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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
This is essentially a book of "I read a book that inspired me to read to my kids" and honestly, I feel like most people would just be better off reading the Jim Trelease book, as this is essentially just trying to grift off the success of him book(s)
the advice is great, the premise is great. The detraction is the evangelicalism of "do as I did and you'll be as wonderful as me" its not entirely the author's fault, she's been so heavily influenced by evangelical culture she is akin to a fish that doesn't know its wet, but I can't help but notice the evangelical dog whistles, as someone who is no longer marinating in the brine of the culture. The subtle hints towards parents who dont trust the content in books for their kids because they're afraid of "the world" are evident only if you know what to look for, and its evident that as an affluent homeschooling family, she has no clue what its like to be a part of a stressed working class family, despite her insinuations of "we used to be poor too." To the author's credit though, she avoids a lot of the obnoxious evangelical pitfalls of being afraid of many topics and authors, and cloistering away into the safe space marketing of "christian literature" and much to my surprise, even cites valid research studies, a massive win for the book and author in my opinion. I personally needed to hear some of the encouraging reminders, and they were great to hear, and they hit their goal of inciting vigor for reading aloud to my kids. So all in all, a worthwhile read.
the advice is great, the premise is great. The detraction is the evangelicalism of "do as I did and you'll be as wonderful as me" its not entirely the author's fault, she's been so heavily influenced by evangelical culture she is akin to a fish that doesn't know its wet, but I can't help but notice the evangelical dog whistles, as someone who is no longer marinating in the brine of the culture. The subtle hints towards parents who dont trust the content in books for their kids because they're afraid of "the world" are evident only if you know what to look for, and its evident that as an affluent homeschooling family, she has no clue what its like to be a part of a stressed working class family, despite her insinuations of "we used to be poor too." To the author's credit though, she avoids a lot of the obnoxious evangelical pitfalls of being afraid of many topics and authors, and cloistering away into the safe space marketing of "christian literature" and much to my surprise, even cites valid research studies, a massive win for the book and author in my opinion. I personally needed to hear some of the encouraging reminders, and they were great to hear, and they hit their goal of inciting vigor for reading aloud to my kids. So all in all, a worthwhile read.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Wonderful and inspiring book filled with so many great read-aloud ideas!
Love the suggested reading lists and the motivation it gave me to keep reading at home. The author is very religious, which while I’m not I don’t mind, but there are some parts that are very religious, which might be too much for some people.
Parts were rather repetitive, enough so that it bordered on annoying. I wish there were some studies sited and more statistical evidence rather than mostly anecdotal accounts. Completely disagree with her opinion that money must be spent on books to show they are important to you and your family (we are a minimalist, library loving family). I enjoyed her list of 10 Compelling Questions, however, and will be tucking them away for future conversations with my children. All in all a good book for skimming.
challenging
inspiring
Loved, loved, loved, this book!!! I'm glad I'm not a parent yet so I can incorporate these teachings when that happens. All you parents that raised kids without reading aloud to them have failed. "Parents! You're the cause of all my-their problems!" - Tony Perkis, Heavyweights.
So many good notes I jotted down:
The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.
Instead of being at your wit's end and telling the kids to stop such and such, relate to them by telling them to stop acting like a character in a book you're reading together. It will diffuse the situation and it brings a sense of closeness as you all know that book well that you've loved reading together.
The stories we read together act as a bridge when we can't seem to find another way to connect. They are a currency, language, and culture.
Stories are comfort food.
Reading aloud is so helpful because a child's listening comprehension level is much higher than his reading comprehension level.
A story allows our children to practice living through an experience vicariously. Yet vicarious reading isn't as vicarious as we thought. We learn empathy.
When we read aloud we give our kids practice living as heroes, practice dealing with life and death situations, practice living with virtue, practice failing at virtue. As our heroes struggle with hardship, we struggle with them. A powerful story quickens the heroes heartbeat within us. Well chosen words touch and transform our souls, making us want to become better than we are right now.
A story meets the child where he is. It can reach them where nothing else can, especially from a nagging parent.
