Cognitive process of decoding symbols to derive meaning
POPULARITY
Categories
893 episodes with read aloud
308 episodes with read aloud
101 episodes with read aloud
123 episodes with read aloud
80 episodes with read aloud
30 episodes with read aloud
43 episodes with read aloud
24 episodes with read aloud
14 episodes with read aloud
22 episodes with read aloud
10 episodes with read aloud
13 episodes with read aloud
9 episodes with read aloud
10 episodes with read aloud
8 episodes with read aloud
8 episodes with read aloud
8 episodes with read aloud
11 episodes with read aloud
6 episodes with read aloud
19 episodes with read aloud
10 episodes with read aloud
10 episodes with read aloud
8 episodes with read aloud
6 episodes with read aloud
6 episodes with read aloud
4 episodes with read aloud
7 episodes with read aloud
5 episodes with read aloud
10 episodes with read aloud
4 episodes with read aloud
10 episodes with read aloud
9 episodes with read aloud
4 episodes with read aloud
5 episodes with read aloud
4 episodes with read aloud
6 episodes with read aloud
25 episodes with read aloud
4 episodes with read aloud
2 episodes with read aloud
3 episodes with read aloud
4 episodes with read aloud
19 episodes with read aloud
4 episodes with read aloud
6 episodes with read aloud
7 episodes with read aloud
21 episodes with read aloud
4 episodes with read aloud
2 episodes with read aloud
2 episodes with read aloud
4 episodes with read aloud
6 episodes with read aloud
3 episodes with read aloud
2 episodes with read aloud
3 episodes with read aloud
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. When I mention Shakespeare, a lot of people immediately conjure up visions of high school English class, struggling through Julius Caesar line by line.Which is an absolute shame, because Shakespeare's plays are meant to be experienced–performed, seen, heard, felt. And experiencing Shakespeare with your kids is truly one of the most joyful things you can do together.Today, I'm returning to my conversation with one of my favorite Shakespeare lovers, Ken Ludwig.Ken is the author of How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare and one of our most celebrated, widely-performed playwrights. His plays are performed every single night of the year, and his enthusiasm for Shakespeare is utterly contagious and in this episode, we not only nerd out about our favorite plays, but share how to make teaching Shakespeare a true delight for you and your children.In this episode, you'll hear: Easy tips for breaking down passages for young kids to make them fun and memorableWhy Shakespeare is the best way to introduce children to complex, inventive, and beautiful language How Shakespeare's work informs all of the English literature (and plays and TV and movies!) that followed itLearn more about Sarah Mackenzie:Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/joy-of-shakespeare
In This Episode We DiscussWhy student thinking—not compliance—became a central theme throughout Season 12How read aloud, accountable talk, writing, and learning science all connect to helping learning stickThe difference between understanding something during a lesson and actually learning it over timeWhy retrieval practice matters and how simple instructional moves can strengthen memoryWhat high expectations look like in literacy instruction and why they are easier to maintain than rebuildHow writing serves as a powerful tool for thinking, organizing ideas, and demonstrating understandingThe overarching lesson from Season 12: learning is not accidental—it is designedAs you reflect on this school year, consider:What instructional practice had the biggest impact on student learning this year?What did you learn about yourself as an educator?What is one thing you want to stop doing next year?What is one thing you want to do more intentionally?What do you now know about teaching that you didn't know in August?Throughout the summer, we'll be revisiting some of the most impactful conversations from the podcast while reflecting on how to move forward with greater clarity and intention.Topics will include:Systems and teacher sustainabilityAvoiding survival modeTier 1 instructionDifferentiationGuided readingSupporting struggling readersSupporting advanced readersSelf-efficacy and transferBuilding instructional clarityThe goal isn't to add more to your plate.The goal is to help you reflect, refine, and rebuild before next school year begins.As you listen, consider this question:What idea from this season most changed the way you think about literacy instruction?Not your favorite strategy.Not your favorite resource.What idea changed the way you think?Because lasting instructional growth often starts with a shift in thinking before it shows up in practice.If you're looking for a thinking partner as you strengthen literacy instruction in your classroom, school, or district, I'd love to support you.Join the email list for summer reflections and resourcesLearn more about coaching and professional learning opportunitiesExplore literacy workshops and professional development optionsRemember:You don't need permission to teach well.You need the tools to lead your own practice.
Hero Tales from American History by Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt - The Battle of Trenton (Henry Cabot Lodge)In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Hero Tales from American History, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages."Hero Tales from American History" is a collection of stories by Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt that celebrates notable American figures and their contributions to the nation, emphasizing themes of courage, patriotism, and heroism. The book includes accounts of key historical events and figures, such as George Washington and Daniel Boone, aimed at inspiring young Americans.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Hero Tales from American History by Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt - George Rogers Clark and the Conquest of the Northwest (Theodore Roosevelt)In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Hero Tales from American History, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages."Hero Tales from American History" is a collection of stories by Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt that celebrates notable American figures and their contributions to the nation, emphasizing themes of courage, patriotism, and heroism. The book includes accounts of key historical events and figures, such as George Washington and Daniel Boone, aimed at inspiring young Americans.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Are read-alouds still worth making time for in an upper elementary classroom? According to literacy researcher and author Dr. Molly Ness—they absolutely are.In this episode, we dive into the research-backed benefits of read-alouds and why they still play an essential role in a Science of Reading-aligned literacy block. From building vocabulary and background knowledge to increasing engagement and comprehension, Dr. Ness shares practical insights teachers can immediately apply in their classrooms.If you've ever questioned whether read-alouds are “enough” academically, this conversation will remind you just how powerful they can be.
Hero Tales from American History by Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt - Daniel Boone and the Founding of Kentucky (Theodore Roosevelt)In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Hero Tales from American History, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages."Hero Tales from American History" is a collection of stories by Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt that celebrates notable American figures and their contributions to the nation, emphasizing themes of courage, patriotism, and heroism. The book includes accounts of key historical events and figures, such as George Washington and Daniel Boone, aimed at inspiring young Americans.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Hero Tales from American History by Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt - George Washington (Henry Cabot Lodge)In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Hero Tales from American History, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages."Hero Tales from American History" is a collection of stories by Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt that celebrates notable American figures and their contributions to the nation, emphasizing themes of courage, patriotism, and heroism. The book includes accounts of key historical events and figures, such as George Washington and Daniel Boone, aimed at inspiring young Americans.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. How do we homeschool high school? It's *the* question, isn't it?A lot of us go into homeschooling ready and excited for the younger years. Then as high school approaches, things start to feel… a little more complicated. To say the least. Navigating difficult subjects, transcripts, college applications, and alternatives to college if that isn't a good fit for your child can be intimidating.It's no wonder that homeschooling high school is one of the most-asked topics here at RAR.As many of you know, I have three kids who I homeschooled through high school who are now in college and beyond. My guest today is also an experienced homeschool mom who's had two of her six children graduate high school and move on to college. Rachel Kovac is a speaker, educator, and the author of the new book, Their Future is Shining Bright: A Guide to Homeschooling High School. I invited her to talk with me about the nitty gritty details of getting your kids through high school, as well as to share some big-picture encouragement as you face the challenges of the high school years.In this episode, you'll hear: Why the high school years feel so intimidating and what you can do to support a growth mindset for your teenHow your role shifts as your kids enter high school (and why it's something to look forward to!)Balancing doing less in your homeschool with keeping doors and paths open for your kidsLearn more about Sarah Mackenzie:Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/rachel-kovac
Hero Tales from American History by Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt - IntroductionIn this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Hero Tales from American History, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages."Hero Tales from American History" is a collection of stories by Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt that celebrates notable American figures and their contributions to the nation, emphasizing themes of courage, patriotism, and heroism. The book includes accounts of key historical events and figures, such as George Washington and Daniel Boone, aimed at inspiring young Americans.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Flag In Hiding by Trella Lamson Dick - Chapter 15In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Flag in Hiding, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages.In 1777 Colonial America, the Stewart family finds themselves and their farm in the middle of a Tory stronghold in New York. Fourteen-year-old Randy Stewart, inspired by Patrick Henry's famous speech, is determined to help the Patriots and quickly finds himself in great danger. Surprise is around every corner in this beautifully written historical fiction that the whole family will love.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
That word wasn't just for Jeremiah. It's for you, mom.LINKS:Download How to Pray God's Word for Your ChildrenFollow Everyday Prayers @MillionPrayingMoms A Prayer to Understand the Power of the Word Read Aloud by Nicolet Bell Today's episode of Everyday Prayers is a beautiful reminder that when God calls you to speak His word — over your kids, in your home, in the hard moments — He will be with you. You don't have to be a Bible scholar. You just have to be willing. Reference: Jeremiah 1: 4-10 Prayer: Father, I thank you for the great power of your Word. We don’t want to read and know your word just for the sake of knowledge, we want to read your word for the sake of relationship. The Bible, your holy word to us is how we know you and become more like you. Give us the boldness this week to read aloud God’s word in our homes. Help us to trust you to move and work in our lives as we submit our lives to you. Thank you for your promise to never leave us and that we don’t have to be afraid. In Jesus’ name, amen. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Flag In Hiding by Trella Lamson Dick - Chapter 14In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Flag in Hiding, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages.In 1777 Colonial America, the Stewart family finds themselves and their farm in the middle of a Tory stronghold in New York. Fourteen-year-old Randy Stewart, inspired by Patrick Henry's famous speech, is determined to help the Patriots and quickly finds himself in great danger. Surprise is around every corner in this beautifully written historical fiction that the whole family will love.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Join us for RAR's Summer Adventure. One of the very best ways to travel with your children is through books.Physically travelling as a family isn't always possible for a variety of reasons, but by reading with our kids, we give them the gift of windows into unfamiliar worlds. Stories develop empathy and invite us to engage with another's experiences in ways that can even go deeper than visiting a place in real life. Today, RAR's Creative Director (and my eldest daughter) Audrey is with me to talk about the power of books to take us places, even when we're not able to go far from home ourselves. In this episode, you'll hear: How stories help us engage with creativity, community, and our CreatorHow books can give us deeper connections to the places we do travelHow reading–and especially reading aloud!–cultivates curiosity and wonderLearn more about Sarah Mackenzie:Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/books-take-us-places
Flag In Hiding by Trella Lamson Dick - Chapter 13In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Flag in Hiding, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages.In 1777 Colonial America, the Stewart family finds themselves and their farm in the middle of a Tory stronghold in New York. Fourteen-year-old Randy Stewart, inspired by Patrick Henry's famous speech, is determined to help the Patriots and quickly finds himself in great danger. Surprise is around every corner in this beautifully written historical fiction that the whole family will love.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Flag In Hiding by Trella Lamson Dick - Chapter 12In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Flag in Hiding, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages.In 1777 Colonial America, the Stewart family finds themselves and their farm in the middle of a Tory stronghold in New York. Fourteen-year-old Randy Stewart, inspired by Patrick Henry's famous speech, is determined to help the Patriots and quickly finds himself in great danger. Surprise is around every corner in this beautifully written historical fiction that the whole family will love.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
What Books are Healthiest for Your Tween or Teen an Interview with Betsy Farquhar and Hayley Morell (Episode 293) *Disclaimer: Some of this content is not intended for young audiences. Please use discretion. Proverbs 4:7 NIV “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” *Transcription Below* Betsy Farquhar holds Masters degrees in Children's Literature and Information and Library Science. She taught middle and high school English, homeschooled her three children, and has served on many book award committees. Hayley Morell loves reading, writing, trying new recipes, knitting, or chatting with her parrot. Hayley loves traveling and lived abroad in Europe and Asia. She and her husband and infant live in Wisconsin in an old house overflowing with books and are active in their local community. Their Website, Book, and Social Media Handles: Instagram @redeemed_reader and Facebook: @redeemedreader Thank you to our sponsor: Sam Leman Eureka Questions and Topics We Cover: What are some benefits of reading and why is it worthwhile to devote our time to curating a healthy diet of books? Can you elaborate on why the Young Adult or YA category is the most controversial? What is on your radar for genres or books that will require even more discernment in the future? Other Savvy Sauce Episode Mentioned: 21. Promoting a Family Culture of Reading with Megan Kaeb 22. Inspiring Your Children to Become Readers, Part Two with Megan Kaeb 253. Low Tech Parenting with Erin Loechner 273. Wise Living: Why to Get Outside, and Travel, and Read Aloud with Amber O'Neal Johnston Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“ Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“ Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” *Transcription* Music: (0:00 – 0:11) Laura Dugger: (0:12 - 1:46) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here. The principles of honesty and integrity that Sam Leman founded his business on continue today over 55 years later at Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka. Owned and operated by the Bertschi family, Sam Leman and Eureka appreciates the support they've received from their customers all over Central Illinois and beyond. Visit them today at lemangm.com. My guests for today are Betsy Farquhar and Haley Morrill, two of the four authors of this book, The Redeemed Reader, which is also the name of the website that they run together where they have thousands of book reviews for children and tweens and teens. We all know that books are so powerful, so it's vitally important that we're discerning both for what we're intaking and the filters that we use to allow our children to engage with books in our home. We're going to sprinkle book recommendations throughout this episode, and you're also going to learn some surprising things, such as more details about the YA or young adult category. Here's our chat. Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Betsy and Haley. Betsy Farquhar: (1:48 - 1:49) Thanks. It's good to be here. Laura Dugger: (1:50 - 1:57) I would love to just start out hearing the way that the two of you found your way into the work that you get to do today. Betsy Farquhar: (1:58 - 2:42) Mine started way back in the 1900s when I was in college. I did my senior thesis on children's literature, George MacDonald, and that led to a children's literature class my last semester, which led me to grad school with one of my now co-workers, but at the time fellow students and friends, and we got our master's in children's literature. And then rabbit trail, lots of detours, children, marriage. She and I started a blog back when those were cool and hip, and it was reviewing children's books and that was just for fun. And then we connected with Janie and Emily from Redeemed Reader. Through that blog venue, we were commenting on each other's blogs, and they brought us on board. And so here we are 15 years later. Hayley Morell: (2:43 - 3:38) And for me, I was a high schooler. I was homeschooled. I loved reading. So, I started my own blog back in the teenage years and I was always looking for book recommendations and came upon Redeemed Reader in the early days. I turned out they were looking for an intern. I started interning and at the end of my internship, Emily Witten, who was our founder, asked if I'd like to stay on. And that was 14 or 15 years ago now. So, I was younger. And so, I had a period at college. I studied at Boyce College. I worked in children's ministry and worked as a private tutor. So, a lot of interactions with children. I was known as the babysitter with the book bag for a number of years. And now I've got my own little, and so I'm in the land of board books and happily working at Redeemed Reader. Laura Dugger: (3:39 - 3:49) I love hearing that. And if people are watching this through video, can you both just say your name, so we know who's Betsy and who's Haley? I'm Haley. Betsy Farquhar: (3:50 - 3:51) I'm Betsy. Laura Dugger: (3:52 - 4:07) Okay, wonderful. Thank you for that. And at Redeemed Reader, I'm assuming you have so many book recommendations to try and read and review. So, how do you even determine which books you are going to review? Hayley Morell: (4:08 - 7:49) So, right now we are wrapping up one of the things we love doing, which is providing award coverage. In January is when the American Library Association announces their awards, and they like to recognize the best middle grade with the Newberry, the best picture books with the Caldecott, and then a number of other awards. We know that those books are going to be going into lots of libraries and schools. And so, we like to provide coverage of that and review those books that we know parents are going to be seeing on shelves and wondering, is this a good book? Should we be reading this? What do we want to check out? We also like to watch what is popular. What is causing discussion? So, several years ago, that was The Hunger Games. And there was a lot of questions about dystopia. Should we be reading this? Is this helpful? Do I want my teen reading The Hunger Games? More recently, some popular middle grade series like Keeper of the Lost Cities have had a lot of parents asking, what is this series? Is there anything I should know about? And so, we try to have a balanced review. We review books that you're going to find at the library. We also like to review books that maybe you wouldn't know about. So, a smaller Christian imprint, for example, we like to review that type of book to encourage readers to read widely, to read Christian authors, to read secular authors. We like books. And so, we each bring our own specialty to the team and experience. Janie, who's our senior editor, is a children's author. She loves history. And so, as the community relations manager, I tend to handle review requests. So, when somebody asks us, can you review this book? It's popular. Or I'm an author. I wrote a book. Can you review it? I'll look at the book. I'll look at how hard is it to get? We do try to review books that are easy to find, that you might find in your local library. But then I'll look at our team. So, for Janie, if it is going to be a nonfiction history, let's say for a 10 to 12-year-old, I know that's going to be up her alley. Meanwhile, Betsy loves poetry. She loves nature, nonfiction. Betsy is a very, I'd say you're one of our Renaissance people. And so, I know Betsy is going to be inclined towards maybe a novel and verse. And she also likes dealing with high school books. You've got that teacher education background, where if it is an epic poem, Betsy is going to be our reviewer. Megan is our amazing picture book author. She's super creative, loves picture books. Megan is who I turn to when I find a picture book. Meanwhile, I used to handle as I was the team member of the team and then turned into my 20s. So, I gravitated toward YA, and I still love a good YA fantasy. But I am now in board book land and picture books. So, I have been expanding my reach. I do serve on our middle grade fiction, so I can help out with middle grades. But each of us will flex in, flex out. Megan has a large family of boys. And so, if it's a boy book, she is a great person. We love to send those to her to see if her boys like them. And that's, I could keep going because we love books, but that's a big snapshot. Laura Dugger: (7:50 - 8:09) That's so helpful because you cover such a wide variety of books throughout your team. And as curators of book reviews, what questions are you most commonly receiving, both from young people and maybe their parents as well? Hayley Morell: (8:12 - 9:22) I think we often get questions like, is this book clean? Is this book safe? And we like to kind of change that question. And we like to say, why is the content in this book? Because that can be different, you know, depending on something that is in a picture book, which wouldn't be appropriate for an age, could be very appropriate for a YA book and a great discussion starter. So, it definitely depends on the content and what audience and what age of the audience we're dealing with. So, we try to, as people ask us, well, is this safe or is this clean? Should I read this? We want to build discernment and encourage parents to interact, parents and educators to interact with our reviews. And they know their reader. They know how their reader is going to receive a book. And what questions might come up. And so, we like to help interact with that conversation. And then there's another kind of question we often get, which I'm going to let Betsy answer. Betsy Farquhar: (9:23 - 10:10) The other question is, my kid likes blank kind of book or is blank kind of reader. What do I get for him or her? And so that, of course, can vary widely. But people love to know what book is right for my family or my classroom or my child. And so, we try to write our reviews with that question in mind, not to make a blanket statement, you should all read this book, or nobody should read this book, but to give parents and educators enough information to make that decision for themselves. And then we started doing these reels on Instagram, where we're pretending we're answering a customer service phone call with questions we've been asked, right? My son only likes video games, or my daughter doesn't want fantasy, but she reads these kinds of books. And so, we try to help people think that through. Laura Dugger: (10:10 - 10:14) So, that's really how we continue. Hayley Morell: (10:15 - 11:09) Sorry. And one more question that we often get because we are book reviewers is, will you review my book? And so, at that point, we do have a process. We encourage people to submit a request. And it could be maybe a book they're curious about and would just like a review from us, or they're an author or a publisher. And so, in that case, we direct them to our review submission form. And like I said before, we are definitely looking for books that are easy to find. That will encourage us to review a book, because while we love books that are like smaller imprints, et cetera, and we do try to provide coverage for that, we also are aware that a lot of our audience only has their library or their school library. And so, we are trying to do books that are easy to find and accessible for our readers. Laura Dugger: (11:10 - 11:40) Okay, that's really helpful to hear what people are writing in and asking you about. And so, hearing the sweet spot from each team member, and then Betsy, how you mentioned people love to know what's right for my family. So, no, this won't fit every situation. But can you give examples of maybe books that the four of you find yourselves recommending quite a bit because they are ones that fit a wide range of people? Betsy Farquhar: (11:41 - 13:39) Of course, we put a ton of recommendations in our book that came out in the fall. And those are sort of our most common recommendations. We have a place on our website called Starred Reviews. And those are the best of the best in our mind of their genre. So, if you're looking for graphic novels, and you see a star on a graphic novel, it's because we think this is an amazing graphic novel. So, that's just a helpful framework, because of course, people are all over the map, right? We're in the midst of whittling down our Book of the Year for this year. And we also have our Reader's Choice Book of the Year. And those books are ones we tend to recommend all the time. So, I'm going to give you just some samples of what are on our Reader's Choice list, because that is a public list. And I can't reveal the 2025 releases we're considering for the other one. But for our Book of the Year for the Reader's Choice this year, we have The Found Boys by S. D. Smith. We've got, I've got them all right here, Olivetti by Allie Millington. There's The Hiding Place: A Graphic Novel and the Watership Down: The Graphic Novel that are both really fun. People have really enjoyed them. We've got the first book in The Dream Keeper Saga by Kathryn L. Butler. That's a Christian fantasy series. We've got Enemies in the Orchard, which is the novel in verse about World War II. One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome, which is another novel in verse about some Black pioneers going west on a wagon train. And that might be, oh, The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo. Kate DiCamillo is a super prolific author, and we do recommend her books often. Her book, Ferris, was our Book of the Year last year. So, there's just a quick sampling of some middle grades' books. And middle grades, for people who don't know, that's the broad fourth through eighth grade age range. You think of like ages 8 to 12. And they tend to be the broadest in audience. You can usually read those aloud to a younger audience, or even teenagers might find them enjoyable. So, that's a good start. Hayley Morell: (13:40 - 14:29) I do think one of the beauties of our team is that we've worked together for a long time. And we trust our team. And so, I will happily recommend a book that I haven't seen, but I know Betsy loved and reviewed. And it's so fun reading the same books. So, like right now, since we're on award committees, we are seeing a lot of the same books and getting to talk about them. But I think it's one of our strengths that we each bring something to the table. And I would say if someone really likes history, I'm going to look at what Janie has loved recently, because I know she is looking for those good new history books. And its so fun recommending books and getting to play to our strengths. Laura Dugger: (14:31 - 16:16) And that comes out in book recommendations. When you're passionate about what you're reading, it's naturally contagious, I think. And now a brief message from our sponsor. Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka has been owned and operated by the Bertschi family for over 25 years. A lot has changed in the car business since Sam and Stephen's grandfather, Sam Leman, opened his first Chevrolet dealership over 55 years ago. If you visit their dealership today, though, you'll find that not everything has changed. They still operate their dealership like their grandfather did, with honesty and integrity. Sam and Stephen understand that you have many different choices in where you buy or service your vehicle. This is why they do everything they can to make the car buying process as easy and hassle-free as possible. They are thankful for the many lasting friendships that began with a simple welcome to Sam Leman's. Their customers keep coming back because they experience something different. I've known Sam and Stephen and their wives my entire life, and I can vouch for their character and integrity, which makes it easy to highly recommend you check them out today. Your car buying process doesn't have to be something you dread, so come see for yourself at Sam Leman Chevrolet in Eureka. Sam and Stephen would love to see you, and they appreciate your business. Learn more at their website, LemanEureka.com or visit them on Facebook by searching for Sam Leman Eureka. You can also call them on 309-467-2351. Thanks for your sponsorship. I'm curious, over the years, what character qualities have you noticed in people who are now adults, but they originally fell in love with reading in childhood? Betsy Farquhar: (16:17 - 17:39) So, that's a pretty broad question. I would think, I'm just going to paint this with broad strokes. People who read typically are people who think, and especially in a day and age where we're bombarded with screens and soundbites all the time, if somebody can actually read an analog book from start to finish, then typically they're going to be able to think about ideas in a different way than people who are just existing on soundbites. So, the ability to think is pretty critical. There's been a lot of studies that show that people who read also have better empathy. It's just a way we can sort of step into somebody else's shoes, especially if we're reading a story about somebody who perhaps lived in a different time period, or they're from a different ethnic background, or even if there's just a different socioeconomic level, it helps us understand the people on the other side a little bit better. So, that kind of, this twin characteristics of empathy and thoughtfulness, I think are pretty common. We all go through seasons where we don't read as much, whether we're stressed or perhaps, my kids are in college and they were avid readers in high school, and they're not doing a lot of reading for fun right now, but they know how to read and they enjoy it. So, they'll probably come back to that in the future. So, I think that's a helpful thing to remember, just because your eight-year-old loves reading, when he or she is 18, they may not be reading as much, and that's okay. They'll probably come back to it. Hayley Morell: (17:40 - 17:53) And I've definitely seen that with younger siblings too, burning out and then all of a sudden back, asking for book recommendations. And it's fun to know that reading habits stick around. Laura Dugger: (17:55 - 18:38) That's well said. And yet, even if they lie dormant for a while, they may be reawakened in adulthood. But I think I find it's less common for someone to fall in love with reading for their first time as an adult. So, I think it's very beneficial as parents to cultivate or instill this love of reading in our children. And you two are the experts. So, I'd love to hear your take on this. What are some of the benefits of reading? And why is it worthwhile to devote our time to curating a healthy diet of books, both for ourselves, but especially for our children? Hayley Morell: (18:39 - 20:06) Betsy, I think you might've said this once, but I think it came up as we were talking about writing our book. As I have a small child who's just starting to notice pages and we're reading board books and he's trying to reach for it. I remember someone once said that reading to a very young child, they're not registering the story yet. They might be registering the pictures. But the time that we're taking reading, when I read to him or when my husband gets home from work and they read one board book together, he's not really looking at the book as much as he's looking at our face and hearing our voice. And books are becoming something that we do together and that we do as a family. And it's a way that we're building relationships. And I think that's a great encouragement to me to keep reading. And I have nieces and nephews who loved books. And then that's something that we enjoy the story together and we'll laugh over silly stories and we'll read. But I think that it's something that as we want to like curate our collections but also think about how are we encouraging children to love reading. It's if they see us reading too and see us enjoying books and still picking up a book ourselves. I'm not sure, Betsy, if you have anything that you would add to that. Betsy Farquhar: (20:07 - 20:41) Well, I just think the better we read anything, the better equipped we are to read the story in the Bible because God revealed himself to us in a written book. And so, we're sort of flexing those muscles when we read. And the more we can engage with what we read, even if it's a picture book with a five-year-old, we're beginning that practice of developing discernment. And that's part of discipling our children. So, I do think it's all part of the same picture. It's not going to look the same for every family but just working on developing those muscles of discernment and reading intelligently, that's going to go a long way. Laura Dugger: (20:43 - 22:07) I love how you bring in the Bible that is so important. And I found myself even just this week at bedtime praying over our daughters that they would have a love for the written word because that is what God has gifted to us. And I love how the word became flesh and dwelt among us, but he is the original storyteller and has instilled that in each of us. And I think just a very practical way at any age to help our children cultivate this love is by reading aloud. And we recently were on a family vacation and had a rental vehicle and we had a long drive-in front of us and listened to the radio for a while. But we also like this tradition of reading one book aloud on a vacation. So, we remember our time in Florida from one year was a place to hang the moon and it was a different book this year, but I get car sick while we're driving. So, I couldn't read it aloud. So, our oldest daughter read it aloud for all of us. And I realized how much attention and focus is required and imagination to paint these pictures of the characters in your mind. And I just thought, wow, there's so much learning that's going on even as the one listening to the