Inspiring listen!

I pre-ordered a paperback copy of this book, but also used a credit to buy the audible edition. As a fan of audiobooks as well as the RAR podcast, I really enjoyed listening to Sarah narrate this book herself. There IS overlap and repetition from the podcast episodes, but I still really enjoyed having all of the Read-Aloud "philosophy" -- methods, ideas, tips, background -- all in one cohesive place. (Besides, I'm a weirdo who has listened to her favorite episodes multiple times, so I'm probably even more familiar with the content than your average listener.) And there IS unique new content in the book that I think is worth having. I'm glad to have the paperback for reference including the chapter on asking compelling questions and the book lists at the back. If you're debating between formats though, please be aware though the Audible edition includes instructions for accessing a downloadable book list you can print out split up by age -- if that helps you decide!

20 people found this helpful

Inspiring, encouraging and practical!

I knew reading aloud was valuable. In fact I grew up with four siblings and have fond memories of my own mother reading aloud to all of us, even into our young adult years! But now as a mother to four of my own young children, I've struggled to find the time when there are so many other "more important" subjects and tasks to complete each day. I feel like I was just given permission to prioritize reading over everything else! Not only that, but in true "teaching from rest" form, Sarah is so gifted at breaking it down into bite size pieces, troubleshooting the logistics of managing reading time with a large family, and keeping expectations reasonable so as not to add yet another item to the heap of "mom guilt." Thank you, Sarah, for rekindling *my* love for family read aloud time.

9 people found this helpful

Not bad, but...

DNF.

Should've done my own research, so it's my bad, but there should have been a bit in the publisher's summary that mentioned how heavily the narrative focuses on the Christian faith and religiosity. I could deal with "mildly flavored" but this one was a bit too heavy-handed.

To each their own.

Wonderful personal anecdotes that convey how much reading aloud bonds families and helps kids to excel. Beautifully narrated by the author.

8 people found this helpful

Read to your kids; Jesus loves you

The secondary message of the book? Read to your kids a lot, at every age. The main message? Jesus is life. I made it through 2.5 chapters until it got way too religious. I get it...she’s a homeschooling Christian mom. And I was fine with the God and Jesus in the first 2.5 chapters but half way through Chapter 3 she started prosthelytizing and I shut off the audiobook. It was too distracting. I like the author’s book lists on her blog. I’m sorry I wasted a credit on this book.

2 people found this helpful

Not really anything here

Read Trelease's "Read aloud handbook" instead. I admit to have only gotten through half this volume, and that was more time than I should have given it.

It was my error for having bought this through a sale, but it was not marked as a christian volume there, and boy is it christian. This is more of a christian reimagining of Trelease than anything else, and Trelease was much better in its original form. Trelease had facts and studies and data to back him up. Trelease is a reasonable writer. This book has ... anecdotes and feel good stories about god along with a great deal of filler. One gets the idea that the author was paid by the word, and in order to make her word count fluffed out the book by making a number of long lists.

Poorly written, barely argued, preachy. Even ignoring the heavy-handed religious content there is nothing of value here that isn't extended quotes from books you'd be better off reading than this one.

7 people found this helpful

A Must Read for Family Read Alouds

This book gave me great ideas on how to connect as a family using books.

1 person found this helpful

Highly recommend!!!

Love, love, love this book!!! As a Homeschool family that does read-alouds in our family, we do know how important they are. This book has helped me realize just how important!! We will definitely be following a more pro-active read-aloud schedule in our family. I learned of so many books we have never heard about from Sarah's wonderful recommendations in this book. This book has inspired me so much, I was sad this audiobook was over!! (Isn't that the sign of a great book, Sarah? 😉)

1 person found this helpful

Love, love, this book!

Sarah Mackenzie has started me on a journey of reading aloud to my kids. I always thought reading aloud was only for babies. How wrong I was.

A must for every parent

I can’t stop listening! By far one of my favorite audible I have purchased.
If you have children I would highly recommend this book.

Wonderful, encouraging book!

I loved this book. We’ve been working as a family to build our desire to read. I was so encouraged reading this book. So many wonderful suggestions and ideas on how to keep reading!