3 benefits for reading aloud to kids:
1) Increased vocabulary and highly sophisticated language patterns. Vocabulary helps the most for kindergartners.
2) the ability to make connections in other words reading comprehension.
3) a love for reading.
So how do you read to a High Schooler aged child? Listen to audiobooks while in the car or at home. That will help get the ball rolling. Like dad would do with me butt hat was more late elementary and junior high.
A child will likely have great self-esteem if she believes her parents like her and want to spend time with her. That's so neat.
I like that she makes reading planned fun but giving the children a treat or they have a picnic.
I like that she talked up audiobooks. And all the book recommendations are many that I've read and if I haven't I'll be dog earring them for later.
I like that she gives her kids a book allowance each month so they can purchase a book.
I like the idea of literary matchmaking, and recommending quality books to our kids and other people.
Not every book needs to be discussed.
Good questions to strike up meaningful conversation with your child:
What does the character want and why don't they have it?
Should he have done that? Why?
How is x like/different than y?
Who we most courageous?
What does this story or character remind you of?
What is the character most afraid of?
What would you change if you wrote the book?
What surprised you most?
Which character most reminds you of yourself?
What is something you don't want to forget?
4 year olds are good age to start reading to them where they're paying attention to the book.
Ages 8 through 12 even though they can read on their own, it's still important to read books to them aloud. Most parents stop reading at this age but this is when you want to increase your reading with them. Remember their reading comprehension is less than their listening.
All these books she's recommending just makes me want to read them all!
"A children's story that is only enjoyed by children is a bad children's story. The good ones last" - CS Lewis
So many good notes I jotted down:
The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.
Instead of being at your wit's end and telling the kids to stop such and such, relate to them by telling them to stop acting like a character in a book you're reading together. It will diffuse the situation and it brings a sense of closeness as you all know that book well that you've loved reading together.
The stories we read together act as a bridge when we can't seem to find another way to connect. They are a currency, language, and culture.
Stories are comfort food.
Reading aloud is so helpful because a child's listening comprehension level is much higher than his reading comprehension level.
A story allows our children to practice living through an experience vicariously. Yet vicarious reading isn't as vicarious as we thought. We learn empathy.
When we read aloud we give our kids practice living as heroes, practice dealing with life and death situations, practice living with virtue, practice failing at virtue. As our heroes struggle with hardship, we struggle with them. A powerful story quickens the heroes heartbeat within us. Well chosen words touch and transform our souls, making us want to become better than we are right now.
A story meets the child where he is. It can reach them where nothing else can, especially from a nagging parent.
3 benefits for reading aloud to kids:
1) Increased vocabulary and highly sophisticated language patterns. Vocabulary helps the most for kindergartners.
2) the ability to make connections in other words reading comprehension.
3) a love for reading.
So how do you read to a High Schooler aged child? Listen to audiobooks while in the car or at home. That will help get the ball rolling. Like dad would do with me butt hat was more late elementary and junior high.
A child will likely have great self-esteem if she believes her parents like her and want to spend time with her. That's so neat.
I like that she makes reading planned fun but giving the children a treat or they have a picnic.
I like that she talked up audiobooks. And all the book recommendations are many that I've read and if I haven't I'll be dog earring them for later.
I like that she gives her kids a book allowance each month so they can purchase a book.
I like the idea of literary matchmaking, and recommending quality books to our kids and other people.
Not every book needs to be discussed.
Good questions to strike up meaningful conversation with your child:
What does the character want and why don't they have it?
Should he have done that? Why?
How is x like/different than y?
Who we most courageous?
What does this story or character remind you of?
What is the character most afraid of?
What would you change if you wrote the book?
What surprised you most?
Which character most reminds you of yourself?
What is something you don't want to forget?
4 year olds are good age to start reading to them where they're paying attention to the book.
Ages 8 through 12 even though they can read on their own, it's still important to read books to them aloud. Most parents stop reading at this age but this is when you want to increase your reading with them. Remember their reading comprehension is less than their listening.
All these books she's recommending just makes me want to read them all!
