The Read-Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie

I am a sucker for books about books, and particularly books about reading books to kids (as it turns out). I don't need any extra motivation to read to my kids since it's one of my favorite things to do with them, but if I had needed some, this book would provide it. Mackenzie talks at length about all of the added benefits that reading aloud with your kids will provide, even long past the age when they can read on their own (even until they are teens!). It puts them leaps and bounds ahead in school, teaches them empathy and interest in the world and other people, but most of all, it creates meaningful connections between you and your kids by giving you shared experiences and meaningful time together. That is more important than improving their academic achievements or anything else, and she gives compelling reasons why it helps bring families closer together. She also talks about ways to talk about books together, how to go about reading together as a family, and what things your kids can do while you're reading to them so they're not bored, and gives some really thorough and great lists of books to start with for each age. I really enjoyed this and will definitely check back into it again and again, especially to look through some of the books she suggests (because they sound awesome). My only gripe is that I was hoping to get some suggestions for how to read books together that work for a number of different ages, because I can see us in the future trying to read together but having kids of all ages and having a hard time picking books that work for everyone. Do you just read to the little kids separately and the big kids? But how do you have time to read to each separate group? It's already going to be hard enough to read regularly (which she does address--she does a good job of making it seem possible and not a huge commitment) without having to do it for multiple ages every day. I wish she'd talked about how she does it with her family, since she has six kids--but it sounds like she just reads books for all of them from what she's talked about in the book. Anyway, otherwise, it was an inspirational read and I'm glad I bought a copy because I will want to use it again and again.