A Chance to Read: Q&A with Bob Ringwald
By: Reading Rockets (2007)
Media Kit
Molly Ringwald grew up in a family that cherished reading. Both her older sister and brother were early readers, as was she, according to her parents, Bob and Adele Ringwald.
Bob, a noted jazz musician who is also blind, relied on his family at times to read to him, which may have put a greater emphasis on the value of reading for his children.
The Ringwalds spoke recently to ReadingRockets.org about growing up reading in the Ringwald household.
Did you use Braille to read to your children when they were young?
Bob Ringwald: I think when they were really little, I got some books that combined print and Braille but it was too slow for them. They were too impatient for the story.
So I didn't read to them as much as my wife did because reading Braille is very slow, unless you're really up on it.
I'm a professional musician, and I would be getting ready to go to work in the evening, but my wife had a routine with them. She would read to them every night.
Did any of your family ever learn Braille?
BR: None really showed an interest in Braille, although at some point in their schooling they started studying Helen Keller, so they might have been interested a bit during that time.
Were you born blind?
BR: No. It happened gradually over time. They call it RP now, it's deterioration of the retina. I remember when I was four, I could see people across the street, I could see kids swinging on the swings, and then it faded away gradually.
As my sight was getting worse, I was needing to read more. As you go up in grades, of course, more is required in school. I attended regular school until fourth grade, but I didn't get much out of that year. I went to a school for the blind in Berkeley and had to repeat fourth grade.
They had a program where they supplied tapes and books on tapes. I learned Braille and I learned how to type. I don't really read Braille anymore because books on tape are so available, and I also use a speech reading program. But I use it to take notes for myself, for my own convenience.
I eventually came back and graduated high school from a regular school.
Did your children read to you out of necessity or for pleasure?
BR: The other two would read to me if I needed something, but Molly really liked to read to me. She would read scripts — she started getting scripts when she was about 10 or 11 — or compositions she had done in school, things she found interesting in books or magazines.
I remember when she first got the script of "The Breakfast Club." She read it to me, and me not being an actor, I didn't see the potential in it like she did. I always remember that — it turned out to be such a great movie.
Many of our viewers and subscribers are looking for ways to help young readers who are struggling. Were there ever any issues in your family that might be relevant for those who may have had a more difficult time?
Adele Ringwald: At one point, in an early grade, Molly had some problems with her writing, and her teacher wanted me to work on it with her. So when she had her nap, I got paper like they had in school, with the lines and broken lines on it, and I would write her a letter from a "secret pal." I would write it with perfect printing like they wanted her to learn and I would write it in the genre of Raggedy Ann stories.
She loved the Raggedy Ann stories and had a whole collection of the books. I would leave it with something like Raggedy Ann hanging over a river with a crocodile circling below. Molly had to write a letter back in order to hear the rest of the story.
She loved it.
How about your other children?
AR: They all loved reading so much, I had to hide the book during the day so they couldn't read it on their own and go on to the next chapter. I'd put it on the top of the refrigerator where they couldn't see it. All three are avid readers even now.
BR: But Molly's older sister has ADD. We didn't know about things like that when she was little, but as a child, we knew that she couldn't sit still very long. They were really good with her in school and they let her move around, when she needed to. Even now, if she goes to a movie, she has to get up about six times.
One thing she could sit still for was looking at books. She would even look at books with no pictures. I could never understand what she was getting out of it.
Anything else?
AR: Rhymes always helped. Molly she learned to sing when she was really young — she definitely inherited her musical ability from her father — and she could memorize anything that had to do with rhythm or music.
When she was six she had a repertoire of about 65 songs!
When the kids were young, they would all be the back seat while we were driving Dad to work. I'd keep them occupied with things like flash cards for their times tables. Molly learned all the ones that rhymed right away - like 6 times 8 is 48 - that's how she remembered things. So rhyming was something that worked.