Read-Aloud Revival ®

The Nativity is such a familiar story throughout the Western world that Christians and non-Christians alike can recite the story. We know the Wise Men and their gifts, we know the shepherds and the Star, we know the story so well that sometimes the story of the birth of Christ can lose its wonder and awe.

This year for RAR Premium’s Christmas School we decided to choose books that help us see the story of the Nativity through fresh eyes and renew our sense of wonder. This year’s Christmas School looks at the Nativity in three ways: through the hopes of trees, the eyes of a (very darling) mouse, and the grief of a particular wood carver.

On today’s episode, I’m joined by author Karma Wilson, RAR Premium Coordinator Leilani Curtis, and illustrator P.J. Lynch to introduce you to these wonderful stories.

In this episode, you’ll hear: 
Why Karma Wilson wanted to write a child-forward take on the Nativity story and how that goal shaped the story
How three trees give us a new perspective on the transformation and hope in the Nativity
How P.J. Lynch altered his typical approach for the illustrations for The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:
Read-Aloud Revival
Waxwing Books
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Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/nativity-in-three-ways

We all want to make lasting memories with our kids, especially at this time of year. 
We want them to remember freshly-baked cookies, the fragrance of a freshly cut Christmas tree, the crackling warmth of a fire, the melody of your family’s favorite carols… The list goes on until suddenly we have a to-do list longer than the trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
Christmas is naturally a time for memory-making. But it’s also a time that invites us to slow down and savor the season as we wait in joyful hope for the birth of our Lord. 
So this year, I want to invite you to take some of the pressure off of yourself to create grand traditions and make big, flashy memories. Because memory-making doesn’t have to be big or complicated to stay with you and your kids as they grow and eventually leave home. To prove it, today on the show, Audrey and I asked a few of our Read-Aloud Revival team members to share their favorite memories of growing up and from raising their own kids.
In this episode, you’ll hear: 
Why holiday traditions don’t even have to happen every year to make lasting memories
The way a small, unexpected moment of joy or feeling seen by you can stay with a child for life
Why food is one of the best tools for making memories –– and it doesn’t have to be complicated or even homemade!

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:
Read-Aloud Revival
Waxwing Books
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Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/small-is-memorable

Today, I am over the moon to welcome one of my very favorite guests back to the show. She’s been on the show and visited us in RAR Premium several times over the years and I always love our conversations.

You know her as the author of some of your kids’ favorite books, like the Mercy Watson series, The Tale of Despereaux, and Because of Winn-Dixie. That’s right, Kate DiCamillo is back!

She’s here to tell us all about the brand-new, absolutely gorgeous 20th anniversary edition of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I don’t know about you, but I have a weakness for collector’s editions and friends and I know I’m going to be putting this one on my keepers shelf and I think you will too.

In our chat, we talk about writing to serve the story, not to please others, the real-life gift that inspired The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, and lots more! 

In this episode, you’ll hear:  
The stories from teachers and parents about Edward Tulane that capture the power of read-alouds 
How literature is made by the synergy of the writer, the reader, and the story
Why there’s only one wrong way to be a writer 

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:
Read-Aloud Revival
Waxwing Books
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Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/kate-dicamillo

There is a type of children’s book that we haven’t talked much about here in twelve years of Read-Aloud Revival. But it’s one that almost anyone who has spent time with babies knows well: board books.
Board books are how so many of our kids meet stories and books for the first time. They’re often the first books babies and littles are able to really get their hands (and mouths!) on, and experience touching the pictures and turning the pages for themselves. 
So today, we’re going to do a bit of a deep dive on board books, and I couldn’t think of a better person to join me for this than bestselling author and illustrator Tabitha Paige. Tabitha is a speech language pathologist as well as a creator of absolutely stunning board books, and in this episode she shares all about what they can do for our littlest readers as well as what to look for when choosing board books. 
In this episode, you’ll hear: 
How board books create positive experiences that make kids want to come back to books again and again
Why realistic illustrations are an important tool for building vocabulary
The way the multi-sensory experience of physically interacting with a board book enhances learning

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:
Read-Aloud Revival
Waxwing Books
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Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/tabitha-paige

We all want our kids to be readers. 

Not just kids who can read, but kids who actually do read. Who then grow up and keep choosing to read because they want to, not because they have to.

But there’s a curious thing that those of us who care deeply about raising lifelong readers tend to do, which is to treat our kids’ reading lives in exactly the opposite way that adult readers actually read. 

We choose all their books. We tell them how long to read for. We ask them questions to prove to us that they read and understood the story. We make them write essays to prove their comprehension even further. And somehow, we expect that when no one is making them do any of this anymore, they’ll choose to pick up a book for the joy of it.

So today, I want us to think about this differently. Instead of asking, “How do I get my kids to read,” let’s ask the question, “What do real, lifelong readers actually do?”

Then give our kids more chances to do those things.

In this episode, you’ll hear: 
Why letting your kids develop their taste by choosing their own books is part of their becoming lifelong readers
The question to ask yourself when you’re considering what reading to require of your kids
How to gauge comprehension without making conversation a pop quiz
Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:
Read-Aloud Revival
Waxwing Books
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Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/lifelong-readers