book, not reading the actual words. Betsy Farquhar: (22:09 - 22:15) And a place to hang the moon was our reader's choice favorite last year. So, lots of our readers have read that one. Laura Dugger: (22:16 - 22:36) It's such a good one. And as wonderful as books are, they're also powerful and influential. So, as you've reiterated, discernment is required. And I'd love for you to elaborate on why the young adult, or the YA category can be the most controversial. Hayley Morell: (22:38 - 25:12) Young adult protagonists are often upper teenage years. And so, we like to say, as we mentioned in our book, no topic is out of bounds. And this means that there can be a lot going on and a lot of messiness. We like to use that word as we're talking about that. And sometimes the messiness can be thought provoking. Sometimes it can be provocative. And we have noticed often YA deals with questions of identity. Who am I? How do I relate to the world? And that can look like lots of different things. It can include sexual identity, which can lead to a lot of conversations. But something that we like to lean into as we look at the YA genre is that in a world where everything is constantly shifting, as you have a teen and they're encountering conversations at school, conversations with peers, or using social media, having an ever-changing feed that I can look at my Instagram feed and it's going to look nothing like a teenager's Instagram feed. Even if you're looking at the same account, the way that reels are coming, they're getting bombarded with messages. The messiest of books is static. And you both can look at that and read the cover, read what's going on, and talk about it. And you both have the same place to have a conversation. And so, we like to lean into that when we're looking at YA books and realize they are powerful, but they're powerful conversation starters. And books like, Betsy recently read a book, and it's called Bright Red Fruit. And it's a cautionary tale about a teenage girl who has a relationship with an older man that's predator. And he is taking advantage, trying to separate her that is an excellent conversation starter. It's not an easy book to read. You're reading it, getting worried for this girl, but it's a great way to say, let's read this book and let's talk about what a healthy relationship looks like, because this is not healthy. So, we love YA books that can provoke conversations. And sometimes it might be you both looking at a book and going, you know, this doesn't seem helpful. We don't need to finish this book. It's okay to stop reading a book and return it to the library. Laura Dugger: (25:12 - 26:11) I completely agree. And even with that YA section, one of our daughters was just saying, when I go through that section of the library, it seems like every single book is about death. And it did provoke a good conversation from that. But I think it was Sarah McKenzie who was the first person that I heard explain the difference between a middle grade novel or YA because from my understanding, middle grade isn't just for those grades. You even said younger ages can enjoy that and older. I have friends that only read middle grade novel now as adults. So, it's not just your reading level, but YA has different rules on it where I think you said anything goes, any topic is allowed. So, it doesn't mean that YA is necessarily what you have to graduate to once you enter high school. Is that right? Hayley Morell: (26:11 - 27:06) But yes, it's typically and the funny thing that you kind of leaned into it, some middle grade books definitely deal with coming of age or might even have a teenage protagonist, but it's written in a way that a 12 year old could read it and enjoy it. When you get into like the higher YA, it is more like young adults, people starting their own lives, having adventures, leaving home, going on quests. And like you said, bringing in some heavier topics. Now we have seen since like in the last five years, a lot of books dealing with death and grieving that are hitting that middle grade genre too, which can be helpful. But at the same time, if you're just reading sad books, you might want to change your diet and find a fun, happy book too. Laura Dugger: (27:07 - 27:31) Again, in a conversation like this, it has to be more general of a recommendation, but there's such a difference, I'm sure in YA for your 13-year-old versus your 18-year-old. So, for someone who does want to dip their toe into some YA books, do you have anyones that you find yourselves recommending again for that age group? Betsy Farquhar: (27:32 - 28:42) I'll jump in here. We've got a couple of book lists on our site that are, have actual number ages attached to them. Thirteen books for 13-year-old boys is a great one for that younger teen audience. But those tend to be, they're grappling with some coming-of-age issues, but they tend to be more adventure based in a sense and more fun. I think of the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan. There's a little bit of language. There's a little bit of romance, but it's very teen, young teen friendly. And its actually kind of a good picture of men being heroes and women are heroes in very, like the men are men, they're very masculine. And the women, even if they're part of the army, so to speak, they're still doing it in a feminine way. So, it's just kind of a nice sort of entry into some of those conversations. But then if you fast forward, by the time teens are in their upper teens, they should be able to read adult books too. And so, you might find yourself reading something like Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, which is very much written for an adult market, but very accessible to teens if they're willing to grapple with some of those ideas. But that book's going to be a lot heavier than a book for a 13-year-old. Laura Dugger: (28:44 - 29:05) That's helpful just to have examples. And I think it's also helpful to put this into context by reflecting back through time. So, just in America, what have you learned about the trends and the changes in libraries, specifically over the past 75 years? Betsy Farquhar: (29:06 - 31:30) So, I have a library degree too, so I love talking about libraries. In library science, we have a rule, it's called Ranganathan's Law, and it simply says every book is reader, which means that for every book out there, there's a reader out there. And libraries take that very seriously. No book is off the table for a public library. We had an entire class on serving our community. So, the goal behind a public library has always been to serve the community in which it's placed. Now that's changed a lot as our society has changed a lot. So, before World War II, most libraries were funded very locally, local taxes, they may have even been subscription-based, but after we have all these army vets coming back after World War II, they're going back to school later. We have this explosion of information access for people who can't get it. So, the Library Services Act was the first one. We've had lots of iterations since then. Now it includes technology. It started with giving federal dollars to rural libraries, and it's continued even to big cities now, but the focus is still on services for people who can't access them as easily. So, free Wi-Fi was a really big one before Wi-Fi was as broad spread. There are services for the blind and for other communities that might not be able to read as easily. So, it's still sort of an information hub, but I think that makes us uncomfortable sometimes as Christians because our society has changed so much that we go into a library now and we're like, I would never read this book to my kid. Well, but your neighbor might, and the public library is not the parent of your child. The public library is serving the whole community. So, go ahead and request them to stock some Christian books. A lot of them will buy the Christian books that you request because they want to serve you. You're part of their community. So, I think we just have to remember that their goal is broader. My goal as a parent is far more niche than my public librarian's goal to serve her community. She's not my enemy. Even if she's picking things for story time that I would never read to my children, it doesn't mean I have to ignore the library. I can love that those are image bearers. I can respectfully bring up my concerns, and I can suggest books and I can build a relationship with this fellow image bearer in my community. It can be a great mission field. So, yes, libraries are continually evolving. That's why they now offer you can even check out sports equipment. They're still trying to provide information and resources for the community. Hayley Morell: (31:32 - 32:01) I just recommended or requested two books that were Christian picture books that aren't in our system. And one of our librarians helped me fill out the form explaining why I wanted them. And I just got a notification yesterday. Both are on hold for me and have been added to our library. So, it's exciting. If you don't ask, you don't know if you're going to get it. I honestly was surprised. I was like, oh, they actually got the books I wanted. Laura Dugger: (32:02 - 32:56) It is so exciting when they do that. I love our local library, and the staff is just wonderful to work with. So, that's great encouragement for us to get to know them by name and have a relationship with them. And just to zero in on that one piece after World War II, I think that's tied to what so many people call is it the golden age of children's literature where some people will say we only read books before a certain year, like mid-1900s. But I love that you guys review even modern books because it's not that it was all better back then. But I do think there's a piece of truth in it that libraries had to be so discerning back then with less funding. And so maybe they had the best of the best available and then funds came in and we can have a wider range. Betsy Farquhar: (32:56 - 33:40) There's so many factors here historically because we could really nerd out, but I won't. But what's also being reflected is simply printmaking technology because the ability to print paperbacks, paperbacks as like a thing weren't a thing until the 20th century. So, books were incredibly expensive. You've got all those factors playing in too. So, not only are they getting different funding, but there is an explosion in printmaking technology that allows publishers to produce inexpensive books. And that allows families and libraries to buy more books. It's not dissimilar to the way we have digital media now that's got its own sort of technology behind the distribution of the digital books. So, there's a lot of factors involved in that. Laura Dugger: (33:41 - 34:03) That is fascinating. I'm glad you brought that up. And like I said, so helpful to look back. But now if we're also looking forward, I'd really appreciate your perspective on where we're headed. So, what's on your radar for genres or books that may require even more discernment in the future? Hayley Morell: (34:04 - 37:18) So, right now, romanticy is having a moment and that's a genre that is getting a lot of attention. There's a lot of marketing using that language. And I think it's really helpful to realize this is a marketing term. So, Fourth Wing became very popular. That is a book that is for adults. It has a lot of explicit sex. But it used the term romanticy and it sold very well. And so suddenly all books that are fantasy and have some romance are being called romanticy. And that could mean a lot of different things. So, what we're seeing is this term that if it's used in the YA genre, we don't know what it means going into a book. It might mean a lot of focus on romance and some unhelpful sex. It also could mean a really fun fantasy that happens to have a romantic angle. So, I recently gave a starred review to A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim. That's a Chinese fairy tale, beauty and the beast type story. And it is excellent. One of the marketing terms that used was romanticy. And it just is a wonderful fantasy story that has this thread of romance perfectly appropriate for teen readers. But that is a term that we're currently aware of. And this is a genre that we want to notice and take with a grain of salt. It's kind of a contrast on the other side. It's differentiating between romanticy has romance and then there's cozy fantasy, which is more cottage core, comfortable feeling. It also could have sex. So, there's, as we run into this fantasy genre, there's a lot of things going on, but it's definitely having a moment. And it's just nice to know what's going on and what cozy fantasy is going to be focused on character development, like very like a shopkeeper who inherits a cottage with a garden and grows mushrooms. That's cozy fantasy. Romanticy is a chosen one motif who's at some dramatic school. Dark academia is also having a moment where it's a lot of angst, a lot of little bit of horror. And some of it can be done really well because it's popular. There's a lot of it out there. And so, some discernment is required as you're figuring out, is this a book for adults or is this a book for teens? I think I would be cautious with books that are being marketed for adults as romanticy because you could run into some things that are meant for an adult audience and might not be helpful for that teenage reader of yours. Betsy Farquhar: (37:18 - 38:06) The only other thing I'll add, and this is sort of a different approach, but we're seeing a lot of genre blending. It's getting harder to say this is a mystery or this is a fantasy, even this is a historical fiction story. So, I think genre fiction in general is kind of having a moment. And when we say genre fiction, we really mean things like mystery, science fiction, romanticy, these sort of sub genres that are underneath the broader terms of realistic fiction or speculative fiction is an umbrella term that includes fantasy, dystopia, science fiction, magical realism, all the little niche downstream sort of sub genres. But we're seeing some really interesting things. It's going to be harder to automatically decide I like that genre, or I don't because they're just mixing and matching elements from all over the place. Laura Dugger: (38:08 - 39:15) Mm-hmm. That is helpful. I had never heard of some of those things that you just mentioned, but also I'd love for you to respond after I shared this story. I had a previous guest, Megan Cabe, who used to run a blog. It was called Young Book Love and she would review, I think, middle grade novels, maybe a little bit of YA, but she would say most topics are beneficial to read, even if they're difficult, what you all refer to as messy books. But she did provide extra caution and just said she strongly advised against explicit sexual content because those mental images have a way of sticking with us. And I agree with her. I would also add sometimes what's not appropriate for our children is not appropriate for us either. And just a funny way to remember this, I had a loved one recently who just said, “You can't sugarcoat a turd. I'd love your take on all of that.” Hayley Morell: (39:17 - 41:54) So, we like to use the term beyond ever after when we're dealing with this idea of what romance is helpful, what is not helpful. And like you said, the age of the reader comes into play because something that might be a good conversation point with your teen, let's say dealing with a first kiss, that is something that is good to be thinking about and be talking about having healthy conversations about what is God's design for sexuality. And as you are starting to notice the opposite sex and have feelings, what do we do with those? And again and again, it's been shown that it is helpful to have these conversations because if we're not having a conversation about what is God's view and what does God want us to do with this, our young people are going to turn to the world, which is very happy to give them a lot of talk about sexuality, but some very different perspectives and answers that are focused on yourself, let's you do you versus no, what has God given us and how are we going to steward this? So, one of the things that I like to, that we like to be aware of as we're reviewing at Redeemed Reader is, is this a 12-year-old reading this book? And if a 12-year-old is reading a book and in the book, a 12-year-old is having a crush and it's kissing, we don't want our 12-year-olds kissing. That's not that helpful yet. I mean, that's, that's quite young and yes, in some cultures you might, but not yet. However, if this is a book about an 18-year-old on a high school trip, like Becky Dean has some really fun YA romances that are appropriate for teens, then dealing with what is it like dating? What is it like dealing with these emotions and chemistry that can be really well done for an 18-year-old? But like you said, we want to be aware of our imaginations. We want to be aware of what we're able to handle. And for someone, maybe reading those romances is fun and helpful. For another, it might be unhelpful. And I think that comes down to as a reader growing discernment and knowing what you are able to read that will still be edifying. Betsy Farquhar: (41:56 - 42:55) I'm going to piggyback a little bit. I, I agree that there, we look to scripture for what the standards are, and the Bible is not describing sexual activity in sordid detail. So, it's probably a good idea for us not to be wallowing in the same sorts of things. And I think the same thing is true for language. In fact, it's easier to ignore profanity in a book you're reading versus listening to it. I mean, if we immerse ourselves in audio books that have, that are littered with profanity, it's going to stick in our head differently than if we're just reading it on the page. And I think sexual activity; there are some similar dynamics at play. Obviously, a visual scene is going to be probably stick with us even more than a written scene. But either way, you know, that's part of discernment is what is my imagination doing with this? And the overall picture of my reading diet. Is this all I'm reading? Is this what my thoughts are going towards? Are they pointing me back to Christ? Are they promoting some helpful conversation? Or is it just sort of my guilty pleasure? Well, that should be maybe a sign. Laura Dugger: (43:21 - 43:45) Some love stories are described as squeaky clean. But when it comes to the world of Christian romance, what are some helpful questions