RAR #153: Jim Trelease’s Read-Aloud Handbook, 8th Edition

Cyndi (00:00): I have to share one of my very favorite quotes with you and it comes from Newbery author Katherine Patterson. "Read it to me is a test. Let me read it to you is a gift." And if we view that time spent reading to our children as a gift, then we approach it as not something we have to do, but rather something that we want to do. Sarah (00:30): You're listening to the Read-Aloud Revival podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Mackenzie, homeschooling mama of six and author of the Read-Aloud Family and Teaching From Rest. As parents, we're overwhelmed with a lot to do. It feels like every child needs something different. The good news is you are the best person to help your kids learn and grow and home is the best place to fall in love with books. This podcast has been downloaded 7 million times in over 160 countries, so if you want to nurture warm relationships while also raising kids who love to read, you're in good company. We'll help your kids fall in love with books and we'll help you fall in love with homeschooling. Let's get started. (01:19): Many of you know, I love Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook and I've loved wanted to chat with Jim about that book that's beloved by so many of us. Well Jim himself is retired, but he did choose someone to update and carry on the work of that beautiful book and that's Cyndi Georgis. We get to meet her today on the show. I think you're going to find she's our kind of people. That's what is in store in today's episode. Now we've heard you loud and clear. It is really, really hard to focus on homeschooling right now with everything that's happening in the world. School years are always hard to finish strong, I think. But this year it feels especially hard, but you still want to finish your school year well. Right? And so do we. So we've got a brand new workshop series for your kids that will help you spice up your home learning and finish your kid's school year with a big win. (02:16): It's called WOW Writers on Writing. These are weekly workshops, taught by published children's book authors starting next week, May 12th, 2020, and carrying on for six weeks. Your kids will take the live workshop each week to learn specific skills like adding sensory details to their writing or creating creative nonfiction, the art of revision, harvesting stories from their own lives, these kinds of things, all from some of our own favorite authors. And then they'll also get writing prompts that will help them practice those specific skills they learned during the workshop throughout the week. If you need to liven things up, this is a fabulous solution. You can use it as your writing curriculum for the end the school year and I think you and your kids will be glad you did. It's happening in RAR Premium, so head to RARPremium.com to join us. If you are a premium member, you don't need to register in advance or pay anything extra to participate. (03:14): It's all a part of your RAR Premium membership and if you're not an RAR Premium member and you're interested in joining us, head to RARPremium.com and then join for a month or a quarter so that you don't miss the fabulous workshop series. We're so excited to bring this to your kids and help you get a big win right here at the finish line to this school year. Before I chat with today's guest, I'm going to take a listener question. Bethany (03:40): Hi Sarah. This is Bethany Steward. During quarantine, we haven't been able to go to the library of course, and we don't want to buy a million new books. It's been okay so far because we've been reading some of our big compilations, a Madeline treasury, the Brambly Hedge collection, Richard Scary Busy Town collection, a book of fairy tales. I wondered if we want to buy something that has a lot of bang for our buck, do you have a recommendation for a treasury, a compilation source, some sort of anthology for us? Thank you. Sarah (04:14): I sure do. And what a great question. On episode 78 of the podcast, I talked about some of my favorite picture book treasuries, so I just pulled that up and you can find this whole list at ReadAloudRevival.com/78 and I'll tell you, I once upon a time on this show, I said I didn't love treasuries because I felt like picture book treasuries are harder to snuggle up with. But then I was, what's the word I'm looking for? Converted. My ways were in remedied because I realized how helpful picture book treasuries are, especially for longer reading sessions, for taking on errands, if you're going to be sitting in a waiting room or in our current case when you need to get a lot of bang for your buck, like you said. (05:01): So here's a few of my favorites. If you want to see the whole list, go to ReadAloudRevival.com/78. My own very favorite is the Magical World of Strega Nona, which is a treasury by Tommy DePaola. That one is beautiful and it's also got some fun music and a CD and some recipes in the back. So that's got some fun extra perks. Jan Brett has an animal