Special Method in Primary Reading and Oral Work with Stories

This is the book that teachers forgot they already knew. Written in the early twentieth century by educator Charles A. McMurry, it makes the case that before children can decode text, they must first fall in love with story. McMurry observed what contemporary research now confirms: young children are naturally riveted by oral narration, their attention sharpened rather than scattered by narrative. He argues passionately that this appetite is not a distraction from learning but the very engine of it. The method is deceptively simple. Begin with storytelling at home, continue it in the classroom. Let children inhabit literature through the spoken word before they struggle with the written one. When reading finally arrives, it feels like meeting an old friend. McMurry provides guidance for selecting stories, presenting them with dramatic flair, and connecting oral work to emerging literacy skills. What makes this book feel fresh is its refusal to separate the emotional from the intellectual. Stories train memory, sharpen concentration, build vocabulary, and develop what McMurry calls cognitive flexibility, all while entertaining the child. For teachers and parents suspicious of phonics-only approaches, this century-old text offers a powerful alternative vision: make reading feel like the natural extension of a love already begun.