that we can be asking our tween or teen? And what are some healthy considerations for filtering books that we're going to allow to be consumed in our home? Hayley Morell: (43:47 - 47:15) So, it's interesting. I think each genre of romance can have its own pitfalls. And I know I really appreciate the authors who are writing clean, squeaky-clean stories. And as I've read them and consumed them, one of the things I've noticed is that it is clean. There's no question of something being clean. But at the same time, if the only thing we're reading, going back to having a balanced book diet, is a squeaky-clean story, I don't think that's helpful because it doesn't show an accurate view of the world. And we want to be preparing our tweens and teens for a world where, yes, there is a happily ever after. Yes, we have the fairy tale wedding, or we have an imagination that is sparked by boy meets girl. But then what happens next? And we live in a fallen world. And so, we have to work on relationships. We have to work on communicating. And sometimes squeaky clean can lean so far into being safe that it doesn't actually show what it is like to have a relationship with the opposite sex. I think of one story I read and it's very superficial, playful. Snarky is often something I've noticed in the squeaky clean because we don't, we have to have some form of banter. And so, it's perpetual sarcasm and no physical touch. But then suddenly our protagonists marry and now they're still being snarky and not touching. And as an adult, I look at that and go, that is not an accurate portrayal of what it looks like to have a romance and to have marriage. And so, we love to ask, what are the relationships like in this book? And if that's in a middle grade novel, one of the things we love seeing is are they showing a healthy family? Are they showing parents that like being together? Because that's at a middle grade level is you're sparking that imagination. What is our protagonist seeing as the adults around them are having relationships? Do the adults like to be together? I just was reading a really sweet, Betsy, I think you read it. But Will's Race for Home is a story about this boy and westward expansion. And so, it's when the Oklahoma, Oklahoma land rush opens up. And there's the sweetest time where he talks about how he knows his father loves his mother because his father will look at his mother and she will blush. And it's the sweetest age-appropriate picture of what romance looks like when you're a 12-year-old looking at your parents. And I think that type of thing can be a really healthy way of having these conversations versus having a diet that is just squeaky clean and yet might actually be showing an inaccurate portrayal of what it's like to have relationships in a fallen world. Laura Dugger: (47:16 - 47:30) Well, let's get specific on another type of book as well. How do you advise parents to think critically on what age is appropriate to consume what you mentioned earlier, the Hunger Games or a book like that? Betsy Farquhar: (47:31 - 49:44) Ooh, pick me. I love these kind of books. I'll read anything. And I tend to get tasked with books that are difficult sometimes. Although many of us on our team read them and we do talk about these behind the scenes. So, when you're thinking about the age your child is and when they're ready for any book, but especially a popular one, I think part of that is our job as parents is always to be watching our children, to be students of our children. How are they consuming media in general? What kind of video games? What kind of movies? Are they on social media? What is their media diet like? And how are they handling that? And if they're showing discernment in general, and they're kind of grappling with issues and ideas, then they're going to be ready for a book like the Hunger Games sooner than a child who's just blindly taking it all in. There's no magic age where you say, ooh, you're 12, you can read the Hunger Games. A lot depends on what that child's already displayed. And I think dystopia are the books where there's some apocalyptic future and there's usually an autocratic governor or government system or it's futuresque. But they're really great books about bringing up big questions about how society works and the nature of authority and even the nature of anarchy. And they're just such great discussion starters. But if your child isn't able to have those kinds of conversations yet, they're going to miss the forest for the trees and it's going to be all shock value. But I'm going to add a big caveat. If it's really popular and you think your child is maybe ready, maybe not quite, I would probably go ahead and read it with him or her if all of the peers are reading it. Because I would rather my child have that conversation with me than with their friend. Or at least have it with me first before they read it with their friends. Even if we skip parts, maybe it's a book that you feel like we can't read chapter 12 for whatever reason. Be honest with your child and say, you know what? This book has a scene I'm really uncomfortable with. Maybe give a brief summary. We're going to keep going. But engage with your children over what is popular. I think that is the number one takeaway because they're going to find answers somewhere. We want it to be from us. Laura Dugger: (49:46 - 50:52) That is good. And that's why I appreciate the redeemed reader because you're putting in all this work for us because we can't pre-read everything. But when we're faced with a situation like that, it is helpful that we can choose to read some with them. And another angle, I just love a few of your quotes in the book. First, on page 76, you write, If Genesis were made into a true-to-the-book movie, the Redeemed Reader team would not allow our children to watch it. We might abstain as well. And then you go on for page 111 and you say, the best tool we can give our growing readers is God's word. The more they know and understand the Bible, the better equipped they will be to think discerningly, to recognize error, and to know how the Bible handles the same issues. So, will you just elaborate on this wisdom and advise us on how and why to encourage our children to read the Bible, even though it is messy? Betsy Farquhar: (50:53 - 52:58) Well, it is a messy book, but thankfully, it's not only a messy book. I mean, if it were a movie, we have nudity very quickly. Then we have rebellion against God, and then we have murder. And before you know it, six chapters in, the world is so bad that God is sending a flood to destroy it. So, it must have been really bad. But the Bible isn't giving us all those details. And I think that is a big piece of the picture when it comes to discernment in literature. The Bible is not shy about telling us that people sinned. I mean, our heroes, David, infidelity, murder, you know, most of the famous people in the Bible did something egregiously wrong and sinful. And yet the whole story of the Bible is God redeeming his people. We're all sinners. And there is hope because of Christ. None of us can make it without Christ. And so, in the Bible, you're seeing both the mess and the hope. You're seeing God's answer to this problem. And so, as we read scripture with our kids, one of the things that is helpful is we know what sin is. It's rebellion against God. It includes everything from sexual activity outside of marriage to gossip and pride and sort of the easy sins, right? They're all sin. So, I think that's one thing that comes across when we're studying God's word. We also see Christ. And when we then turn to a book, just a regular fiction book or even a nonfiction book, is the book also labeling sin as sin or at least a mistake? Or is it glorifying it? How is it handling it compared to how we know scripture handles it? Is there any hope in the book? And where is that hope found? Are they just praying to the universe? We're seeing universe capitalized all over the place now as sort of this amorphous deity. Well, that's not hopeful. I don't want to pray to Jupiter. You know, we have a God who cares about us. And so just getting your kids to sort of reckon with the differences between how a book is portraying hope and judgment versus how scripture portrays it, that's going to take them a long way. Laura Dugger: (53:01 - 53:23) That's fantastic. And your book lists at the end of each chapter are reason enough to purchase the book. But I'm sure that you've encountered additional titles since your publication date that you also enjoy. So, will you share a handful of book recommendations, maybe some from each of those sweet spots again from your team? Hayley Morell: (53:24 - 54:03) For young adults, we've actually mentioned both of the ones that I would add. They both have received starred reviews. A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim. Excellent fantasy for young adults. And then Bright Red Fruit by Sophia O'Heo. And that one is a discussion starter. It is a messy book, but it's an excellent book for its audience. Those would be two young adult fantasies. We see a lot of young adult fantasies. So, but I would have loved to include those in the book. We just read them later. Betsy Farquhar: (54:03 - 55:03) So, quick correction, Bright Red Fruit's not a fantasy, but it is it is. Oh, I apologize. That's fine. It's a discussion starter. And that usually means that there's something in there you need to know about before you read it. As a parent, I would recommend doing your homework on that book. It's a really good book to read with your daughters, but you might want to pre-read it first. Middle grade, that's our biggest bucket. Because it's the most it's got the widest audience reach and it's just so fun. So, some of the ones that we've really liked, The Teacher of Nomadland by Daniel Nayeri. He is a Christian author. He won the National Book Award for this book for young people's literature and a Newbery Honor. It's fantastic. It's a story about World War II. Benny on the Case by Wesley King is a really lovely mystery that features the protagonist has mosaic down syndrome, and it's just not very common to read books with different disabilities represented. So, that's just a really sweet story. Lots of fun. Hayley Morell: (55:04 - 55:05) It's a great audio book too. Betsy Farquhar: (55:06 - 56:40) Yes. Song of the Stone Tiger, another Christian author, Glenn McCarty. It's a kind of a mix of realistic fiction and fantasy. So, it's fun. A new one that we like. And then I'll leave you with one more. I actually have it right here. So, for those who are watching this, they can see it. It's called Radiant by Vonda Michaud-Nelson. And it's a novel in verse, but a beautiful picture of what it means to love your neighbor. So, The Sword by Marty Murkowski from New Growth Press. It's kind of a family devotional resource. It was the World Magazine Book of the Year. We gave it a starred review as well. The Amazing Generation is a book for kids by the same author as The Anxious Generation. So, that book is like a super bestseller for adults. This is kind of taking that idea and helping kids know how not to be the anxious generation, right? How they can be the amazing generation. The World Entire is a nonfiction, maybe technically a picture book, but it's really long. And it's for this audience. And it's a true story about World War II, about a rescue. I think it was set in Portugal. And then a graphic novel that's nonfiction. I'm trying to cover all your different genres here. This is How to Say Goodbye in Cuban by Daniel Meadez. It's about his father and how he emigrated or escaped from Cuba. But it's a graphic novel. So, there's a lot of visual interest. So, that's a really interesting background for kids who are hearing a lot of headlines about places like Cuba. And they're like, what's really going on? A book like that can help them understand just some of the nuance behind the headlines. Hayley Morell: (56:41 - 58:51) One of the things about middle grades as we talk about books is that middle grade is the age where readers are just exploding. And while you might have been able to keep up with your reader, then they hit 10 or 12 years old, and you give them a stack of books and they're reading them and asking for more. So, we definitely have a lot of middle grade reviews. Picture books, though, are another place that we just love. And there's been some recent ones that we looked at and got, oh, this would be so good for the book. Something like Tuesday's Bear by Alexander Davis. It's this beautiful story based on a true historical event. Unclaimed luggage is where, you know, if a suitcase gets lost, what happens to the contents? Well, one family had an idea, and Alexandra tells it through the story of this little bear who gets lost and then is found. It's the most beautiful story. As a Christian, you can see a lot of very true themes running through it. And it's a delight to read aloud. Wild Honey from the Moon by Kenneth Craigel. It's a story about a mother shrew whose little boy is sick, and she is going to do anything, even if it means traveling all the way to the moon to get some wild honey. It's a very imaginative story. Beautiful pictures. A couple sneak peek that are going to just, these reviews are just going up. Iguanodon's Horn by Sean Rubin. We've loved Bolivar, it was a graphic novel he did about a dinosaur. You can tell he likes dinosaurs. This is an amazing nonfiction picture book. And for our Christian readers, this is a book about dinosaurs that doesn't have evolution. And I think you're going to love it. One more. His Grace is Enough. This is like Dr. Zeus type rhyming. Melissa Kruger wrote it. It's a Christian book and it's a wonderful reminder for children. When you are dealing with sin, God's grace is enough. And I think you'll find if you read this, you'll be repeating the stanzas to yourself and encouraged as you read. Laura Dugger: (58:54 - 59:41) I love having book lists. And if any other listeners are like me, we'll finish this episode and go ahead and put a bunch of books on hold at the library, which is always so convenient. And I'm sure a lot of people aren't able to take notes right now. Maybe they're driving or working out as they're listening to this. But I love that every episode on The Savvy Sauce now has a transcript available. So, if anybody wants these book lists, you can go to the show notes page, either on our website or click on your podcast app and the transcript is available there. So, thank you for all those wonderful recommendations. And do you have any other helpful tips to give us as parents if we're trying to navigate this well? Betsy Farquhar: (59:42 - 1:00:26) Yes, start at birth and start not just reading with your kids, but asking them questions. They don't, it doesn't have to be a lengthy discussion. Is Piglet a good friend to poo? You know, if you're reading Winnie the Pooh or if you're an Elephant and Piggy fan, like my kids were. Do you think Gerald should share his ice cream with Piggy? You can just pause in the middle of the story and just get them thinking, right? So then when you get to the Hunger Games, you can say, what did you think of the ending? Would you have liked it to end differently? Those are great open-ended questions that get people talking and engaging and that you're often running. If you can just think, I need to engage with my kids over what we're reading, then almost any book can be a discussion starter. Laura Dugger: (1:00:27 - 1:00:33) Well, where can we go after this conversation to find more of your book recommendations? Betsy Farquhar: (1:00:35 - 1:01:29) I'll do this one. Redeemedreader, alloneword.com is our website. And then we're super creative. Our Facebook is exactly the same. Redeemedreader, alloneword. Our Instagram is redeemed underscore reader. That's kind of a long story. But if you Google Redeemed Reader, you'll find us. And then the best way, oh yes, of course our book, which is also called The Redeemed Reader. We're so original. But the best way to experience Redeemed Reader, other than the book, is through our weekly newsletter, which Haley curates and she does a fantastic job. But there's where you'll get the latest reviews. We put in links for other places around the web that you might find interesting, different bookish news. Haley does a really fun book trivia with picture books. So, we like to think that it's going to make your inbox a happy place. It's not a marketing email. Laura Dugger: (1:01:30 - 1:01:50) I love that. We will provide links to all of that in the show notes for today's episode. And you two are already familiar. We are called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge. And so, as my final question for both of you today, what is your savvy sauce? Betsy Farquhar: (1:01:52 - 1:03:03) So, as a business owner and a mom and a wife, it's probably not a surprise that I love my planner, but I've been through a lot of planners in my day, and I have very specific requirements. It needs to be bound, not coil bound. There's a certain size. I mean, I have issues. I should say I have high standards for my planner. The single best feature in my current planner is that it forces me to break down my to do list between my life to do and my work to do. And that was a game changer for me because I am wearing a lot of hats as most women are these days. And so, I limit myself to the number of bullet points that I'm given in the planner so that my work doesn't overtake my family life. It tends to be that way, sadly, more than the other way around. Usually, my family life is not overtaking the work life, but it just it just gives me a chance to articulate each week. You know, I've got a birthday coming up that I need to plan for or I need to make sure my I mean, I graduated my youngest last year from high school, but the senior year in high school has a lot of deadlines. And so, it just helped me prioritize those milestones for my family and not let work get in the way. Love that. Laura Dugger: (1:03:03 - 1:03:04) What's the name of your planner? Betsy Farquhar: (1:03:04 - 1:03:17) It's called the commit 30. I know there are other planners that do the same sort of thing, but I love having a weekly spread and I just love breaking it out between life to do and work to do. Laura Dugger: (1:03:18 - 1:03:20) Absolutely. That sounds amazing. I love it. Hayley Morell: (1:03:21 - 1:05:10) And my savvy sauce, I was going to say, Betsy is the planner and Betsy, I know you wouldn't appreciate this is spiral bound. So, I echo having a planner is a great way for me to just sort through all my thoughts, put them down and organize what needs to get done. But my savvy sauce is related to tech habits. And as we were getting ready for our first, my husband and I were talking about how could we be mindful with our phone usage? And I have to thank Betsy for recommending Andy Crouch's, The Tech-Wise Family. Love that book. And one of the things that we decided to do was to create a charging station downstairs in our house. And when I am not working where I need my phone for authentication or sending a voice message or being on the phone, if I'm not actively working, my phone lives on its charger. And that's been a struggle for me. I have to admit the moment I had a child, anxiety kicked in. And for the first month, the phone was on me because that's what I needed to have a little security blanket. But I've been learning to leave my phone behind. And then I'm not tempted to pick it up and scroll. And I feel like a child again because I get to the middle of the afternoon. And since I haven't been distracting myself, I've been getting things done. And all of a sudden I'm like; it's two o'clock and it's not dinner time yet. I have all of this time because I've created some more time by using the phone as a tool. But not having it right present and honestly, just distracting myself with it. Laura Dugger: (1:05:12 - 1:05:48) That is a good, savvy tip. I love both of those. And you two have such warm and engaging personalities. And I love those benefits that you were talking about for people who are readers. I experienced all of that through both of you today. And you're so wise and discerning yourselves. And I am just beyond grateful that the Lord gifted you with your intellect, but also this passion for reviewing these resources. You're benefiting so many parents and children alike. So, thank you for the work that you do. And thank you for being my guests. Betsy Farquhar: (1:05:49 - 1:05:57) Thank you for having us. It is all from the Lord. Anything we have that's wise and worth taking away. The credit should go to him, of course. Hayley Morell: (1:05:58 - 1:06:00) Ame
