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362 reviews for:
The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids
Sarah MacKenzie
4.31 AVERAGE
362 reviews for:
The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids
Sarah MacKenzie
4.31 AVERAGE
Great book. The beginning felt fluffy but lots of good takeaways. I have listened to interviews with the author so it was a bit repetitive. I got it from the library so I jotted down the titles from the book lists we don't yet own.
This book was fabulous. The conversation starters and suggestions were amazing. Sarah truly has a grasp on how to relate to our children and connect with them in meaningful and genuine ways. I can’t recommend this enough.
Once again, Sarah knocks it out of the proverbial park with The Read-Aloud Family. This book has something for every parent, no matter where you are on your parenting journey, or how you choose to educate your children.
For newer parents she offers encouragement and a simple plan for truly connecting with kids through books. Her friendly, conversational writing style puts the new momma (or daddy) at ease, and her generous anecdotes from her own family help the reader understand the value and worthy investment any (and all) reading aloud to our children provides. (Bonus: she keeps it real and doesn't just pretend to be perfect)
For those of us who are perhaps a little more seasoned as parents, or already listen to the Read Aloud Revival podcast, she didn't forget us either, writing fantastic chapters on mastering the art of conversation and asking compelling questions.
THEN she gets to her (in my opinion) wheelhouse...BOOKLISTS. The booklists AND the books she recommends throughout, are worth the publishing price. Period. My family has yet to be disappointed in any book she has recommended. What's even better is she has done the hard work of reading every single one cover to cover for us, categorizing them by age, and to an extent genre, and often times giving a short synopsis.
I thoroughly recommend this book, no matter where you are in your parenting (or even grand-parenting) journey. My copy is marked up and out on the counter for handy reference. After finishing the book, I went back and ordered 4 more copies to give as baby shower gifts, I think it is that worthwhile.
I received a free ARC copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
For newer parents she offers encouragement and a simple plan for truly connecting with kids through books. Her friendly, conversational writing style puts the new momma (or daddy) at ease, and her generous anecdotes from her own family help the reader understand the value and worthy investment any (and all) reading aloud to our children provides. (Bonus: she keeps it real and doesn't just pretend to be perfect)
For those of us who are perhaps a little more seasoned as parents, or already listen to the Read Aloud Revival podcast, she didn't forget us either, writing fantastic chapters on mastering the art of conversation and asking compelling questions.
THEN she gets to her (in my opinion) wheelhouse...BOOKLISTS. The booklists AND the books she recommends throughout, are worth the publishing price. Period. My family has yet to be disappointed in any book she has recommended. What's even better is she has done the hard work of reading every single one cover to cover for us, categorizing them by age, and to an extent genre, and often times giving a short synopsis.
I thoroughly recommend this book, no matter where you are in your parenting (or even grand-parenting) journey. My copy is marked up and out on the counter for handy reference. After finishing the book, I went back and ordered 4 more copies to give as baby shower gifts, I think it is that worthwhile.
I received a free ARC copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
For book: 4 stars
For audio book: 3 stars
For audio book: 3 stars
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
WOW! I think this may be my favorite non-fiction book of all time. I wish I had had this book 10 years ago. It is a book I think every teacher and every parent should read! I am ready to be a literary matchmaker for my daughter!
inspiring
I got this book at the library based on a passing recommendation from someone who I only spoke to briefly. At first, I was basically skimming it. I thought it seemed kind of obvious. But then, I noticed that I was tagging so many pages and passages that it was ridiculous. I started a Google doc to keep track of everything I wanted to follow up on. Then I caved and just bought the book.
In some ways, this book IS kind of obvious. But then again, it's not if you aren't doing it. I wasn't doing any of this - I wasn't reading aloud a lot to my kids; I wasn't asking a lot of questions about the reading; and I have been mystified about picking out books for the kids for a while now. All of that has changed since I picked up this book, and right now our reading-aloud time is precious. It calms and distracts when my kids are in a bad mood, it engages us thoroughly, and it fills up time without screens. If you are already doing all of this, you probably don't need this book and might not enjoy it. For me, it was a good push in a different direction for us right now.
I am not a religious person, and this book does have a lot of Christian references. Personally, I don't mind it (I mostly skip past that stuff). I have started listening to Mackenzie's podcast too, and if I end up homeschooling this next year (insanity!), I might look to her as well (although my approach will be secular).
In some ways, this book IS kind of obvious. But then again, it's not if you aren't doing it. I wasn't doing any of this - I wasn't reading aloud a lot to my kids; I wasn't asking a lot of questions about the reading; and I have been mystified about picking out books for the kids for a while now. All of that has changed since I picked up this book, and right now our reading-aloud time is precious. It calms and distracts when my kids are in a bad mood, it engages us thoroughly, and it fills up time without screens. If you are already doing all of this, you probably don't need this book and might not enjoy it. For me, it was a good push in a different direction for us right now.
I am not a religious person, and this book does have a lot of Christian references. Personally, I don't mind it (I mostly skip past that stuff). I have started listening to Mackenzie's podcast too, and if I end up homeschooling this next year (insanity!), I might look to her as well (although my approach will be secular).
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.5 ⭐️ rounding up here! Good motivation to spend more time reading to my kids. Honestly, reading a book at bedtime is usually the last thing I want to do because I’m exhausted, so I’m going to try to move up reading time to right after dinner and see how that goes. I appreciated the book lists at the back of the book! Only reason this lost some stars is because it felt a little long.
Loved this one! Sarah MacKenzie makes the argument for how reading aloud can transform your family life, provides tips, busts myths and gives tons of age appropriate reading suggestions. She does this while encouraging parents to find their own rhythm, trust their tastes and their children's tastes.
Reading aloud in our own family has been such a gift (and sometimes a chore we lure our eldest into, if I'm honest.) Yet the impact has been so special and it was great to get an encouragement to keep up or add to this habit!
Sarah MacKenzie is a devout Christian and weaves her passion for reading to her kids with her faith. For those who do not read a lot by Christian authors it could seem like a lot (the reviews suggest as much.) I found the fact that her worldview and her parenting were so meshed together quite refreshing and also want to note her vibe may not be for everyone.
Reading aloud in our own family has been such a gift (and sometimes a chore we lure our eldest into, if I'm honest.) Yet the impact has been so special and it was great to get an encouragement to keep up or add to this habit!
Sarah MacKenzie is a devout Christian and weaves her passion for reading to her kids with her faith. For those who do not read a lot by Christian authors it could seem like a lot (the reviews suggest as much.) I found the fact that her worldview and her parenting were so meshed together quite refreshing and also want to note her vibe may not be for everyone.