According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, two-thirds of fourth graders are not reaching fluency benchmarks. But, involved parents and caregivers can change that. The journey starts here with Letters Are Characters. Bring the alphabet to life with this fun coloring & multisensory activity book designed for both parents and children. When letters become characters, young learners can do what comes naturally--- play, laugh and learn about the characters and their stories. They do this while simultaneously breaking the phonemic code... the essential first step to reading. "Too often, we see otherwise bright, capable children's self-esteem and enthusiasm for learning plummet because they lag behind their peers in their acquisition of early reading skills. In Letters Are Characters, Dr. Wilcox Ugurlu has brought her unique perspective as a scientist, educator and parent to create a playful, compassionate, and well-informed program for parents to help their children begin to build critical reading readiness skills." ---Paul B. Yellin, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, NYU School of Medicine, Director, The Yellin Center for Mind, Brain and Education. About the Author: Caroline Wilcox Ugurlu, PhD, is a teacher and a researcher who wants to demystify the process of learning to read. She is passionate about reading and sees it as an essential occasion with the self that can make us better individually and collectively.