treasury that came out just a few years ago that is especially lovely. Let's see, there's also one that contains Robert McCloskey books, which I think are just gold standard. So if you are... It's one of those names that if you see anything by Robert McCloskey, you should just get it because everything he's made is amazing. And that has things like Blueberries For Sal and Make Way For Ducklings and One Morning in Maine and a bunch of his works. (05:51): And then another treasury we just adore and sees a lot of use at our house is a Little House Treasury, which is the Little House picture books that were based on Laura Ingalls Wilder's original novels. But they have been adapted for picture books using a lot of the same language from the originals and paired with Renee Graves' lovely, lovely, lovely illustrations. That treasury gets a lot of use at our house. So those are just a few favorites. We're going to put them all in today's show notes, but you can also see the whole list of favorite picture book treasuries. It looks like there are, I don't know, 12 or 13 books on this list and I'll see if I want to add any here too because treasuries are a really wonderful way to, like you said, pack a lot of punch and if you can only buy a few books right now but you want to widen your children's selection at home, a treasury is a fantastic way to do it. (07:02): Well Cyndi Georgis is a passionate advocate for reading aloud. She's a professor of literacy education and children's literature at Arizona State University and has worked as a classroom teacher, a school librarian and a teacher educator. Last year she completed the revisions and additions to the eighth edition of Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook and she's going to be continuing with upcoming updates to that book. She is clearly our kind of people. You're going to love her. Today, she's going to give us a little sneak peek behind that process of updating Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook. (07:40): This eighth edition has updated research. It has an entirely new and really excellent chapter on visual literacy and she also gives new book recommendations. This eighth edition was just released this past September. The new version has my favorite cover yet. It's so beautiful. We'll put a link to it in the show notes, of course. ReadAloudRevival.com/153 so you can see for yourself. Like I mentioned at the top of the show, Jim Trelease himself chose Cyndi to be the steward of his message, so of course I've been chomping at the bit to talk to her. I'm glad that she's here. I started by asking Cyndi what it was like to meet Jim Trelease. Cyndi (08:20): I haven't actually physically met him. We communicate by phone and obviously through email, but through those exchanges, I mean I have to tell you that Jim Trelease is one of the kindest, most supportive and gracious individuals I've ever met. He's also this really fabulous storyteller. And when I talk with him on the phone, he always has these great stories to share. This book really it's a gift isn't it? And I think you referred to it as that because I think what is truly it is what I hope it always will be is it's just somebody who was so passionate about something that they observed that was missing from a child's life. And he became this very voracious and very vocal advocate for reading aloud. Sarah (09:15): Yeah. I mean his love for children and for story and then just for the simple and powerful gift of reading aloud, it comes through, I think on every single page of every edition I've read of this book and it's what captured my heart the first time that I read it as well. So let's talk about the updates to it because I imagine that would have been a very daunting task to... I'm trying to imagine what you must've felt like taking this book and bringing it in to an eighth edition and wanting to do it justice and wanting to make sure you're carrying it forward. I just imagined that feeling really daunting. So tell me what kind of changes you were looking to make with this eighth edition? Cyndi (09:55): Daunting is a good word. I carried this book with me everywhere. Every time I had a few minutes I sat down and I read it. I don't know, I think just even the physical act of just having it with me all the time, like there was something that was going to magically happen that I could find my way into it because part of it is Jim's voice is so strong in the previous editions and how could I find my way into the book and bring myself into it, but retain why this book has been so popular for so long? (10:30): So I looked at the structure of it first of all and I liked the question and response format of it. And I think that really works because a lot of these questions are questions you've probably heard parents ask and I certainly have. But there's also a lot of questions that I don't think parents have even thought of about the role and the importance of reading aloud. So when I was thinking about what was it and what could I bring to this, in addition to updating the