Read-aloud Revival

I felt my brain waking up during this episode of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast. My guest is Alan Jacobs, Distinguished Professor of Humanities in the Honors Program at Baylor University, and author of The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction (goodness, I *love* that book). It was such a delight to have him on the show to talk about those “shoulds” that often trip us up as readers, parents, and educators.He invites us to read at whim, develop our own reading taste, and raise kids who do the same. Don’t miss this one!In this episode, you’ll hear:  why it’s important to develop your own taste, and to let your kids do the same the value of reading books that don’t bring you joy and Alan’s answer to the question: What is reading for? (this part is SO good) Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/145/.

I want to introduce you to a remarkable woman. She won two Caldecott Awards, illustrated more than 100 books during her career, raised four children, and lived life with unique zest and liveliness.You may recognize her illustrations in any of the following books, including my own favorite, Miss Rumphius, and one of her Caldecott winners, The Ox-Cart Man.Barbara Cooney was a gift to the world, and in this special edition podcast, I want to introduce you to the woman behind these magnificent books. In this episode, you’ll hear: how this mother of four managed to illustrate over 100 books stories about what it was like growing up with Barbara as a mother (listen in for roosters in the kitchen and mice in the car!) how Barbara made sure her legacy and love for books would continue after her death in 2000 Think you love Miss Rumphius? Just wait till you meet the woman who wrote her onto the page. You’ll love these books even more after you meet the one and only Barbara Cooney.Find the rest of the show notes at htt

That’s right … Kate DiCamillo is back! And what she has to say is so good, you might find yourself listening more than once.In this new episode, Kate and I chat about her newest book, Beverly, Right Here, and we also discuss why parents and teachers so often try to quantify what our kids are getting from books. We have some ideas about how we could better help kids develop their own robust reading life.I also answer a listener question about how to read aloud with highly visual kids (kids who really want pictures to go along with their books).In this episode, you’ll hear:  why the kinds of questions we ask our kids about books matter how to keep joy in reading what Kate really wants readers to get from her books Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/143/.

Why re-read? This is a question we get a lot at RAR, and I’m not going to beat around the bush…I’m convinced there is a lot to gain from rereading. Today, I’m going to tell you why.If you have a child who re-reads the same book over and over, we’re going to talk about it.And if you or someone you love has recently read the same picture book to a little one every night for months, I’ve got some good news for you. In this episode, you’ll hear:  why re-reading may just be the very best kind of reading what’s to gain from re-reading? how our kids benefit from revisiting their favorite books (and the rewards are huge!) Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/141/.

Poetry is beautiful, captivating and (for a lot of us) a little intimidating, right? Our goal with this episode is to show you how simple and delightful sharing poetry with your kids can be.My guest today says we can’t force poetry, but we can share it naturally… and that just might be the key to helping our kids develop a lifelong love. If you want to help your kids fall in love with beautiful language, there’s no better (or simpler) way to start than with a poem.In this episode, you’ll hear: why and how to incorporate poetry into your routine what to do if you feel intimidated how to develop a true affection for poetry (it’s more fun than you think!) Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/140/.

Is there a better way to nurture empathy and compassion than through books? That’s the question we address in this episode with special guest, Courtney Westlake. Courtney’s daughter, Brenna, was born with a skin condition that makes her appear “different” to many people. On today’s show, Courtney shares not just her family’s experience, but also how we can teach our kids kindness and understanding when it comes to differences.In this episode, you’ll hear:  how to help kids grow in empathy how books help us walk in another person’s shoes our favorite books for teaching about differences and disabilities Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/139/.

Your local library or bookshop (if you’re lucky, both!) is likely filled with children’s books. Many are simply marvelous—the kind of books you don’t mind reading aloud over and over, and that you’re delighted to hand to your kids.Others? Not so much.So how do we decide which books to read with our kids? How do we connect our kids with books they’ll love… especially when we haven’t read most of them?That’s what today’s episode is all about.In this episode, you’ll hear: What is a good book, anyway? How to choose books without a booklist using the 3-Question Test How to know when to ditch a book Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/138/.

Graphic novels … they sometimes make us a little nervous, right? As parents, we worry if they have any value.In this episode of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast, I’m joined by the RAR Team, and we’re talking all things graphic novels. Do they count as real reading? Will they make our kids lazy readers? And what about questionable content?In this episode, you’ll hear:  what’s happening in your child’s brain when they read a graphic novel (aka what on earth is “multi-modal” reading?) why some kids can’t get enough of them our favorite graphic novels to read in our own homes Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/137/.

I would be willing to bet that if you’re reading this, you’re hoping to raise kids who love reading. Think back for a second. Were the books you were assigned in school the same books you stayed up reading under the covers, late at night with a flashlight? When you were done writing the book report or the essay, did you eagerly start the book over, only to dive back into the utter delight of losing yourself in the story?Would you say those books became one of your childhood’s sweetest delights? Or were you just relieved to have “done” the book?See, all kids love stories when they are younger. Loving stories isn’t the problem. The problem arises when reading becomes something we do for school—for a grade or an assignment. The problem arises when our kids start to see reading as something on their list of to-do’s, rather than as one of life’s sweetest delights. Today, we’re turning that on its head. See, we have the opportunity to engage our kids with books differently– in a way that helps them love a book more

In this very special episode of the Read-Aloud Revival, we’re sharing an Author Access with the wonderful Sally Lloyd Jones.This was an event celebrating her book Goldfish on Vacation, which we read together as a community in RAR Premium. Sally even reads aloud to us in this one (twice!)In this episode, you’ll hear:  beautiful tips for young writers which was the most challenging Bible story for her to write something that means even more to her as a writer than medals and awards Find the rest of the show notes at Find the rest of the show notes at https://readaloudrevival.com/134/.