Flag In Hiding by Trella Lamson Dick - Chapter 11In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Flag in Hiding, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages.In 1777 Colonial America, the Stewart family finds themselves and their farm in the middle of a Tory stronghold in New York. Fourteen-year-old Randy Stewart, inspired by Patrick Henry's famous speech, is determined to help the Patriots and quickly finds himself in great danger. Surprise is around every corner in this beautifully written historical fiction that the whole family will love.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Flag In Hiding by Trella Lamson Dick - Chapter 10In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Flag in Hiding, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages.In 1777 Colonial America, the Stewart family finds themselves and their farm in the middle of a Tory stronghold in New York. Fourteen-year-old Randy Stewart, inspired by Patrick Henry's famous speech, is determined to help the Patriots and quickly finds himself in great danger. Surprise is around every corner in this beautifully written historical fiction that the whole family will love.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
What would happen if you decided to be your child's mentor rather than their teacher? What if you awakened their wonder and curiosity so that they became the kind of people who thirst for knowledge and understanding?Today, I'm revisiting a conversation about those very questions that I had a few years ago with Sally Clarkson. I'm lucky to count Sally as a dear friend and I know that her work has been transformational for me and for so many of you.In this episode, Sally shares how we can inspire our kids to become lifelong readers and learners right in our own homes.In this episode, you'll hear: How to make your homeschool a place of resources for your unique childrenWhat is different about being your child's mentor, rather than their teacherWhy modeling curiosity and excitement about learning in your homeschool matters more than any curriculumLearn more about Sarah Mackenzie:Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/becoming-your-childs-mentor
Flag In Hiding by Trella Lamson Dick - Chapter 9In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Flag in Hiding, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages.In 1777 Colonial America, the Stewart family finds themselves and their farm in the middle of a Tory stronghold in New York. Fourteen-year-old Randy Stewart, inspired by Patrick Henry's famous speech, is determined to help the Patriots and quickly finds himself in great danger. Surprise is around every corner in this beautifully written historical fiction that the whole family will love.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Storycomic Presents: Interviews with Amazing Storytellers and Artists
On this episode, I'm joined by children's book author Maureen Devlin, creator of the Backer & Backer series — a set of books built around one of the best questions kids ask: “How did that get here?” Each story starts with something familiar — an apple, a warm hat, a bouncy ball, a kid-made picture, even a puppy — and then goes “backer and backer” to explore the origin of everyday things in a way that's playful, clear, and genuinely educational for young readers. We talk about what inspired the series (including reading with her twin daughters), how she builds curiosity into the rhythm of a read-aloud, and why she's so intentional about mixing fun with real-world facts. We also highlight the illustrator, Nancy D. Conde, whose whimsical artwork helps make the “how it's made / where it comes from” journey feel like an adventure instead of a lesson. If you've got a curious kid (or you're raising one who asks “why?” 400 times a day), this episode is for you. The Title sequence was designed and created by Morgan Quaid. See more of Morgan's Work at: https://morganquaid.com/ Storycomic Logo designed by Gregory Giordano See more of Greg's work at: https://www.instagram.com/gregory_c_giordano_art/ Want to start your own podcast? Click on the link to get started: https://www.podbean.com/storycomic Follow us: Are you curious to see the video version of this interview? It's on our website too! www.storycomic.com www.patreon.com/storycomic www.facebook.com/storycomic1 https://www.instagram.com/storycomic/ For information on being a guest or curious to learn more about Storycomic? Contact us at info@storycomic.com Thank you to our Founders Club Patrons, Michael Winn, Higgins802, Von Allan, Stephanie Nina Pitsirilos, Marek Bennett, Donna Carr Roberts, Andrew Gronosky, Simki Kuznick, and Matt & Therese. Check out their fantastic work at: https://marekbennett.com/ https://www.hexapus-ink.com/ https://www.stephanieninapitsirilos.com/ https://www.vonallan.com/ https://higgins802.com/ https://shewstone.com/ https://www.simkikuznick.com/ Also to Michael Winn who is a member of our Founders Club!
Flag In Hiding by Trella Lamson Dick - Chapter 8In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Flag in Hiding, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages.In 1777 Colonial America, the Stewart family finds themselves and their farm in the middle of a Tory stronghold in New York. Fourteen-year-old Randy Stewart, inspired by Patrick Henry's famous speech, is determined to help the Patriots and quickly finds himself in great danger. Surprise is around every corner in this beautifully written historical fiction that the whole family will love.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Episode 131 How to design read aloud lessons that build understanding—not just engagement The difference between read aloud that supplements vs. supplants your instruction Using read aloud to teach reading skills like character motivation and author's craft How to connect knowledge building and accountable talk into one cohesive lesson Embedding learning science strategies like retrieval practice and interleaving into read aloud Designing literacy instruction so students remember and apply what they learn over timePractical Strategies Mentioned• Modeling character motivation during read aloud using sentence stems • Using repetition in a text to teach author's craft • Retrieval prompts like “What happened yesterday?” • Interleaving skills (character traits + motivation in one question) • Echo, choral, and partner reading followed by comprehension checks • Planning intentional stopping points and think-alouds • Using text sets (poems, articles, videos) to deepen understandingThese are all strategies grounded in the science of reading and learning science that help students move from understanding in the moment to learning that actually sticks.As you listen, consider this question:What is my read aloud actually doing in my literacy block?Is it:Filling time?Reinforcing skills?Or driving instruction and building understanding over time?Instructional leadership starts with teachers who are willing to move from doing the lesson to designing the learning experience.Earthquake Terror (used as a mentor text example for author's craft)Wonder by R.J. Palacio (used for text connections and deeper thinking)Episode 129: Why Read Aloud Still Matters in Upper Elementary Episode 130: How Accountable Talk Builds Thinking in Your Literacy ClassroomIf you're ready to strengthen your instruction and design literacy lessons that actually stick, you can learn more about coaching and professional development below:In This Episode We DiscussSelf-Leadership ReflectionResources MentionedPrevious Episodes ReferencedWork With EvaGrab my free guide: How to Keep Your Mini Lesson Mini Book a discovery call for 1:1 coaching or school professional development
Is your homeschool stuck in the explain-assign-check cycle? You're drowning in curriculum choices, trying to do all the activities, worried your kids are just going through the motions. The problem isn't that you need more homeschool tools—you need better purpose. This episode reveals the 2 simple homeschooling tools that stop the overwhelm and raise your kids to be thinkers, not followers.These aren't random homeschool tools that add to your pile of things to do. They're the foundational homeschooling tools that shape character, build critical thinking, and make learning engaging, effective, and enjoyable for the whole family.✅Why the explain-assign-check cycle doesn't raise thinkers (and what to do instead)✅The 2 homeschool tools you can use today in any subject at any age level✅How one homeschooling tool builds vocabulary, shapes worldview, and creates shared family experiences✅Why the second tool slows learning down so kids actually understand and own it✅How these homeschool tools give you confidence and stop the frantic forever feelingReady to simplify your homeschool with the right homeschooling tools? Grab the free Read Aloud Magic eBook and Notebooking Pages to start raising thinkers this week!Resources for You: Read Aloud Magic eBook (free) Notebooking Pages (free)Raising Leaders Not Followers VIP WaitlistShow Notes:Two Simple Homeschool Tools That Actually Teach Your Kids to ThinkDoes your homeschool feel like one long cycle of explain, assign, check, repeat — wash, rinse, repeat? If that's all you're doing is explaining, assigning, and checking, you're not raising your kids to be thinkers. You're just expecting them to regurgitate a lot of information.Most homeschoolers are drowning in all the what to teach. They're not thinking enough about how kids actually learn. Today we're going to talk about two tools you can use this week — easy tools — so your kids are actually learning.You Don't Need More Stuff. You Need a Better Purpose.I don't know where you are right now in this part of the year, but some of you are finishing up your school year. A lot of you are already planning what curriculum to buy next. You're overwhelmed. There are so many choices. You're trying to be faithful to your kids and to homeschooling, but you're scattered. You want your kids to love Jesus, to think well, and to live life with confidence. But how do you do that in the midst of cooking three meals a day and chauffeuring your kids everywhere?You don't need random homeschool stuff. You don't need a bigger pile. You just need a better purpose.Here's what we do — and I say this on a regular basis. We leave the school but then we copy the school at home. We are tied to checklists. We are in a productivity mindset. We've got to go, go, go, check that off. Memorizing facts but not thinking. And I know you want your kids to be able to think for themselves, evaluate, and make wise decisions. But they don't become wise thinkers just by consuming a lot of information.Leaders are shaped by the right tools, habits, questions, and reflection. So let's talk about those tools.Tool #1: Read Aloud and QuestionsOne of my favorites. It is so simple. You can do it today. And it is reading aloud as a family.Reading aloud strengthens your relationships because it happens together. It's like taking a trip together just going through a book. Quality fiction helps your kids learn empathy, compassion, and how to evaluate different circumstances — to see if this is the right way to live or not. They can discern between good and evil.It builds vocabulary. It exposes your kids to big ideas. It's going to help shape their worldview. And it creates shared reference points for conversation.I remember when we were reading the Little Bridges series. Steve was reading it at night for our kids, and we were somewhere in the van and they started talking about that grumpy old grandpa. We're so glad we don't have a grandpa like that. And we had a great discussion just driving down the road. That meant they had entered into the story and were participating in it on an emotional level.When you're finished reading — and I do not stop in the middle of reading aloud and analyze all the parts — just let it soak over everyone and ask, what stood out to you? What do you remember most about this part of the story? And just see what they say. You might suddenly realize they're learning things you didn't even know they had paid attention to.You don't need a lecture. You don't need a guidebook. You don't need a perfect discussion plan. You don't even need a degree in English. You just need a heart for your kids and for God — and then ask questions. Questions are such an easy way to learn. When you ask questions, learning becomes alive.This is how homeschooling feels less like school at home and more like formation — discipleship, life skills.I created a Read Aloud Magic bundle that has an e-book with all sorts of things about how to read aloud and a list of our family's favorite read aloud books. It's free in the show notes at howtohomeschoolmychild.com/readaloudmagic.Tool #2: NotebookingA lot of you are familiar with Charlotte Mason, but you don't really think notebooking is important so you don't do it. And yet it is one of the ways you can stop the overwhelm and stop the stress. I have moms that have said — when we started using this tool, things got better in our homeschool.So what is notebooking? It gives your kids the freedom to express their understanding and be creative. It could be a written notebook. They may draw pictures. But it allows your kids ownership and responsibility for their own education. I like to say they take leadership in their own education.That's what I wanted. I didn't want my kids to just do whatever I told them to do. I wanted it to be what they were learning — when we read a book or when we studied a topic.Notebooking is not busy work like worksheets and textbooks. Notebooking is thinking on paper. It helps your kids process, reflect, and connect ideas.Thomas Edison didn't sit around memorizing facts and hoping an invention would happen. He kept notebooks full of sketches, ideas, and experiments. His notebook was not just a record — it was part of his thinking process. He didn't separate thinking from writing. And that is exactly why I think notebooking matters so much in your homeschool.It slows the learning down. Are you rushing your kids just to finish that checklist? Notebooking slows the learning down so your child can really understand it, learn it, and own it for themselves. It becomes a part of them.Worksheets just check recall. Notebooking builds ownership and understanding. It takes the pressure off getting the right answer and just getting through it.When Hunter was about seven, he would tell me what he learned and I would type it out and then he could copy it into his notebook — because he may not have been ready to get all the thoughts on paper yet. But as they get older, they should be able to do this on their own.I had one mom tell me — homeschooling wasn't working out as I envisioned. I felt like a slave to the curriculum. After six years of schooling that way, she discovered notebooking. It cut the busy work from their day and helped her take the reins of their homeschool with confidence.Don't you want that confidence?What to Do This WeekPick a book and read it out loud, then ask one question — what stood out to you? That's it.For notebooking, grab the free notebooking pages linked in the show notes. Then find one worksheet you were going to use — and get rid of it. Replace it with a notebooking page. Or better yet — let your children pick a topic from the notebooking pages. They are taking ownership and leadership of their own education. They are growing into a leader and not a follower that just does what someone tells them to do.For younger kids, they may not be able to write sentences yet — but they can draw pictures. Put the pages together in a notebook, staple it, or get a binder. Super easy.Read aloud encourages them to enjoy reading and learning. Notebooking allows them to follow topics they are actually interested in. Your homeschool does not need to feel frantic — not forever, and not even now. When you use the right tools, your kids become thinkers, not followers.Grab the free Read Aloud Magic e-book and the free notebooking pages — links are in the show notes. Both of these can help you step out with confidence in your homeschool.And if you want help building a homeschool that actually forms your kids, I've got two exciting events coming up in a few weeks. Get on the waitlist and I'll tell you exactly what's going on. In the past, this has helped moms stop the overwhelm, stop the guessing, and start homeschooling with a purpose instead of a checklist.