"A children's story that is only enjoyed by children is a bad children's story. The good ones last" - CS Lewis
I really enjoyed this book. It was very inspiring and gave great practical tips for me. It'll be a great reference for me on our reading journey.
Of the MANY books about books I’ve read this is the best by far. Not only are her goals broad and beautiful but her strategies are open and accessible. Her writing is enjoyable, her recommendations consistently take diversity into account, and she’s not afraid of modern authors (the last two things I find to be frequently deficient or anemic).
If you have ANY desire to foster a love of reading (or garner its many benefits) with children in your life, this book is tremendously worth your time.
I listened to it as an audiobook from the library but I will be adding a physical copy to my personal library when I am able.
If you have ANY desire to foster a love of reading (or garner its many benefits) with children in your life, this book is tremendously worth your time.
I listened to it as an audiobook from the library but I will be adding a physical copy to my personal library when I am able.
Probably a 4.5. There was a lot of repetition from other books I’ve read but she also had so many great ideas and suggestions to make books and reading part of our family culture and not just part of my kids education. I would highly recommend. It was very well written
Re-Read January 2020:
For some reason this book has been on my mind for the last couple of months, and I finally binge-read it today. My original read was via audiobook and I think this actually hit home better for me this time around, partly because I read it in hard copy and partly because I’ve been thinking more about the things it discusses. I needed a reminder of some of the principles she mentions in this book now that my daughter is older, more mobile, and decidedly more opinionated about what books we read, when we read, and whether she’s willing to sit on my lap. (For those who might be wondering, it basically boils down to this: it doesn’t matter, just keep reading! Simple advice, but I needed the reminder). I’ve also been thinking about reading in the context of family life more recently because I’ve seen a resurgence in my own appetite for reading over the last few months (the number of novels I read in a single day during the first 10 months of 2019? Certainly less than five, if any at all. But in the last three months? At least a dozen) and have sort of dragged my husband along with me by providing him with a steady stream of books. It’s got me really thinking about the influence I have to make reading a priority in my home, and re-reading this book was a perfect way to give that train of thought a little more fuel to run on.
May 2019:
After my favorite blogger RAVED about this book, I had high expectations, and while it didn't blow me away, it does have TONS of helpful information and good advice, including plenty of things I hadn't thought about before. It did reinforce for me all of my efforts to read to my 9-month-old every day, even though she doesn't appear to even notice a lot of the time. I definitely want to re-read this many more times as my daughter (and other kids that come along) grows, as I'm sure I will need reminders of how to take advantage of reading aloud to build family relationships and that kids are never too old to be read to.
For some reason this book has been on my mind for the last couple of months, and I finally binge-read it today. My original read was via audiobook and I think this actually hit home better for me this time around, partly because I read it in hard copy and partly because I’ve been thinking more about the things it discusses. I needed a reminder of some of the principles she mentions in this book now that my daughter is older, more mobile, and decidedly more opinionated about what books we read, when we read, and whether she’s willing to sit on my lap. (For those who might be wondering, it basically boils down to this: it doesn’t matter, just keep reading! Simple advice, but I needed the reminder). I’ve also been thinking about reading in the context of family life more recently because I’ve seen a resurgence in my own appetite for reading over the last few months (the number of novels I read in a single day during the first 10 months of 2019? Certainly less than five, if any at all. But in the last three months? At least a dozen) and have sort of dragged my husband along with me by providing him with a steady stream of books. It’s got me really thinking about the influence I have to make reading a priority in my home, and re-reading this book was a perfect way to give that train of thought a little more fuel to run on.
May 2019:
After my favorite blogger RAVED about this book, I had high expectations, and while it didn't blow me away, it does have TONS of helpful information and good advice, including plenty of things I hadn't thought about before. It did reinforce for me all of my efforts to read to my 9-month-old every day, even though she doesn't appear to even notice a lot of the time. I definitely want to re-read this many more times as my daughter (and other kids that come along) grows, as I'm sure I will need reminders of how to take advantage of reading aloud to build family relationships and that kids are never too old to be read to.