The Reading Promise

My Father and the Books We Shared

By: Alice Ozma, Jim Brozina - introduction

Narrated by: Alice Ozma

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.

Critic reviews

"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

"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

"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

Not what I expected

This is more about the people and their interactions than about the books, or even why they made such a difficult committment. I found it to be an OK listen but I expected to hear more about love for literatue and each other when it really seems to be a habit that just evolved. I suppose I wanted something more romantic.

I didn't want it to end!

A book that every book lover should listen to. Simply a beautiful story that is so well written.

love the bond that was built between this father and daughter.

I have always thought that reading is important to a child's development and imagination is key for problem solving. In this book you will find that.... It does not matter how much money you have you can still offer so much to a child just by reading a story.

Inspirational

As a father of a young daughter this book touched home for me.
She’s almost 5 and we have been reading together since the day she was born.
I feel inspired to continue reading together, bake cookies on the weekends and discuss our favorite books.

A Love Story

I was immediately attracted to this book by its title and subject. It was, after all, a book about a parent reading to his child; something I loved doing with my children. After reading the mixed reviews I started the book wondering whether it would hold my attention. To be honest, there was a point at which I almost stopped. Alice goes into details about her life that didn't seem relevant. But I stuck with it and it grew on me to the point where I was sorry when it was over.
"The Reading Promise" is a coming-of-age story, but it's also a love story to a single dad, as well as a warning cry to all who value reading that it's time to make our voices heard in the schools before reading and books are removed to make room for technology.
Alice does a great job reading. If anyone wants proof that reading to your children is worth the time, read this book.