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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
I loved everything about this book! It was the perfect mix of statistics, personal experiences (from her and others she talked with), and practical advice. I loved the references to other books teaching about the importance of reading and reading aloud and I loved the references to novels and pictures books (it made me want to go read or reread all of them!). I like the way the book list is organized in the back; I'm excited to check out the ones I haven't read with my kids yet and agreed with the ones we have read that they're great ones (I only went through the book list up to my kids' ages).
My favorite part of the book was when she talked about compelling questions, it was a concept that was unique from other books I've read more similar to this one, but also really useful and important. I also felt that it applied to myself as well as to conversations I have with my kids--I want to start keeping a better book journal and asking myself some of these questions as I'm reading to enhance my own experience.
I thought this book was very well done and had such useful and inspiring information in it. Even though I already knew how important it is to read aloud, I still found a lot to inspire me to be better and thought the book was very useful and contained unique information. Definitely a must for our home library!
My favorite part of the book was when she talked about compelling questions, it was a concept that was unique from other books I've read more similar to this one, but also really useful and important. I also felt that it applied to myself as well as to conversations I have with my kids--I want to start keeping a better book journal and asking myself some of these questions as I'm reading to enhance my own experience.
I thought this book was very well done and had such useful and inspiring information in it. Even though I already knew how important it is to read aloud, I still found a lot to inspire me to be better and thought the book was very useful and contained unique information. Definitely a must for our home library!
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
This was more of a skim for me. Wanted to see what she said about reading aloud with teens and also her book recommendations. Not super earth shattering, but a good reminder about how simple things can make a huge impact in a family's life.
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
I loved this book. It's got a lot of great practical suggestions for reading aloud with your family, at whatever stage. It's a quick read with plenty of resources and book recommendations. I really appreciate the research and statics put into it without feeling like I'm reading a research article.
Didn’t need convincing on the reasons reading aloud is important, but did love the section on why it’s good to let kids do quiet activities while you’re reading, as well as the book recommendation lists.
Full of great information, hints, tips, advice, suggestions, etc. It really is quite helpful.
The only thing that hindered my enjoyment of this book a little bit was the fact that it is a bit religious and I am secular as a parent and homeschooler (and very much not Christian on a personal level lol). It's not overly religious really, I have read/heard worse. I would say it averages out to about 1-2 groan worthy comments per chapter, approximately. And part three, where she gives recs for books for each age group, also includes recs for bibles for each age group. Kind of pointless for me, but thanks I guess.
I would still recommend this to secular homeschoolers/parents. While I wouldn't recommend a non-secular book or resource for you to use with your kids, this is purely for the parent to read so it shouldn't be a problem. If you can deal with the occasional ugh comment, then this is a great book to listen to.
The only thing that hindered my enjoyment of this book a little bit was the fact that it is a bit religious and I am secular as a parent and homeschooler (and very much not Christian on a personal level lol). It's not overly religious really, I have read/heard worse. I would say it averages out to about 1-2 groan worthy comments per chapter, approximately. And part three, where she gives recs for books for each age group, also includes recs for bibles for each age group. Kind of pointless for me, but thanks I guess.
I would still recommend this to secular homeschoolers/parents. While I wouldn't recommend a non-secular book or resource for you to use with your kids, this is purely for the parent to read so it shouldn't be a problem. If you can deal with the occasional ugh comment, then this is a great book to listen to.
Most of the book was underwhelming but I really appreciated this list of suggested discussion questions on books (chapter 11). This list is longer and richer than the suggested discussion question list you'll find on her blog...
The other major thing I took away was to build a book reading /book club culture in the home, involving shared read alouds as early as possible in the kids life and as late into teen years as possible (audio books help there).
So why a low rating? It is obviously written by a blogger. It's full of her own and other people's stories, with the occasional bit of research thrown in occasionally. While I heartily agree with and applaud the thesis, most of the book had minimal substance. But perhaps that's because my family already reads a ton. This may be a better fit for people who feel the need to create a book reading culture in the home.
The other major thing I took away was to build a book reading /book club culture in the home, involving shared read alouds as early as possible in the kids life and as late into teen years as possible (audio books help there).
So why a low rating? It is obviously written by a blogger. It's full of her own and other people's stories, with the occasional bit of research thrown in occasionally. While I heartily agree with and applaud the thesis, most of the book had minimal substance. But perhaps that's because my family already reads a ton. This may be a better fit for people who feel the need to create a book reading culture in the home.
As a fan of the Read Aloud Revival podcast from the very beginning, I was thrilled when I learned that Sarah Mackenzie was writing this book. I am someone who learned much from the podcast and experienced deepened relationships with both of my kids once I started reading aloud to them again on a regular basis. If you too have been a frequent listener of the podcast, much in the book will seem familiar to you. However, there are plenty of fresh ideas and inspiration that make this book worthwhile.
Sarah’s writing is friendly, warm, and conversational. She proposes early on that reading aloud to our kids is the best use of our time and energy as parents, and then sets out to support that claim. She shares many stories from her own experience of reading aloud to her six children over the years. She also draws from the work of Jim Trelease, Andrew Pudewa, Katherine Paterson, Dr. Joseph Price and others to substantiate the effectiveness of reading aloud to our children for academic success, for nurturing empathy and compassion, and for creating and strengthening the bond within the family.
Sarah has filled the book with practicable, easy to apply techniques for making reading aloud successful in your home. She offers methods for getting started and for creating a culture of reading in the home. She supplies the reader with ten questions for parents to ask to have meaningful conversations with our kids, and lists activities for kids to do while listening to a book. She also teaches us how to become a literary matchmaker for our kids, offers tips for what to do when you hit a speed bump, and she even takes on the potentially intimidating task of starting read alouds with teenagers. The last section of the book contains a booklist of great read alouds for all ages with a brief description of each book.
I’d recommend The Read Aloud Family to any parent who, as Sarah puts it in the book, wants to go “all-in for our kids” and create connections that really matter.
I received a free ARC copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
2nd reading - July 2018 Even better the second time through. I've started giving this book as my go-to baby shower gift for new moms. I can't think of anything better!
Sarah’s writing is friendly, warm, and conversational. She proposes early on that reading aloud to our kids is the best use of our time and energy as parents, and then sets out to support that claim. She shares many stories from her own experience of reading aloud to her six children over the years. She also draws from the work of Jim Trelease, Andrew Pudewa, Katherine Paterson, Dr. Joseph Price and others to substantiate the effectiveness of reading aloud to our children for academic success, for nurturing empathy and compassion, and for creating and strengthening the bond within the family.
Sarah has filled the book with practicable, easy to apply techniques for making reading aloud successful in your home. She offers methods for getting started and for creating a culture of reading in the home. She supplies the reader with ten questions for parents to ask to have meaningful conversations with our kids, and lists activities for kids to do while listening to a book. She also teaches us how to become a literary matchmaker for our kids, offers tips for what to do when you hit a speed bump, and she even takes on the potentially intimidating task of starting read alouds with teenagers. The last section of the book contains a booklist of great read alouds for all ages with a brief description of each book.
I’d recommend The Read Aloud Family to any parent who, as Sarah puts it in the book, wants to go “all-in for our kids” and create connections that really matter.
I received a free ARC copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
2nd reading - July 2018 Even better the second time through. I've started giving this book as my go-to baby shower gift for new moms. I can't think of anything better!