for a book, but in practice it just comes off rather self-aggrandizing. Would have been better as a serious of essays in the New Yorker than as a full-fledged book. "
— Margaret, 7/15/2012 -
" The Reading Promise was so good that I had a hard time putting it down! I really liked Alice, and you couldn't help respecting her father, Jim. "
— Melissa, 1/16/2012 -
" Quick fun read about power of books to influence one's life, and the journeys they can help you go on. "
— Hadrian, 9/28/2011 -
" Alice recalls her childhood through stories read to her by her father. The story time extends into a streak that starts somewhere around 4th grade all the way to high school. Very interesting and heart warming. "
— Laura, 9/25/2011 -
" really neat memoir of a girl growing up with a single dad and their promise to read "
— Michelle, 7/22/2011 -
" This book, part of my first Father's Day gift, was a quick, enjoyable memoir that had me feeling even better than I already do about reading and my commitment to reading aloud to my son Caleb. "
— Jonah, 6/27/2011 -
" I read this just because it was on the Nook that I borrowed from the library. What a wonderful premise to read so many books with a parent. I thought it was funny, heartwarming and I loved the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. "
— Lynn, 6/25/2011 -
" As a person who has loved to read since I was a little kid, this was a neat book for me. I loved seeing how each of the books they read applied to her life, the lessons she was able to take from the time she spent with her father. The author has a nice writing style, easy to read and enjoy. "
— Erin, 6/18/2011 -
" I likes the theme of the book which showed how her father's nightly reading with the author developed her relationship with him, and her life long love of books and reading. However, I thought the father's character need more development. Overall, a pretty good book from a first time author. "
— Karen, 6/13/2011
About Alice Ozma
Alice Ozma, a recent Rowan University graduate, currently lives in the Rittenhouse Square area of Philadelphia. She is passionate about literature, education, and working with children.