research and things like that, one of my passions and beliefs is about visual literacy and the visual aspect of books. (11:09): So I created a whole new chapter about the artistic and design elements in picture books and also talked about uniqueness of illustrated and graphic novels. Kids are just so visual and they're immediately drawn to illustrations. I wanted to get parent and kids the language to talk about what they're seeing. And that illustrations not only enhance the text, but sometimes they actually tell a secondary story. And so it's important to slow down and savor the whole book, and not just focus on the text. I heard an illustrator once compare a picture book to holding a mini museum in your hands. So if we view illustrations and artistic works, then we can really help kids appreciate the visual world around them. Sarah (11:57): Yeah, I love how you take the time in this chapter on visual literacy and reading aloud on the artifact of a book, the size and the shape and the feel and weight of it. And then the artistic elements that go into the illustrations do so much storytelling. I love that you've taken the pages to point those out because until someone pointed out, you know what a border... You talked about borders and frames and end papers and front matter and typography. These are things that we dig into when we do our family book clubs at Read Aloud Revival because they tell so much of the story. They help you love a book so much better, I think. And so I love this chapter. Cyndi (12:38): Thank you. Thank you for saying that because I think that we start a book and we always think it starts on the page where the text first begins. But so often a book begins on the cover or sometime you take off the dust jacket and there are, I always call them little hidden treasure, and there's a different illustration on the hard casing of the book as opposed to just on the dust jacket. And then this, as you mentioned the endpapers. So often stories begin on the end papers and like there's a book called Oh No, by Candace Fleming. Sarah (13:10): Oh I love that book. Cyndi (13:12): I know, I love that book too. And you know right on that, remember the end papers where there's a tiger and he's lurking in the trees. And then there's that frog jumping kind of out of the frame almost. And that's where the story begins. And if you miss that first part of those end papers, you kind of miss a little something going into the book. And as you mentioned, the typography, it's like there's a reason why the font appears in a certain way or there's just how expressive it helps you read the texts. So every single part of a book, a picture book and chapter books and illustrated novels and graphic novels. There's intentional decisions made for each part of that book. So I'm glad you liked the chapter. I'm thrilled to hear that because I wanted to bring that piece to the Read-Aloud Handbook and thinking about the whole book. Sarah (14:13): And then I also appreciate your section here on graphic novels, which we've talked about a little bit on this show because I do think for a lot of us as parents, we think you even start the section saying "as adults we probably have some sort of comic book reading in our past." I think we think of the modern graphic novels as the kind of maybe the Garfield books or something that we read when we were kids and a graphic novel does a lot more than that these days than it used to. And so it can live a lot more vibrantly on the page than we might expect. And so I like that you've got a whole section here for that as well. Cyndi (14:48): And research is showing that it actually takes more on the part of the reader to read a graphic novel then it does other type of just straight text because they have to fill in so much between those frames, between those panels, and kids are really drawn to graphic novels and there's so many ways to read them, especially as read aloud because a lot of it's told through speech bubbles and just think about a family, just taking different parts of reading aloud a graphic novel. So I think at first we're a little like, "Oh, what do I do with this?" And then you start slowing down and again, looking at the book and realizing how much fun is this to read. Sarah (15:29): Yeah, exactly. Is there anything else you want to mention about the updates that you've made to the book that we should make sure we know about? Cyndi (15:45): One thing is about technology. And I love Jim but he's a little adverse to technology. So I had to kind of find a way to talk about technology, but because it's such an important part of our life today, I mean we can't ignore, especially right now, right? We're so reliant on technology to bring us the outside world. So I did talk a lot more about how we can utilize technology with audio books, with eBooks and also with book apps, how that can enhance or even change the experience, but still is a way to go into the read aloud experience with parents and kids. So the technology was something woven throughout the book and how it's impacting us