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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
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
As a homeschooling mom of 3 young children who greatly values reading aloud to my kids (and has an entire arsenal of gorgeous picture books and rich chapter books to choose from) I was so excited to pick this up at our local used bookstore (while out on book finding date with my 3yo ha). I’ve read a few other books on the topic that were fascinating and really motivated me to just allow the kids to enjoy books and so I had very high hopes for this book.
This one, unfortunately, fell very flat. It was partially my fault for not realizing this is a religious book. I, personally, will not be teaching my children that stories from the Bible are fact. But even without the constant religious notes of this book, the actual information was surface level and blah. The author assumes that the reader is also a novice first-time parent as she was who needs to be taught the joys of reading aloud to their children. The book lists in the back where meh and the authors suggestions on how to find quality children’s literature were vastly different from the way I go about it (and not how I would recommend to friends to find good books for kids!).
I wanted more facts. I wanted more depth. I just wanted so much more out of this.
This one, unfortunately, fell very flat. It was partially my fault for not realizing this is a religious book. I, personally, will not be teaching my children that stories from the Bible are fact. But even without the constant religious notes of this book, the actual information was surface level and blah. The author assumes that the reader is also a novice first-time parent as she was who needs to be taught the joys of reading aloud to their children. The book lists in the back where meh and the authors suggestions on how to find quality children’s literature were vastly different from the way I go about it (and not how I would recommend to friends to find good books for kids!).
I wanted more facts. I wanted more depth. I just wanted so much more out of this.
I adore reading aloud to my girls. This book really comes along side us with booklists and encouragement in the read-aloud life! Highly recommend.
To be honest, I devoured this book while we started reading 2 books out loud this week. one as a family and one with me and my oldest child alone. It helped reaffirm my conviction that the time is worth it...even on a busy day. If you have listened to the read-aloud-revival podcast from episode one, I don't think that you are necessarily going to find anything new or intensely riveting. In fact for much of the book I felt like I was finally just getting a written out transcription of all my favorites parts of all the episodes in the podcast. That is not to say that I regret having purchased and read the book. The book lists, the breaking down the lists into ages was incredibly helpful as I went about picking the few books I have time to read loud to my children this summer. I also highlighted many many quotes in my kindle app to come back to and enjoy in the future when I am running low on steam in my parenting. I loved holding a piece of the author in my hands to remember the reason I fell in love with the read aloud podcast when I found it and it was just on the 4th episode. I am grateful it's grown and that the author has taken time to write down her personal convictions so this subject can be shared with a larger and larger audience in the world. Worth a read and worth owning my own copy so I can spend a lifetime in the index of book titles at the end of the book and read every good book I can get my hands on.
Apparently this book was born out of a podcast I know nothing of, so if you're a fan of the podcast, you may like it. But here's a few things to know if not:
1) It's written from an in-your-face Christian perspective. Frequent bible quotes, and references to Jesus and God and her own perspective on what christian values kids should be getting from reading books. It's really to the point of distraction, like she's trying to prove something. This is nowhere discussed in the dust jacket and was a complete surprise to me.
2) It quotes heavily from two great books about reading, The Read-Aloud Handbook and Raising Kids Who Read. However, I felt she added little to what these two authors have already said.
3) She writes like she's giving a speech. I.e. lots of repetition in sentence structure rising to a fever pitch. It's annoying.
1) It's written from an in-your-face Christian perspective. Frequent bible quotes, and references to Jesus and God and her own perspective on what christian values kids should be getting from reading books. It's really to the point of distraction, like she's trying to prove something. This is nowhere discussed in the dust jacket and was a complete surprise to me.
2) It quotes heavily from two great books about reading, The Read-Aloud Handbook and Raising Kids Who Read. However, I felt she added little to what these two authors have already said.
3) She writes like she's giving a speech. I.e. lots of repetition in sentence structure rising to a fever pitch. It's annoying.
This was good, but didn't really introduce me to anything new or tell me much of anything I hadn't already thought of myself. I did enjoy the chapter on creating a book club culture in your home- will definitely implement some ideas from that section. And the book lists at the end were fun to read through.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
When I first heard of this book, I wondered how someone could possibly write more than a paragraph on the topic of reading aloud - let alone a whole book. Well it turns out you can, and I really loved this book! I know some of my fondest memories were being read aloud to all growing up, and I love doing it with my kids now, but this book put into words why it feels so special, what all the benefits are, how to set yourself up for success and so much more. I loved it and feel super inspired to read to my kids more, and affirmed that something I enjoy is a worthwhile use of our time!
This book reinforced things I already know--that reading with my kids is one of the best ways to spend time together--but it also gave me a new appreciation of reading out loud even after kids can read to themselves. I liked Sarah Mckenzie's warm style and her emphasis on the ways that books build relationships and wonder (even more important than academic development). The chapter on great questions to ask your kids was my favorite, and the reading lists at the end gave me a bunch of new authors to try. I made a lot of notes!
Side note: This book has some references to Christianity, God, and kids' Bible recommendations. This is a small part of the book overall, and part of the author's family and perspective; it didn't feel like a "religious" book to me. If you're sensitive to that stuff, though, it's worth knowing ahead of time.
Side note: This book has some references to Christianity, God, and kids' Bible recommendations. This is a small part of the book overall, and part of the author's family and perspective; it didn't feel like a "religious" book to me. If you're sensitive to that stuff, though, it's worth knowing ahead of time.
informative
inspiring
fast-paced