Flag In Hiding by Trella Lamson Dick - Chapter 7In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Flag in Hiding, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages.In 1777 Colonial America, the Stewart family finds themselves and their farm in the middle of a Tory stronghold in New York. Fourteen-year-old Randy Stewart, inspired by Patrick Henry's famous speech, is determined to help the Patriots and quickly finds himself in great danger. Surprise is around every corner in this beautifully written historical fiction that the whole family will love.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
What is your calling in life? For poet, songwriter, and academic, Malcolm Guite, it's unequivocally clear–to be a storyteller. Today on the podcast Audrey and I chat with Malcolm about the first volume in his new retelling of the classic King Arthur stories, Galahad and the Grail, illustrated by the incredible Stephen Crotts and published by our friends over at Rabbit Room Press. Not only is Malcolm adapting the legends of King Arthur, he's doing it in poetic ballad form, which means they are basically designed to be read aloud. In our conversation, he tells us about the epic journey he and his publisher and illustrator undertook to visit sites connected to the Arthurian legends, how a childhood surrounded by books and stories led him to his lifelong love and study of literature and poetry, and the impact his own mother had on his journey to becoming a poet and storyteller. In this episode, you'll hear: Why Malcolm chose to write this story in ballad form How woodland walks inspire Malcolm's writing and why he knew it was time to “take up the tale”What elements and parallels of Biblical stories Malcolm wanted to restore that have often been left out of modern Arthurian retellingsLearn more about Sarah Mackenzie:Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/malcolm-guite
Flag In Hiding by Trella Lamson Dick - Chapter 6In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Flag in Hiding, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages.In 1777 Colonial America, the Stewart family finds themselves and their farm in the middle of a Tory stronghold in New York. Fourteen-year-old Randy Stewart, inspired by Patrick Henry's famous speech, is determined to help the Patriots and quickly finds himself in great danger. Surprise is around every corner in this beautifully written historical fiction that the whole family will love.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Episode 130 Show NotesAccountable Talk During Read Aloud: How to Move Beyond Turn and Talk to Real ThinkingWhy student talk doesn't always lead to deeper thinkingHow to structure read aloud conversations to move beyond participationThe role of explanation, listening, and idea-building in student learningHow accountable talk supports comprehension and long-term retentionUsing simple, high-impact sentence stems to guide discussionDesigning read aloud instruction that builds thinking without adding more to your plateUsing one strong prompt instead of multiple surface-level questionsThree high-leverage discussion stems:“I think ___ because ___.”“I want to add ___.”“My partner said ___.”In This Episode We DiscussPractical Strategies Teaching students how to listen as part of discussionStructuring discussion: Partner → small group → whole class15-minute read aloud flow with intentional thinking stopsThink-aloud modeling to demonstrate how to explain and build ideasThese are all strategies grounded in learning science that support deeper processing, elaboration, and stronger comprehension over time.Self-Leadership ReflectionAs you listen, consider this question:What kind of thinking do I want my discussions to produce—and how am I designing for that?Self-led teachers don't just create opportunities for students to talk—they design conversations that build understanding.This episode is grounded in research on:Accountable Talk (Resnick, Michaels, & O'Connor)Elaborative Interrogation (Pressley et al.)Deep Processing and learning science principlesThese research based approaches emphasize that students learn more when they explain their thinking, connect ideas, and engage in meaningful discussion.Previous Episode ReferencedEpisode 129: Does Read Aloud Still Matter in Grades 3–5? How to Use It to Build Comprehension and KnowledgeIf you're ready to strengthen your instruction and design literacy lessons that actually build student thinking, you don't have to figure it out alone.Ready to Take the Next Step?You can learn more about:One-on-one coachingCampus professional developmentInstructional support for your literacy blockCheck the link below to explore how we can work together.Grab my free guide:Keeping Your Mini Lesson MiniBook a discovery call to explore:One-on-one coachingSchool or campus-based support Final ThoughtSelf-leadership doesn't mean doing more alone—it means knowing when to seek the right support.
Flag in Hiding by Trella Lamson Dick - Chapter 5In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Flag in Hiding, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages.In 1777 Colonial America, the Stewart family finds themselves and their farm in the middle of a Tory stronghold in New York. Fourteen-year-old Randy Stewart, inspired by Patrick Henry's famous speech, is determined to help the Patriots and quickly finds himself in great danger. Surprise is around every corner in this beautifully written historical fiction that the whole family will love.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Reid reflects on the loss of a dog, responsibility for the animals who trust us, and the inevitability of their decline. All of this reflected in a story about a long-ago day woodcock shooting with a friend in southern Vermont. Read the entire piece "Thanksgiving" at reidbryant.com; it was initially published in Gundog Magazine.
Flag in Hiding by Trella Lamson Dick - Chapter 4In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Flag in Hiding, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages.In 1777 Colonial America, the Stewart family finds themselves and their farm in the middle of a Tory stronghold in New York. Fourteen-year-old Randy Stewart, inspired by Patrick Henry's famous speech, is determined to help the Patriots and quickly finds himself in great danger. Surprise is around every corner in this beautifully written historical fiction that the whole family will love.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Episode 129- Why Read Aloud Still Matters in Grades 3–5 ClassroomsIn this episode we talk about:Why read alouds still matter in your Upper Elementary literacy classrooms.How Read alouds support learning science, How Read alouds support The Science of Teaching Reading. Choose texts that build knowledgePause for thinking, not just predictionsPlan 2–3 intentional thinking stops instead of a lot of questions“How might my read aloud time become one of the most instructionally powerful parts of the day?”Schema Theory in Reading by Shuying AnIf you're ready to strengthen your instruction and implement research-based literacy strategies with support, you can learn more about coaching and campus support in the link below.Grab my free guide for keeping your mini lesson mini Practical Strategies Mentioned:Self-Leadership Reflection:Resources Mentioned:The Neuroscience of Narrative and Memory by Judy WillisWork With EvaBook a discovery call for one on one coaching or school professional development
Flag in Hiding by Trella Lamson Dick - Chapter 3In this episode of the Enchanted Library, we read Flag in Hiding, a classic read aloud enjoyed by families, students, and listeners of all ages.In 1777 Colonial America, the Stewart family finds themselves and their farm in the middle of a Tory stronghold in New York. Fourteen-year-old Randy Stewart, inspired by Patrick Henry's famous speech, is determined to help the Patriots and quickly finds himself in great danger. Surprise is around every corner in this beautifully written historical fiction that the whole family will love.This recording is part of our growing library of classic stories designed for families, students, and anyone who enjoys listening to books read aloud. Episodes are released regularly, and each book is organized so you can follow along chapter by chapter.Listen to more episodes and browse or search our full library here: www.enchantedlibrary.netJoin our Patreon - all members access our easily searchable episodes, and paid members can access exclusive recordings: www.patreon.com/enchantedlibraryAbout the Enchanted LibraryThe Enchanted Library is a family-friendly read-aloud podcast featuring classic living books, children's literature, and timeless stories. Each episode is designed to be easy to follow, whether you are listening on your own, with your family, or as part of a homeschool routine. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
How can you improve your self-editing process? How can you find and work with professional editors and beta readers? How do you know when editing is done and the book is finished? With Joanna Penn In the intro, Poetry craft and business [The Indy Author Podcast]; A Mouthful of Air; How to get your book featured in local media without a publicist [Written Word Media]; thoughts on faith and code; Wild Dark Shore – Charlotte McConaghy; Bones of the Deep – J.F. Penn. Today's show is sponsored by ProWritingAid, writing and editing software that goes way beyond just grammar and typo checking. With its detailed reports on how to improve your writing and integration with writing software, ProWritingAid will help you improve your book before you send it to an editor, agent or publisher. Check it out for free or get 15% off the premium edition at www.ProWritingAid.com/joanna This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Joanna Penn is an award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers, dark fantasy, short stories and travel memoir under J.F.Penn and also writes non-fiction for authors. Overview of the editing process Self-editing How to find and work with a professional editor. My list is at www.TheCreativePenn.com/editors Beta readers, specialist readers, and sensitivity readers When is the book finished? These chapters are excerpted from How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book by Joanna Penn, available direct or on all the usual stores. Overview of the editing process “Books aren't written. They're rewritten.” —Michael Crichton Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles is a classic of English literature. I studied it at school and the scene at Stonehenge still haunts me. Hardy's Jude the Obscure influenced my decision to go to university in Oxford, a city Hardy called Christminster. His novels are still held in great esteem, which is why it's so wonderful to see his hand-edited pages in the British Library in London, displayed in the Treasures collection. You can visit them in person or view them online. Thomas Hardy's edited manuscript of ‘Tess of the D'Urbevilles, one of England's greatest writers While his handwriting is a scrawl, it's evident from the pages just how much editing Hardy did on this version of the manuscript. There are lines struck through, whole paragraphs crossed out, arrows moving sections around, words and sentences rewritten, and comments in the margins. Even the title is changed from A Daughter of the D'Urbervilles to Tess of the D'Urbervilles as we know it today. Those edited pages gave me hope when I saw them for the first time as a new fiction author. Not that I thought I could write a classic of English literature, but that I could learn to edit my way to a better story. There are several stages in the editing process, which I'll outline here and then expand on in subsequent chapters. As you progress in your craft, you won't need every stage every time, so assess with each book what kind of editing you need along the way. Self-editing The self-editing stage is your chance to improve your manuscript before anyone else sees it. For some authors, this stage might mean rewriting the entire draft. For others, it involves restructuring, adding or deleting scenes, doing line edits, and more. Developmental or structural edit An editor reads your manuscript and gives feedback on specific aspects, character, plot, story structure, and anything else pertinent to improving the novel. It is sometimes described as a manuscript critique. You will receive a report, usually ten to fifteen pages, with notes on your novel, which you can then use in another round of self-editing. While this is not always necessary, it can be a valuable step and something I appreciated particularly for my first novel when I had so much to learn. Copyediting and line editing This is the classic ‘red pen' edit where you can expect comments and changes all over your manuscript. This edit focuses on anything that enhances the writing quality, including word choice and phrasing issues, as well as grammar, and more. Some editors split this edit into two, and there are differences between what this edit is called between countries. For some editors, a copyedit includes only attention to grammar and correctness, while a line edit focuses on improving and elevating sentences. Be clear about your expectations and that of your editor upfront. You will usually receive an MS Word document with Track Changes on as well as a style guide or style sheet and other notes, which you can then use to make revisions during another self-edit. This is the most expensive part of the process, as editors usually charge per 1,000 words based on the type of edit you want. If you need to cut your story down by 20K, then do it before you send your manuscript for a line edit! Beta readers, specialist readers, and/or sensitivity readers Some authors use different types of readers as part of their editing process. Beta readers are often part of the author's community and are certainly fans of the genre. They read to help the author pick up any issues pre-publication. Specialist readers are those with knowledge about a topic included in the story. For example, a vulcanologist read specific chapters of Risen Gods to check that the details about volcanic eruptions were correct. Sensitivity readers check for stereotypes, biases, problematic language, and other diversity issues. You will usually receive comments or an email with page numbers or chapter numbers, or sometimes an MS Word document with Track Changes, which you then use to make revisions. Many readers provide services for the love of helping their favorite author with a novel and a mention in the acknowledgments, but there are some paid services for specialist and sensitivity readers. Proofreading Proofreading is the final check of the manuscript pre-publication for any typos or issues that might have been introduced in the editorial process. For print books, this can include a review of the print proof with formatting. You should only fix the last tiny changes at this point. Don't make any major changes this close to publication or you may introduce entirely new errors. Do you need an editor if you intend to get an agent and a traditional publisher? You will go through an editorial process with your agent and publisher. But if you want the best chance of getting to that stage in the first place, it might also be worth working with an editor before you submit your manuscript to an agent. Look for an editor who will help you with your query letter and synopsis as part of their edit. Self-editing I love this part of the process! My self-edit is where I wrangle the chaos of the first draft into something worth reading. I have my block of marble and now I can shape it into my sculpture. The mindset shift from writer to editor, from author to reader In the idea, planning, discovery, and first-draft writing phase, it's all about you, the writer. You turn the ideas in your head into words that you understand, characters that come alive for you, and a plot that you're engaged with. In that first rush of creativity, you can banish critical voice and ignore any nagging doubts. But now you need to switch heads. That's how I prefer to think about it, but you might consider it as changing hats or changing jobs. Anything to help you move from the creative, anything goes, first-draft writer to the more critical editor. There is one overriding consideration in this shift. As Jeffery Deaver says, “The reader is god.” With the editing process, you need to turn your story from something you understand into something a reader will enjoy. Writing is telepathy. It connects minds across time and space. You are reading these words and the meaning flows from my brain into your brain — but only if I craft the book well enough. The same is true of your novel. Yes, of course, you want to double down on your creative choices and make sure you achieve everything you want to with your story. But you also need to keep the reader in mind as you edit because the book is ultimately for them. Will your story have the desired effect on the reader? What might help improve their experience? How can you make sure that they are not bored or confused or jolted out of the story? What will make them read on and, at the end, close the