and how it's impacting reading as well. Sarah (16:42): Cyndi, what do you think is most important for today's modern families to know about reading aloud? Cyndi (16:48): Oh, I have to share one of my very favorite quotes with you and it comes from Newbery author Katherine Patterson. "Read it to me is a test, let me read it to you is a gift." And if we view that time spent reading to our children as a gift, then we approach it as not something we have to do, but rather something that we want to do and we should consider reading aloud not just at bedtime, but any time. Grab a book, read it at breakfast and start the day. Or is it a special time that we set aside on the weekend or think about reading aloud in other forms such as the sibling read aloud time. And audio books, I just mentioned they're also a great way to enjoy a story together either at home or in the car. (17:37): We spent a lot of times in the car sometimes and we can read books on our digital devices, but it's important that it's still that time spent reading together and the interaction that it provides between the parent and child and just having books available throughout the house and in the car and wherever we are, so there's always ready access to them and they just become part of our everyday lives. I think I would just want to say that parents should remember that some of the most powerful memories their children will have is being read aloud too. Sarah (18:12): It's so true. And you know, my husband will often say that he doesn't have a lot of specific memories of elementary school, but what he remembers, and definitely his fondest memories of school, were when his teacher read aloud. He remembers the books she read, he remembers the lilt of her voice and the way she sat in the chair and the look of the book in her hands. And it's a very vivid memory for him. And I think it feels very simple. It feels almost too easy to be effective. Like this can't really make as big of a difference as we think it does, but then it's lasting. And so I love that so much. And to think of it as a gift, as a gift that we give our children as an act of love. Yeah, that's good stuff. Cyndi (18:56): And when we select gifts, when we think about the gifts we give to our children. I mean, we select them for a variety of different reasons, and so when we select the books that we read aloud, we also want to think about why am I selecting this? And there's a lot of reasons for that, but if we think about it and we approach it, this is a gift I'm giving to my child. I think we think about it just a little bit differently. Sarah (19:18): Yeah. That's so true. As you were doing research, Cyndi, did anything in particular surprise you? Cyndi (19:24): Yes. One area of research was about the influence of dads reading to their children. In the seventh edition, Jim had included a short chapter on this topic and there's been some additional research indicating that dads have a profound impact on their children's literacy development, especially boys. And boys often view reading as a feminine activity because most of the time the people they see or hear reading are their mothers or teachers in early grades. And so men reading aloud to boys and even boys seeing the male role models in their lives reading is so important. I don't think I realized the impact that men have on boys and girls' literacy development. So that that surprised me. And one thing that unfortunately, actually didn't surprise me but kind of disappoints me, is something that the Scholastic Kids and Family Reading Report is shown over the years. (20:26): The most recent study published this year shows that reading aloud to very young children is actually on the rise, which is great. What isn't so great is that fewer parents are reading to their children after the age of nine. And why is this? Kid start reading independently around that age. And so there's this belief that we don't need to read to kids anymore because they can read on their own, right? But kids don't stop learning vocabulary at age nine and they're probably now encountering more rare and unique words in their reading then they probably know and now they're probably just going to skip over it instead of learning what that word means. They also aren't hearing fluent reading and they may not be discussing the books that they're reading independently that would enhance their comprehension. So again, going back to what I said earlier about being a gift, reading aloud of creates that special bond and we don't ever want to miss an opportunity to do that. So don't stop reading to your child once your child begins reading independently because it still is a gift that we can continue to give. Sarah (21:42): What about recommendations? So I know that like the last, oh is it a full half of the book, do you think? Cyndi (21:49): Yes, yes it is. Sarah (21:51): Yes. Half of the book is recommendations and that's no easy task. It feels, I think, you can kind of think, "Oh it's a list of books," but I put a lot of book recommendations in the Read Aloud family