By Dan Bloom
CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — Rudy Shur, publisher and CEO of Square One in New York and a true mensch of the American book industry, was delighted to read a New York Times article recently about the AAP (American Academy of Pedriatrics) releasing a statement endorsing the practice of reading aloud to babies. Why? Because one of his authors, Glenn Doman, published a book 50 years ago that said the same thing when he was director of The Institutes for the Achievement for Human Potential.
“It’s very rewarding to watch the scientific community catch up to the facts,” Shur told the San Diego Jewish World in a recent email.
The Times article noted that parents who read out loud to babies help their child’s brain develop better, Shur said. Doman proved the same thing long ago, having tens of thousands of parents do exactly that with their babies.
Doman wrote How to Teach Your Baby to Read‘, along with seven other bestselling titles in his “Gentle Revolution Series,” all published by Square One Publishers, Shur told this reporter.
“Doman’s parenting books became the most widely-read parent series in the history of publishing, selling over 13 million copies,” he added.
That’s the good news. The sad news is that for decades, Doman’s work was largely ignored or put down by doctors and professional educators who rejected the mountain of proof he had showing that reading aloud improved children’s brain development. Shur said.
“Glenn passed away in 2013, but all his life he never weakened in his resolve to show the importance of reading to children,” Shur said.
“His daughter Janet Doman is now the director of the institutes, and the series remains among the top sellers for Square One.”
So there you have it: visionary Glenn Doman was way ahead of the times, but now the New York Times has vindicated his visions in an article being read by numerous parents and educators.
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Dan Bloom is Taiwan bureau chief for San Diego Jewish World as well as an inveterate web surfer and e-correspondent. He may be contacted via dan.bloom @sdjewishworld.com