8.6 /10 1 Votes
Originally published 20 June 2013 | 4.3/5 Pan Macmillan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Small Talk is a book written by speech therapist Nicola Lathey and journalist Tracey Blake, whose stated purpose is to help boost language and communication skills from birth to four years old. The book is 320 pages and was published in the UK and internationally by Pan Macmillan on 20 June 2013. It will be published in the U.S. and Canada by The Experiment in April 2014. The book is intended to provide ways to enhance a baby's language and communication skills to help make them "smarter and more sociable".
Contents
The Authors
Nicola Lathey is a Speech and Language Therapist. She qualified from University College London in 1999 and, since then, has worked for the NHS and abroad in Australia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. She is the founder of the Owl Centre, a private multi-disciplinary clinic for children in Oxfordshire and surrounding counties. Nicola was inspired to become a Speech and Language Therapist after observing the therapy given to her younger brother with Down’s Syndrome. Nicola is a member of ASLTIP (Association of Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice), the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, and the Health Professional Council.
Tracey Blake is a journalist and editor. She has worked at the Daily Mail since 2005, and lives in Buckinghamshire with her partner, James, and their children, Minnie and Monty. She is also the author of the popular Baby Blog on the Mail Online website.
Overview
Small Talk is a speech development guide for use from pregnancy up to four-years-old.
The book includes plenty of practical 'Small Talk Time' techniques - language games intended to be quick and fun to play with babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers. Small Talk was written with the intention of giving parents the confidence to enhance their child’s communication in those all-important early years when the brain is busy creating pathways to the jaw, lips and tongue, establishing the building blocks of first speech.
Media Coverage
Since its launch in June 2013, the book has received a significant amount of media coverage both in the UK and worldwide.
A three-page lead article about Small Talk was published in the Femail section of the Daily Mail on 13 June 2013 and also repeated on the Mail Online. On the 14 June, Nicola and Tracey were interviewed about the book on BBC Breakfast, and Nicola appeared as a guest on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour on 26 July 2013 to discuss the book and the Small Talk Time techniques.
The book and the Small Talk Time techniques set out within it have featured in major publications in countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Belgium and Lithuania. Nicola Lathey also appeared on Radio New Zealand on 28 June 2013. The book has also featured in a number of other magazines, websites, newspapers and radio stations.
Expert Reviews
Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, Professor of Pediatrics, Emeritus, at Harvard Medical School claims that “in a fun, down-to-earth style, Small Talk gives parents the practical tools to understand their babies and to help them develop speech and language while sharing the excitement of each new word.” In an article for the New Zealand Herald, Dr Linda Hand, the Head of Speech Science at Auckland University, said the techniques set out in Small Talk made for "extremely good advice".