What are fairy tales? Why do we love them so much? And why do these stories continue to capture the imaginations of countless generations? To help me answer those questions, I’m welcoming author Sarah Arthur to the podcast. I first fell in love with Sarah’s writing through A Light So Lovely, on the spiritual legacy of Madeleine L’Engle. And when I found out she was working on a young adult fantasy, and that it was a sort of love letter to fairy tales? I had to have her on the show. She joins me to talk about how fairy tales re-enchant us, the benefits of embracing both the imaginative and the ..read more

That’s right … Kate DiCamillo is back! And what she has to say is so good, you might find yourself listening more than once. In this new episode, Kate and I chat about her newest book, Beverly, Right Here, and we also discuss why parents and teachers so often try to quantify what our kids are getting from books. We have some ideas about how we could better help kids develop their own robust reading life. I also answer a listener question about how to read aloud with highly visual kids (kids who really want pictures to go along with their books). In this episode, you’ll hear: why the kinds of ..read more

Book of the Week: The Drawing Lesson by Mark Crilley In this book A boy who desperately wants to learn how to draw asks an artist to teach him. This graphic novel tells the story of that growing friendship, the boy’s growing skill… and gives your kids drawing lessons along the way! I loved this graphic novel, and it has inspired many happy drawing sessions of my own since I first read it! Recommended for: Kids and adults of any age who want to learn how to draw Want to see more of our favorite graphic novels? The post Book of the Week: The Drawing Lesson first appeared on Read-Aloud Revival ..read more

Today, in this Best Of Read Aloud Revival episode, we’re revisiting a conversation about a series I absolutely adore: The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall. The Penderwicks books follow the escapades of four spirited sisters, Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty. The books are a modern nod to Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, and they’ve won tons of awards including the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, several ALA Notable Children’s Book Awards, and the Massachusetts Children’s Book Award. Since recording this interview for RAR episode 100, Jeanne unknowingly planted the seed for my ..read more

Every year, the Read-Aloud Revival team watches the American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards together. This is the award show where the medals that are considered the most prestigious in children’s publishing are given. Today I’m joined by Kortney Garrison, our Community Director, Kara Anderson, our Creative Director, and Harmony Harkema, or brand new Managing Editor at both Read-Aloud Revival and Waxwing Books. We are going to talk about the winners that were announced on January 30, 2023. We’ll talk about the books we were delighted to see honored, as well as some books that we thin ..read more

What do you do if you notice that your child isn’t finishing books? How can you get your kids to widen their reading taste outside of a single genre? How can you describe what you do for literature on a high school transcript when you take a more relaxed Read-Aloud Revival approach to the subject? And what can you do to help boost your child’s emotional intelligence and reading comprehension while reading? In this episode, you’ll hear:  Is it okay if your child isn’t finishing books? How can we expand our child’s reading repertoire (without assigning them books)? How to describe literatu ..read more

Some books are just better than others. When a book is this good, I’m compelled to make a whole podcast episode about it. The Long Winter is the sixth book in the Little House on the Prairie series. It was first published in 1940, and is an autobiographical novel based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s experience in Dakota Territory during the severe winter of 1880-1881, when she was 14 years old.  This book is, I think, one of the best children’s novels ever written. And I think it gets short shrift in the series. (Oooh! Such claims!) Well. Even if you haven’t read the rest of the Little House ..read more

Every year in RAR Premium we do Christmas School. What is Christmas School? It’s 4 weeks of Christmas-themed Family Book Clubs that offer your whole family (from preschoolers to high schoolers) a relaxed, bookish learning experience. This year’s Christmas School is brand new and better than ever. Open-and-Go Christmas School for all ages Our 2022 Christmas School Guide is open-and-go, so aside from collecting a few supplies at the top of each week, there is no prep. And yep, we’ve got plans for everyone in the family, from your youngest to your teens! Last week, we revealed the books we’re fea ..read more

It’s a favorite time of year here at Read-Aloud Revival. Why? Well, besides the obvious love letter to all things autumnal, we’re also gearing up to announce what’s coming at RAR Premium this winter. And that means two words: CHRISTMAS SCHOOL What is CHRISTMAS SCHOOL? It’s a whole month of Family Book Clubs based on our favorite Christmas books. This year it’s all-new and utterly fabulous. Christmas School is a program you can use with your kids of all ages to replace your normal curriculum in December. Each Christmas School guide includes: Read-aloud sugg ..read more

It’s Victorian London in the late 1800’s… and it’s been five years since the Sweep disappeared. Orphaned and alone, Nan Sparrow has no other choice but to work for a ruthless chimney sweep named Wilkie Crudd. She spends her days doing dangerous work–sweeping out chimneys. The job is thankless, but with her wits and will, Nan has managed to beat the deadly odds time and time again. This time, though, she gets stuck in a chimney fire. She wakes to find herself unharmed in an abandoned attic. And she is not alone. Huddled in the corner is a mysterious creature—a golem—made from soot and ash. The ..read more