and it's a lot of work to make a really good list of book recommendations and talk about them, give a little information so people can skim this, whatever you have to say about the book and makes them want to read it. So I just, my hats off to you because this is no small task and I found so many favorites on your list. Actually I can see just flipping through these pages right away several additions to the book lists, but tell me about a few of your favorite books that you added. Cyndi (22:36): Well, you're right. I mean it's like what do you include? And that's what was a really difficult decision. There's so many classics right that we want children to hear such as Where The Wild Things Are or Strega Nona or Charlotte's Web and it's really important to include those books, but there's also so many lists out there that contain, what your child should hear, what your child should know. So I had to find a balance between those classics that are essentially part of kids' literary heritage but I also wanted to offer some newer titles that may or may not become classics but are just really good books to read aloud. So, for example, kids really enjoy hearing nonfiction read aloud and there's so many nonfiction books written in a narrative style today. So books like Giant Squid by Candace Fleming was stunning illustrations by Eric Rohmann. It's a great read aloud. (23:36): Or Balloons over Broadway by Melissa Sweet that shares the story of how the balloons became such an important part of the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. And that book's been out for a few years, but I just, I wanted to include it because again, it's one of those things that brings some information about what we do on a yearly basis. Right? Is watch the parade. I also love books that invite interaction. So there's a book, Chris Houghton's, Shh, We Had a Plan. Sarah (24:11): Oh, I don't know this one. Cyndi (24:12): Oh well it's great. It's about these four characters who are attempting to capture this really colorful bird and there's a repetitive phrase, it goes "ready one, ready two, ready three." And of course, you can guess that they miss the bird every single time. But it's so much fun for kids to join in saying that throughout the book. (24:36): And then you start hearing kids saying that all the time. And then there's those chapter books. Right? And that was tough too because there's so many classic chapter books that we want kids to know about. So I was thinking about some newer ones that I really think are great for reading aloud, but also books that have maybe several books in the series. So these books have some really memorable characters. So books like The Vanderbeekers. Sarah (25:04): Oh my goodness. Yes. Cyndi (25:07): And I love it too because the kids are always trying to find a way to solve some sort of dilemma. So it's also empowering for kids to hear stories about other kids who do things. And sometimes they work out well, maybe sometimes they don't, but great to have conversations around. So for any book recommendation, I spend a lot of time reading them aloud to make sure that they have a great storyline. Maybe they contain rare and unique words that will further their vocabulary, stories they might relate to or connect with or sometimes you just got to have books that are just fun and humorous and are laugh out loud funny. Sarah (25:45): Well one of those laugh out loud, funny books that I noticed you added and I was so glad to see it in there is Princess Cora and the Crocodile by Laura Amy Schlitz and illustrated by Brian Floca and that book, well both the audio book and the actual, the paper book get a lot of use in our house. Probably the audio book more than anything. I think it's like 45 minutes or something. Maybe it's an hour. Something like that where it's a great length for turning on and letting my kids, color or do Play Doh while I'm making dinner or whatever. And it's so funny, we just never get tired of it. The voices are done so well and it's one of those newer books that I was just delighted to see on your list. And The Vanderbeekers, which I'm a big fan of all of those books. (26:30): Oh and another one that I noticed that you added was Free as a Bird, which is this a picture book biography about Malala by Lena Maslow, which is so well done. And then also a book of poetry called Lion of the Sky, Haiku For All Seasons by Laura Purdie Salas and we're big fans of Laura around here as well. So it was fun to see some of those new books on the list. I felt like I was seeing my friends in the newspaper. That's what it felt like. Cyndi (26:58): And that's what I... I do think the classics are important, but I just so often have questions from parents and teachers to say what are some newer books that I can read? And so that's what I hope to include in the new edition is some of those newer books, but also always encourage parents to seek out some of those classics too because there's a reason why they been around for as long as they have. But it's also fun to find some new books. Sarah (27:29): Yes, it's true and you have lots of classics in here. I see, just flipping through it here in my hands I see, you know Stuart Little, the True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Where the Red Fern Grows and the Whipping Boy. Just so many classic picture books I'm seeing. And that's a trick. I think it is very tricky. When I was writing the Read Aloud Family and I was making the book list at the back of that book, I ran up against the same kind of question of how do you balance classics that are so good to read aloud and we really do want in our children's repertoire, and they're such a delight to experience anyway with some really excellent new books. But I think you've done a beautiful job here. So I just, again, I'll say hats off to you because I think this is a marvelous book list. Cyndi (28:17): Oh Sarah, thank you so much. That means a lot coming from you because I know you're a voracious reader as well and so I'm glad there's some books that you saw and hopefully some new ones that may be [crosstalk 00:28:28]... Sarah (28:27): Yes, there are several. I've got little stars next to to go check out to get my hands on. You know, this book is, it's like we've said, it's the eighth edition and you've had such an up close experience with it. Why do you think this book and this message of reading aloud continues to endear parents generation after generation? Cyndi (28:56): You know, that's such a great question and I've heard from so many parents about how this book changed their lives and their relationship with their children. Sarah, you have a great story in the Read Aloud Family about how this book impacted you. Do you want to share that? Sarah (29:12): Oh, I'd love to. So yes, my oldest daughter is 18 but when she was one, I was at a friend's house and she was making some lunch for us and I just happened to see on her mantle a book that had a bazillion post-its in it. So being the snoop that I am, I picked it up to see what she was reading with such eagerness. (29:33): And it was the Read-Aloud Handbook. And I thought, I've never heard of this before. So I was kind of flipping through it and asked Christine, do you like this book? And she said, "Oh my gosh, yes. Take it home with you, see what you think. But it's so inspiring." So I took it home and it really was the first time I think I had encountered the idea of reading aloud for its own sake. So somehow in my mind, I don't think I'd ever really intentionally thought this, it's just sort of my assumption, I guess, was that you read aloud to small children because they can't read to themselves yet. And then once can read on their own, then they should read on their own like we were talking about just a few minutes ago and that that would be the superior way to experience any kind of story or reading. (30:16): And Jim's book was the first one that really opened my idea to reading aloud being a good all unto its own and having its own benefits and its own joys. And it really just broke open this idea of what we're actually doing when we sit down and share a story with our children and that act, I guess reading aloud is a gift, like you said earlier, reading aloud as an act of love. So different than... Also there's, of course, great joy and beauty in curling away in your bed under the covers and reading a book on your own, but this unique and palpable connective tissue that that grows when we share a story with our kids. And so I really feel like it was... Those early days of parenting are so formative to the rest of your parenting journey and meeting Jim's book in those early days had such a profound impact on the rest of the way I engaged with my kids and books. So it's true. I think it meets us and I... I don't know what edition that was, but it would've been 2002 probably. So whatever edition was out in 2002 is probably the one that first captured my eye. It wasn't the first edition, I know that. Cyndi (31:33): And you mentioned something earlier too, Sarah, about that sometimes we need, we might know it within ourselves, but sometimes we need that almost affirmation that something as seemingly simple as reading aloud to a child can make a huge difference in their world and also in our own. It's not about teaching a child to read, but rather about offering children the pleasure of reading and that there's something, it's something so magical, right? That can be found in books. Sarah (32:06): I love how you just said that it's not just about teaching kids how to read, but about offering them the gift, this gift and delight in reading, the pleasure of reading. And I think that paradigm shift can have just a profound impact on the rest of their life in all different ways, not just in their actual reading life, but in their life as they encounter other humans and people and trials and tribulations of their own. Really fortifies them in such unique ways that we can't really predict, but is a tremendous gift that we offer our kids so... Well, I am so grateful for your work on this new edition. I'm delighted to know that the book is