Tara Sands Has Done It Again
Tara Sands' performance of the Nathanial Thatcher series continues with book 2, “The Hyperion Secret” where she reprises the wonderful character voices of Nathanial, Suzy, Bunny, Boss, and Phlegm. Her narration of the books allows you to close your eyes, relax and be carried away to sprite school with Nathanial as he tries to fit in and figure out what has happened in his life to bring him from being a sickly shut-in to an adventuring magical creature. Tara’s talent helps bring all of T.C. Chappell’s marvelous characters to life. It’s an adventure that you’ll want to take again and again.
But wait, isn’t listening to an audiobook “cheating”? No. Cheating would imply getting some benefit without putting in the “work”. It also implies that audiobooks may be less beneficial than reading. Although it is truly a different experience to read a book or listen to it performed both have benefits, many of which are the same. Some of the benefits they have in common are Stress Reduction, Reinforcing Vocabulary, Memory, Analytical Skills, Increasing Concentration, and more. While reading activates a decoding skill center in the brain that audiobooks don’t use, this is a skill that is second nature to adults, and children can have audiobooks help with improving this skill by following along with the audiobook in a hard copy. Also, audio books help introduce children to more challenging books and instill a love of reading and books in them.
Audiobooks use language comprehension skill centers of the brain and develop skills for listening comprehension. It also helps in learning to understand variants in spoken language such as accents and dialects. The more different voices you are exposed to in language the more flexible your ability to understand will become.
With all the benefits of reading and listening to audiobooks, most important to take away is that it is one of the things in life that isn’t only good for you, but it is FUN! Read a book and discuss it with others or gather together as a family, turn off the TV, computer, tablet, phone, etc. screens (or put on a relaxing screensaver, like a fireplace or snowfall) and listen to a book together on audio.
Follow Tara on Twitter: @TaraSandsLA
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If you are a teacher or PTA member, you may be interested in this program because… well Reading and Pizza!