novel with a sigh of satisfaction? My self-editing process At the end of the first draft, I print out my manuscript with two pages to each A4 page, so it looks more like a book. I put it in a folder and leave it to rest. You need fresh eyes for your edit and this ‘resting' gives you some emotional distance. In On Writing, Stephen King suggests leaving a manuscript to rest for at least six weeks. While that is a great idea if you have the time, most authors work to deadline, whether externally set or their own timetable. Many authors — including me — are also impatient! I love this first self-edit, and as I'm still crafting the story as a discovery writer, I usually rest the manuscript for a week or two. I schedule blocks of time for editing in my Google calendar and (when not in pandemic times) I go to a café when it opens first thing in the morning. I put on my BOSE noise-cancelling headphones and edit by hand with a black ballpoint pen from page one to the end. I usually manage ten to twenty pages per editing session of a couple of hours each, but it will depend on the amount of restructuring I need to do. I scribble notes in the margins, draw arrows to move paragraphs around, write extra material on the back of pages, or add where I need to write more later. I change words, rewrite and delete lines, and pick up any issues around lack of sensory detail, character problems, and more. You can see an example of a page below: Some pages end up a mass of black; others are relatively clean. But in this first hand edit, no page goes untouched as I hone my manuscript into something closer to my creative goal. You can edit on a computer or a tablet, or whatever else works for you, but at least change the font or the spacing, or something to make it a different experience to reading the first draft. Most writers have a tendency to either overwrite or underwrite, and so will either need to cut words or add words at this stage. I'm in the latter camp so I usually have to add scenes or deepen characters or theme at this point. Once I have hand-edited the whole manuscript end-to-end, I make the changes in my Scrivener project. I change the color of the flags along the way and, as ever, I back up the session. I also use ProWritingAid at the sentence level to fix up things I missed, because we all miss things! When all the changes have been made, I print the complete manuscript again, and read end-to-end and edit as before. This time, it's usually a lot cleaner and there may only be a few things to fix in each chapter. Once I'm finished, I'll update the Scrivener project once more and then decide whether it needs a third pass. Mostly, two full end-to-end hand edits are enough for me these days, but sometimes I'll do a third or go through specific chapters one more time. This messy editing process is fun for me and it's hugely satisfying to see my story come to life. What to focus on in the self-edit Some authors will go through the manuscript multiple times, focusing on different elements with each pass using the aspects covered in Part 3 and Part 4. For example, they'll do an edit based on character and dialogue, followed by another pass for plot, then theme, and so on. Personally, I try to keep the reader in mind and focus on the story as a coherent whole. That's just how my mind works. I jump from fixing a plot issue to deepening a character to adding foreshadowing and so on as I read and edit. I'm confident that my editor will find a lot of the smaller things that I might miss, so I concentrate on trying to achieve my creative vision with the story. You will find your own way of figuring out your process. It's much better to jump in and have a go at editing rather than trying to work out the best way before you have something to work through. Lost the plot? Try reverse outlining If you're a discovery writer like me and you're struggling with the edit and you feel you have lost the plot (which definitely happens sometimes!) then consider a reverse outline as part of your editorial process. Go through the manuscript and write a few lines per scene. Include character, plot points, conflict, setting, open questions and hooks, and any other notes. This will help you step back and hopefully see the entire story from a high level. Then you can dive back into rewriting each chapter. Read the book out loud or use a text-to-speech reader to do it for you Many authors read their book aloud end-to-end, which is a helpful step once you've been through any major rewrites. There are also plenty of text-to-speech tools that can help, for example, Natural Reader or Speechify, and some are built into devices or applications. MS Word includes a Read Aloud tool in the Review tab. This will also help you edit for audio as you'll hear issues you can't see on the page. Editing for audio Audiobooks are a huge growth market and many readers will listen to your book rather than read it, so it's a good idea to consider editing with audio in mind at this stage. Here are some tips. Watch out for repeated sounds. The editorial process will usually catch repeated written words, but similar sounding words can hit the same audio note in narration. You might not notice them in the text, as they are spelled differently. The words ‘you,' ‘blue,' ‘tattoo,' and ‘interview' all start and end with different letters. They look different on the page, but they strike the same audio note when read aloud. In the same way, repetition can work if you have a point to make, but sometimes it jars the listener if it is overused. A classic recommendation for writing dialogue is to use ‘said' with a character name rather than other words like ‘uttered' or ‘pronounced.' This is because ‘said' disappears for the reader on the written page. But with audio, the repetition of a word is highly noticeable, and repeated sounds can dominate a passage. Rewrite with synonyms for ‘said,' or use action to make it clear who the speaker is without resorting to dialogue tags, as described in chapter 3.5. Contractions — or the lack of them — can also become more obvious in audio. “I am not going to the park,” might be spoken as “I'm not going to the park.” When we type dialogue, it is often more formal than the way someone speaks, so check if you can contract it in your edit. Accents can be an issue with fiction narration. There are plenty of narrators who do a ‘straight read,' but if there are accents within dialogue, make it clear where the character comes from. Make sure the narrator knows about the accent choice upfront, otherwise you might not like it in the finished audio. Remember my friend whose novel had an Irish character narrated like a comedy leprechaun instead of the soft lilt she had in mind? Don't confuse the reader. If you have a lot of characters appearing in a chapter and no clear character tags, you might lose the listener in the detail. When reading on paper or a screen, your reader can quickly flick back and see that George was the butler and Angus was the dog, but that's harder to do when listening to an audiobook. Make sure it's clear who is who. You may have to remind listeners occasionally by adding character tags. For example, ‘Angus ran alongside the canal' could become ‘Angus, the golden cocker spaniel, ran alongside the canal.' For more on audiobooks, check out my book, Audio for Authors: Audiobooks, Podcasting and Voice Technologies. How many drafts do you need? The word ‘draft' means different things to different authors. Some only apply this term to a complete rewrite end-to-end, while others will shift paragraphs around, change some lines, add a new scene, and call that a new draft. Nora Roberts said in a blog post on her writing craft, I work on a three-draft method. This works for me. It's not the right way/wrong way. There is no right or wrong for a process that works for any individual writer. Anyone who claims there is only one way, or that's the wrong way, is a stupid, arrogant bullshitter. That's my considered opinion. I love Nora's no-nonsense approach and she is right that there is no single correct process. You have to find your own. But beware of comparing what you call a draft to what another writer calls a draft. It may be something completely different. Use editing software Once I've finished my hand edits and updated the Scrivener project, I use ProWritingAid on the manuscript. It integrates with Scrivener, so I open my project and go through each chapter. ProWritingAid picks up passive voice, repetitive words, commas and typos, suggests rephrasing, and even picks up culturally problematic language. Yes, these are the type of things that an editor will pick up, but I want to hand over a manuscript that is as clean as possible so my editor can focus on other issues. I don't make all the suggested changes, but it certainly helps improve my writing, and I learn as I go through. You can even create your own style guide so you spell things the same way throughout. This is also a good chance to check typos according to the version of English you want to use (or any other language). I'm English and based in the UK, but when I published my first novel, I received complaints about typos from my readers, who were mainly in the USA. These were not typos, they were just British spelling! I decided to use US English in my books because US readers complain about UK spelling, but non-US readers will rarely complain about US spelling because they are used to it. You can set ProWritingAid to the type of English you want to use, and if you specify this later, your editor can pick up on word usage rather than typos, for example, using the term ‘flashlight' instead of ‘torch.' You can find ProWritingAid at: www.TheCreativePenn.com/prowritingaid You can find my tutorial on how to use ProWritingAid at: www.TheCreativePenn.com/prowritingaidtutorial When is your self-edit finished? You will be utterly sick of your manuscript by the end of the self-editing process. You have read your words so many times you can't see them clearly anymore. You are so over the whole thing that you want to forget the book altogether. If you don't feel this way, you probably haven't self-edited enough! When you really feel you can't do any more, it's time to work with a professional editor. If you are putting off the end of self-editing, then remember that nothing is ever perfect. You can edit forever if you keep obsessing over changes and going over and over the same material. If your self-edit goes on too long, consider whether perfectionism is holding you back. Set a completion date and hold yourself to it. How to find and work with a professional editor If you want your book to be the best it can be, then working with a professional editor is the next step. An editor's job is to take your manuscript and help you improve it through structural changes and story development, line edits, suggestions for new material or sentence refinement, and so much more. Different kinds of editors can help you in different ways from constructing the overarching story to eliminating the final typo. In my experience, good professional editors are well worth the investment as they help improve your book and your craft, especially in the initial stages of your writing journey. They have read so many early-stage manuscripts that they understand the most common problems and know how to help you fix them. Some experienced authors only use proofreaders for their novels, but personally, I still work with a professional editor on every book and I learn something every time. I am a super-fan of editors! How to find a professional editor Consolidation in the traditional publishing industry over the last decade has resulted in many more editors working as freelancers, so authors have a wealth of professionals available for hire in every genre. You can find lists of approved editors through author organizations. The Alliance of Independent Authors has a list of Partner Members, many of whom are editors. You can also use author marketplace Reedsy. Many editors use content marketing to find clients — for example, blogging about editing tips, writing books on editing, or appearing on podcasts. I have had lots of editors on The Creative Penn Podcast over the years, so you can listen and see if they resonate with you. Most authors credit their editors and proofreaders in the acknowledgments of their books, and many authors happily share recommendations on social media in various author communities. If you enjoy a certain novel, it might be worth reaching out to that editor, as you know they are a specialist in the genre. Check out my list of editors at: www.TheCreativePenn.com/editors How to assess whether an editor is right for you I frequently get emails from writers asking me to recommend an editor for their book. But finding an editor is like dating. You have to do it for yourself, and it's likely that you will try a few before you find your perfect match. You may also change editors over your writing life as your craft develops and your needs shift, and that's completely normal too. Make sure the editor has experience in and enjoys your genre. You don't want a literary historical fiction editor working on your YA paranormal romance or your hard sci-fi adventure. Ensure that the editor has testimonials from happy clients, and check directly with a named author if you have doubts. Some editors will offer a sample edit for one chapter. This helps both parties decide whether working together is appropriate. The editor can assess what level your manuscript is at, and you can decide whether their editorial style is right for you. How to work with an editor When you engage an editor, you will receive a contract with a timeline and a price for the work. You agree to deliver the manuscript on a particular date and will usually pay a deposit, especially if this is the first time you're working together. The editor agrees to deliver the edits back on a certain date and also to keep your manuscript in confidence. You can avoid issues later by communicating expectations up front, so if you have questions about the editing process, ask before you sign a contract. Many editors are booked months in advance, so once you know your schedule, contact them early and book a slot. Update them if your timings change. Most allow minor slippage, but since editors plan their work around contractual dates, it's important to be timely with delivery. As a discovery writer, I only book my editor when I am sure of my dates. Submit your manuscript and, once the edit is complete, you will receive whatever has been agreed. That might be a structural report, line edit, or proofread manuscript, along with a style sheet. It's usually in the form of an MS Word document by email. Some editors may offer a call to discuss, but I have never spoken to an editor as part of my process. It has never been necessary. It's all about the words on the page. If you want a call and it is not specified, then include it in the contract up front along with anything else you're concerned about. I consider my editors to be an important part of my team. They help me turn my manuscripts into books that readers love, and I rely on them as part of my business. This is a two-way relationship, and you need to behave as professionally as the editor should. If you find an editor you love working with, pay them quickly and respect their time, and you will hopefully have a long-term business relationship that benefits you both. How does it feel to go through an edit? It's probably going to hurt, especially in the beginning, when your craft is in its early stages. You need fresh eyes on your work, especially at the beginning of your author career. You need feedback to improve. When I received notes back on my structural edit for my first novel, I didn't open the email for ten days. I was so scared of what it would say because my novel meant so much to me, and yet I knew it had problems. Of course it did, it was my first novel! So I let the email sit in my inbox until I was ready to face it, and like many things, the fear was worse than the actual event. Even many years and many books later, I still don't open emails from my editor until I am mentally ready to face criticism. Because that's what it feels like. It is not the editor's job to pat you on the back and say, ‘Well done, this is perfect.' Their job is to help you make it the best book it can be. They are experts and have honed their advice over many manuscripts, so they can spot an issue a mile off. When you receive that email from your editor, particularly if it's your first book, make sure you are well rested and in a positive frame of mind. Set aside a good amount of time and read through the comments and the manuscript as a whole. If you have an emotional reaction, do not email back immediately! Let the feedback sit with you for a few days, and you will find it easier to see what might need to change. Once you're ready, go through the manuscript and work through each change. Don't just click Accept All on the Track Changes version for a line edit. This takes time, but it's well worth it because you will learn with every step and you'll be able to spot your common issues in the future, and hopefully fix them next time. You also need to examine every suggestion to see if you want to