going to... Am I right then in thinking it's going to continue to be updated over the years by you? Cyndi (32:51): I think so. Right after the eighth edition was published, Jim started sending me news items and articles he'd read and said this very simple message, it's time to start thinking about the ninth edition. So I'm hopeful that it will continue to live on. I think this is such an amazing legacy that he has created for all of us. So yes, that is my hope that the ninth edition will be on its way here in a couple more years. Sarah (33:20): Excellent. Well Cyndi, thank you so very much for taking some time to chat with us. We're going to have links of course in the show notes today for where everybody can get their hands on this book and that's at ReadAloudRevival.com/153. Cyndi, I hope that we can chat again soon because I have loved talking with you. Cyndi (33:38): Oh Sarah, it's been such a pleasure. Thank you so much and please keep doing what you're doing because you're just bringing books to families and in turn to children and really impacting their lives. So thank you so much and it's been so much fun and I hope we get to meet in person sometime and also just continue the conversation. Hebron (34:00): Hi Sarah. My name is Hebron. I am seven year old, eight next week. I live in [inaudible 00:34:06], New Zealand and my favorite book is the famous five series by Enid Blyton. I love it because I have a dog and that when they're together they always have adventures. Mariah (34:17): Hello Sarah. My name's Mariah and I'm 11 years old and I live in Christchurch, New Zealand. I'm a total bookworm and my mom has read for me, well basically since I was born and I love books and it's really hard to choose my favorite, but my favorite at the moment is the Ghost School by Shannon [Hyo 00:34:38] and I like it because she's always in trouble and never can get out of it and she has lots of adventures and it all comes out right in the end. Olivia (34:48): Hi, my name is Olivia. I'm at seven. My favorite book is Gerald and Peggy and I live in America. Child (34:58): What's your name? Maggie (34:59): Maggie. Child (35:00): How old are you? Maggie (35:01): Four. Child (35:01): No, you're three. Maggie (35:02): Three. Child (35:04): What's your favorite book? Maggie (35:07): Caterpillars. Child (35:08): The very hungry Caterpillar. Where do you live? Maggie (35:12): I live in Oregon. Child (35:14): And why do you like the Hungry Caterpillar? Maggie (35:18): Because it's my favorite and I really like it. And it's my best favorite. Mia (35:27): Hello. My name is Mia and I am from... Parent (35:28): Where are you from? Mia (35:28): Crystal Lake, Illinois. Parent (35:28): How old are you? Mia (35:39): I'm four years old and my favorite book is the Chronicles of Narnia. I liked the Chronicles of Narnia because I miss mass is the white witch is one, and I like it so much because my friend's book [inaudible 00:35:54] have a Narnia game. And dad cut out a [inaudible 00:35:58] and [inaudible 00:35:58] with the wets. Parent (35:57): What's your name? What's your name? Annie (36:06): [Annie 00:00:36:07]. Parent (36:06): How old are you? Annie (36:08): Two. Parent (36:08): What's your favorite book? Annie (36:08): [inaudible 00:36:11]. Parent (36:12): She fell off a roof? Francine Poulet Catches the Ghost Raccoon. Is that your favorite book? Nora (36:18): Hello, my name is Nora Somerville. I am 12 years old. I live in Virginia. My favorite book is Dealings with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede. I like it because there's the princess and she gets to work for a dragon. It is a really fun story and I highly recommend it. Elsa (36:35): Hi, my name is Elsa. I'm 7 years old. I live in Virginia and my favorite book is Dr. Suez. I like it because it rhymes. Sarah (36:46): Hey, good recommendations kids as always. If your kids want to be aired on the podcast, go to ReadAloudRevival.com, scroll down until you find the button where you can leave a "let the kids speak" message because we love to hear from your kids, what you are reading aloud to them, what they're reading on their own. It all counts. We love to hear your kids thoughts on the books they're reading. (37:08): The show notes for today's episode are at ReadAloudRevival.com/153. That newest edition of the Read-Aloud Handbook is available now and it is worth having on your shelf. And also don't forget if you want your kids to participate in our fantastic upcoming workshop series writers on writing, we get started next week. Every week's workshop is going to be available as a replay and premium as well and this can replace your writing curriculum if you just need to change things up a little bit. If you just need to spice things up and you want to finish strong, I think this is going to be a really good way to do that. We'd love to have you join us. You can sign up and get all the details at RARPremium.com. I'll be back in two weeks with another episode. Until then, you know what to do. Go make meaningful and lasting connections with your kids through books.