Today we’re heading to the coast of Maine… at least in our imagination. I’m chatting with Amanda Dykes, author of the adult fiction novel, Whose Waves These Are, in a summer episode that celebrates seaside tales. In this episode, you’ll hear:  how the books we read as children can impact us for life the unique way that books transport us how books can serve as “functional souvenirs” (the best kind!) I also answer a listener question about organizing personal vs family books, and how I decide if a book should become part of our permanent collection. (The book I mention in this part is Outside Your Window by Nicola Davies and Mark Hearld.)Find the rest of the show notes at readaloudrevival.com/133/.

If you’ve got teens (or kids who will be teens before you know it), this episode is for you. We’re talking about books for teens, and why the YA/teen section of your library or bookstore is not a reading level.In this episode, you’ll hear:  what YA is and what it isn’t a few issues with YA/teen books whether it’s essential for teens to read YA on the way to adulthood Of course, I’m also going to recommend some books… because that’s what we do best around here!Find the rest of the show notes at readaloudrevival.com/132/

3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . Blast off!

In our culture today, is reading aloud an ‘obstinate act of love?’ Meghan Cox Gurdon, this week’s guest and author of The Enchanted Hour, believes so.Meghan is the Wall Street Journal’s children’s book reviewer and says her five kids were a built-in focus group.In this episode, you’ll hear: the power of reading books again and again the value of conversations around books is reading aloud real reading? I also answer a listener question about how to continue reading aloud throughout the summer when schedules are wonky, and share some of my favorite audio books for preschool-age children.Find the rest of the show notes at readaloudrevival.com/130/

In this episode we welcome back Jim Weiss, master storyteller and a voice so many of us recognize.This is a fantastic episode to enjoy with your kids, because Jim tells us two stories during the show: Stone Soup and a tale of Sherlock Holmes, The Mazarin Stone.Gather everyone ’round and enjoy!In this episode, you’ll hear:  Jim’s two rules for telling our children stories (you’ll love them) How to handle interruptions… and how to clarify what’s happening in a story without “breaking character” Why you’re probably better at reading aloud than you realize… Find the rest of the show notes at readaloudrevival.com/129/

Are you an introvert or an extrovert? On this episode of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast, Jamie Martin from Simple Homeschool is here to chat about being an introverted mom.Sarah is an extrovert, so we’re comparing what fills us up, what depletes us, and how we can find more calm, less guilt, and quiet joy in mothering– which I think is what we all long for, no matter our personality type.Of course, we also talk books! Some of our favorite authors were introverts (Lucy Maud Montgomery, anyone?), and Jamie and I can’t help but talk about our favorite books whenever we get together.In this episode, you’ll hear: How to find more calm and less guilt as a mama (yes please, right?) The unique challenges that introvert and extrovert moms both face Wisdom from some of your favorite authors (if your favorite authors happened to write books like Anne of Green Gables and Little Women, that is) I also answer a listener question about choosing books for very sensitive kids.Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readal

This week I’m sharing the second part of a Read-Aloud Revival Premium Master Class all about helping our kids love books by treating their reading lives more like we treat our own.If you want something better than book reports or reading comprehension sheets for your kids, you’re in the right place. If you’re wondering whether you need to do literary analysis (and how to do it without killing your child’s love of the book), you’re in the right place.If you want your kids to read because they love to (and not because they have to), you’re in the right place. This is the second half of this master class. Listen to the first half here. (You don’t have to listen to the first half to understand the second, but you probably want to!)In this episode, you’ll hear: What it looks like for kids to be real readers What most of us are getting wrong when it comes to “teaching” literature to our kids Do your kids need literary analysis? And what should that look like, anyway? I also answer a listener question about … how t

In today’s episode of the Read-Aloud Revival Podcast, I’m sharing a master class straight out of Read-Aloud Revival Premium about how to create a book club culture in your home.For most of us, the books we read for school growing up were not the same books we read under our covers with a flashlight past our bedtime.But we can do something better.We can invite our kids into a reading experience that will help them fall in love with books and become readers for life. Less like school, more like your favorite book club.In this episode, you’ll hear: the importance of knowing WHY you want to raise readers how to nurture and protect your kids’ love of reading why reading is not broccoli

Today I want to introduce you to the author of some of my new favorite picture books, Camille Andros.Camille is a writer, a traveler, a former EMT, and a mom of six. Yep, six. (So obviously, we’re kindred spirits, since I have six, too.)

Today, I am excited to introduce you to my favorite read-aloud for Lent and Easter.Amon’s Adventure is a wonderful adventure story that will leave your kids begging for just one more chapter.Amon is a 13 year-old boy during the time of Christ’s persecution, and in this fictional tale, his father has been accused of a terrible crime. It’s up to Amon to navigate the tension in his local community and clear his father’s name. If you want to breathe some life into your family’s experience of Lent and Easter… this story is a great way to do just that. I highly recommend it as a family read-aloud for kids 8+.It’s intense, so I suggest previewing each chapter if you’re reading it aloud to kids younger than that.The author, Arnold Ytreeide, is visiting with me today on the newest episode of the Read-Aloud Revival, and learning more about where this book came for was such a delight!In this episode, you’ll hear: Where this book (and those in his Jotham’s Journey series) came from Ideas for how best to use this book dur