make the change. Do you need to make every change that an editor suggests? No, you don't. You are the author, so your creative vision is the most important thing. But try to get some distance and assess whether the change truly serves the book, or if you're just having an emotional response. Remember what Jeffery Deaver said: “The reader is god.” Consider each editorial suggestion on its own merit. Does it help take the story in the direction you want it to? Will it improve the reader's experience? What if my editor wants me to change everything? Perhaps they are not the right editor for you. The editor should not fundamentally change your story or alter your creative vision. Their job is to help you shape your manuscript into a better version of itself, and retain your voice and ideas while at the same time improving it for the reader. This is a skillful balancing act, which is why experienced editors are so highly sought after. How long will the editing process take? This will depend on the type of writer you are in terms of the first draft. If you outline in great detail and spend time up front making the first draft the best it can be, then editing might take less time than for a discovery writer who only figures out the book after the first draft. The more books you've written, the more you understand how to shape a novel, the more you can write a clean draft, so editing speeds up. That doesn't mean it gets easier to write a book, but it does mean you know how to find and fix issues. It will also depend on the length of the book. A 50,000-word romance with one protagonist will be a faster edit than a 150,000-word sprawling fantasy with multiple point-of-view characters. It will also depend on your experience, so don't compare your editing time to someone who has written a lot of books. Give editing the time it needs. You want your book to be the best it can be. But also remember Parkinson's Law, which I discussed in chapter 4.7 on writing the first draft: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” This law also applies to editing. Set your deadline and schedule your editing time accordingly. Don't book a professional editor until you've been through at least your self-editing process, as it may take longer than you think. How much does an editor cost? This will depend on the type of edit, your genre and word count, how experienced you are as a writer, and how much experience the editor has. Editors usually quote a range on their website and you can also email and ask for a more detailed quote based on your manuscript length and sample. Every dollar I have spent on editing has been worth it as an investment in my writing craft and the quality of my finished novels. Although my requirements are different now, I continue to use editors and proofreaders for all my books. The more eyes on your novel before publication, the better it will be on launch. What if you have a tight budget? When I started out as a writer, I had a day job and I saved up for the editorial process. It was an investment in my craft and a possible future creative career. If you already have or intend to set up a business as a writer, then you can offset the cost of editors against any profits. But when you're starting out, you can't necessarily see that far ahead. If you're on a tight budget, then find or set up a writer's group with others in your genre and work through one another's manuscripts. You might also have other skills you can barter for editing services, but remember that bartering is subject to tax in many jurisdictions, so don't assume that it is ‘free.' What if my editor steals my ideas or my manuscript? This is a common concern of new writers who think that editors might run away with their book and make millions with their idea. But don't worry, editors are professionals. They work within a contractual framework that protects both parties. So make sure you are happy with the contract before you sign it. If you are really worried, you can register your copyright before you send the manuscript to anyone else. While it is not legally necessary to register copyright — it exists the moment the work is created — there are registration companies in every country that can provide peace of mind. Just search for ‘copyright registration' within your territory. Will I need different editors when I'm further along in my writing journey? Yes, as your craft and experience improves, you will likely work with different editors. You might also choose to use a new editor for a different genre, or work with recommended professionals to take your craft to the next level. Resources: • My list of recommended editors: www.TheCreativePenn.com/editors • Alliance of Independent Authors — www.TheCreativePenn.com/alliance • The following editing associations offer directories and job posting services: The Editorial Freelancers Association (US), the Chartered Institute for Editing and Proofreading (UK), the Institute for Professional Editors (Australia and New Zealand), and Editors Canada. Beta readers, specialist readers, and sensitivity readers Professional editors approach your manuscript with a critical eye based on their knowledge of language, story structure, and genre. But sometimes, it's a good idea to gain perspective from readers who are not experts on sentence structure or grammar, but comment on the story itself, and their experience of reading it as a whole. Beta readers Beta readers are a trusted group of people who evaluate your book from a reader's perspective before publication. The term comes from the software industry, where early versions are tested in beta before being released to the public. While there are some paid beta reader services, many authors find people from their existing readership, or from among genre fans in the writing community. Authors usually thank their beta readers in their acknowledgments. Specialist readers Specialist readers are experts on a particular topic who read with their expertise in mind. This might be a police officer who checks a crime novel, or a physicist who reads for a science-fiction author. Sensitivity readers Sensitivity readers check for cultural and diversity issues, lack of or clichéd representation, and insensitive, inauthentic, or uninformed language, characters, or situations. This type of feedback can help an author before publication, and can be particularly useful if you are tackling more controversial topics. It can also be valuable when reviewing older manuscripts if you want to republish a new edition, as gendered language has changed, as well as the need for representation, diversity, and inclusivity. While some criticize sensitivity reading as a step toward censorship, most authors want to make their books the best they can be, and ensure the reader experience is excellent, whatever the genre. Being a fiction writer is also about empathy — with our characters and with our readers — so improving our ability to write about diverse characters is important. However, authors cannot be experts on what it's like to experience every race or religion, every body type or disability or mental health issue, or understand every country or culture. Feedback from different kinds of readers can help us write better stories, and it is the author's choice whether to implement suggestions in the final manuscript. Do you need all of these types of readers? No. You don't need any of them, or you can choose to use some of them for different books, depending on the need. It's up to you (and your agent or publisher if you choose to go that route). At what stage in the editorial process should you use these types of readers? The book should be as close to the final version as possible. These people are reading with fresh eyes; if they read again later, they can never approach the story with such an open mind. Most authors will send the manuscript to a select group of readers after the main editorial revisions, but before the proofread. Some authors with more developed careers even use their team of beta readers instead of editors at different stages of the process. What should you provide to readers? Provide the manuscript in the format the reader prefers. This could be an MS Word document or PDF. Many established authors use Bookfunnel, which allows you to create a version that can be read on any reading device or phone. Specialist readers and sensitivity readers have their specific expertise, but for more general beta readers, you need to provide some direction as to what you expect. For example: Did you skip over anything? Did anything bore you? Was anything confusing? Did you have to reread any parts? What did you like? Was there anything you hated or objected to or had a problem with? How long should you give them to read? Allow at least two weeks for readers to assess and provide feedback. Be clear on the timeline when you send them the book.. Do you need to make all the changes they suggest? No, and if you try to, you will end up straying from your creative goal, messing up your author voice, and likely pleasing no one! Keep your number of early readers small and specific to what you want to achieve. Assess each comment and suggestion on its own merit and decide whether or not to make the change. Be confident in your creative vision and beware writing by committee, which becomes a problem if you ask too many people for feedback. Only you can decide what you want for your novel. Resources: • The Reedsy marketplace includes different kinds of editors, beta readers, and sensitivity readers — www.TheCreativePenn.com/reedsy • Directory of sensitivity readers — www.writingdiversely.com/directory • Editors of Color — editorsofcolor.com When is the book finished? “I have not yet found words to truly convey the intensity of this remembered rapture—that moment of exquisite joy when necessary words come together and the work is complete, finished, ready to be read.” —bell hooks,Remembered Rapture You can edit a book forever if you want to. Every time you read it, you will find things to change. Every time you hire another editor, they will find more. If you work with beta readers, they will also offer opinions. Your novel will never be finished — until you decide it is. Nothing is ever perfect. Even if you hire three separate editors and use multiple proofreaders, you will still find a typo or an error in the published novel. Pick up any bestselling book from a traditional publisher, and you will still find an issue somewhere. It happens to everyone. Look at any prize-winning or bestselling book on Amazon and check the reviews. The more popular the book, the more issues people will find with it. There will never be a novel that satisfies everyone, and that's fine. Of course, you must make sure your book is the best it can be, but set boundaries for yourself so you do eventually finish. Have you self-edited your manuscript? Have you worked with a professional editor, or at least worked through the manuscript with other writers to improve it? Have you used editing tools and/or a proofreader? Have you set a deadline to move into the publishing process so you are not editing forever? If you have been through this rigorous editorial process and you still feel the itch to edit again, be honest with yourself. Is another round of changes really going to make a substantial difference to this book? Would it be better to work on the next novel instead of constantly reworking this one? Are you struggling with fear of judgment, fear of failure, procrastination, or other mindset issues that you need to work on instead of editing? Check out my book The Successful Author Mindset if you think this might be the case. Strive for excellence, do your best, and then release your book out into the world. “Set a limit on revisions, set a limit on drafts, set a time limit… The book will never be perfect.” —Kristine Kathryn Rusch, The Pursuit of Perfection and How it Harms Writers These chapters are excerpted from How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book by Joanna Penn, available direct or on all the usual stores. The post Editing a Novel: Self-Editing, And How To Work With A Professional Editor With Joanna Penn first appeared on The Creative Penn.
Learning to read can be hard. And when our kids are still learning to read fluently and well, helping them fall in love with books can feel impossible.But it doesn't have to be that way.Today on the show, I'm sharing some strategies to help hook your developing reader. And of course, I have some suggestions for books that they won't be able to resist.In this episode, you'll hear: Why helping your kids fall in love with story is the the key to helping them fall in love with reading The way short, frequent phonics and reading sessions propel budding readers toward fluency and easeHow to become a book-matchmaker for your child Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/child-resists-reading
We all want to build those meaningful and lasting connections with our kids. Around here, we're usually talking about doing that through books and reading aloud. But how do we extend these connections into our everyday, ordinary parenting moments? Today, I'm talking to one of my favorite people to listen to when it comes to relationships. Dr Matthew Breuninger is a clinical psychologist and author of Finding Freedom in Christ: Healing Life's Hurts and in this episode he shares how safe, secure attachment forms the foundation of close relationships with our kids and how to repair them when we inevitably mess up. He also unpacks the very common tendency a lot of us have to view our children's behavior as a reflection on us, and offers a beautiful reminder of where our deepest identity as parents comes from (spoiler alert: it's not your performance. ❤️)In this episode, you'll hear: What foundational perspective parents can offer to shape our kids relationships with us and othersWhy ruptures are inevitable in all our relationships, and how we can approach repairHow our kids become mirrors for the wounds and self-protection strategies we need to work on in ourselvesLearn more about Sarah Mackenzie:Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/connecting-with-your-kids/
Today, we're revisiting a listener-favorite episode that has some advice and an activity that I think are perfect for this time of year in our homeschools.Jon Acuff, author of All It Takes Is a Goal, joined me a while back for a perspective-shifting conversation about setting and achieving goals for our homeschools, and how looking back at our best moments, from major milestones to pockets of joy, helps us envision the kind of future we really want. Jon also shares some practical tips for reframing the urge to compare ourselves to others, especially on social media, giving ourselves credit for what we're already doing–because it's definitely more than you think–and approaching goals with a “some is better than none” mindset.In this episode, you'll hear: How taking stock of your past best moments helps you be more grateful and present for the moments happening right nowWhy having dreams and goals bigger than your calendar is actually a gift A simple key to finding goals that work for you and your family Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/jon-acuff
We talk a lot around here about the incredible impact stories have on our kids. They build empathy and connection, letting us walk a mile in another's shoes. And some stories also help us see what it looks like to be brave and courageous, even in the face of fear or daunting challenges.Today, Audrey is back to talk with me about how stories inspire courage in our kids and ourselves and can connect us to profound truths, no matter how fantastical the setting.In this episode, you'll hear: How stories become companions to us through challenging seasons Which stories have shaped Sarah and Audrey's own lives The ways myths can echo profound truths to us that feed our hearts and minds and inspire heroic virtueLearn more about Sarah Mackenzie:Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/inspiring-heroic-virtue
Why do we read aloud to our kids? Especially those who can read to themselves? This is a topic that comes up all the time at Read-Aloud Revival and it's one I'm super passionate about. It's foundational to what we do around here and I firmly believe it's vital to our kids becoming lifelong readers. In this episode, we're talking about the impact reading aloud has on our children, regardless of their independent reading level. Research shows that there are many benefits to reading aloud to your kids, and today, we're going to focus on five of the most important ones.In this episode, you'll hear:How books educate the heart as well as the mind, growing perspective and empathyThe incredible impact of reading aloud on academic performance, language development, information processing, expression (the list goes on!)How reading aloud builds community, strengthens family bonds, reduces stress and anxiety, and enriches time spent togetherLearn more about Sarah Mackenzie:Read-Aloud RevivalWaxwing BooksSubscribe to the NewsletterFind the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/why Join us for the upcoming Circle with Sarah Retreat: Happy Homeschooling
© 2020-2026 Ivy Podcast Discovery LLC
