Authors: Glenn Doman and Janet Doman

 ISBN: 1591170079

The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews 

According to this book, little children (0-5 years old) are more intelligent and
capable of learning than previously imagined. After it is understood that they
have a huge amount of curiosity about the world around them, the authors
strongly recommend enriching a child's environment by teaching them to read.

The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential (the group behind this
book) was begun to see if it was possible to teach brain-damaged children to
read. In this case, "brain-damaged" means children whose brains were normal at
conception, but were damaged through injury or disease. After discovering that
the answer to their question was a resounding Yes, the same method was tried on
well children, with the same result.

For the average child, being able to explore their world, through crawling or
walking, is vital to their development, so sticking them in a playpen with a
bunch of toys, while understandable, is a bad idea. There is no "wrong" way to
teach a child to read; the authors present their method, which involves writing
words on flashcards in very large and bold print, and showing them to the child
several times a day, for a few seconds at a time. It is never too early to
start, even with children less than 1 year old. Do not be concerned if you
cannot go "all the way" in teaching your child to read; even partial progress
will help your child in the long run. Most importantly, the process should be
joyous, and never a chore, for parent and child. If either one is cranky, or
having a bad day, save the words for another day.

This is an excellent book. Written for parents, it is very easy to understand,
and shows that it is never too early to expose your child to the world of
reading. It was also first published in the 1960s, so they must be doing
something right. It is very much recommended.