Bring out the brownies! And other wisdom from The Read-Aloud Family

This spring, as I woke up early every morning to type away at a newish non-fiction project, one thought that constantly tempted me to return to my pillow was this: "Who'd buy this book anyway? Aren't you just preaching to the choir?" I'd swat it away and go back to typing...but it's a niggling little ear worm. Every time I got to a tricky patch, I'd hear, "Why bother?"

But then I read a book for which I am the choir. And I thank God that someone's bothering to preach to me, because, boy do I need it. The choir needs encouragement and inspiration and direction, too.

This was my experience with Sarah Mackenzie's wonderful new book, The Read-Aloud Family. I almost hesitated to buy it because a) I have read aloud to my children almost every day of their lives,  b) I have no intention of stopping just because they get older. Reading aloud gets better the older they get. Reading aloud and the discussions we have after reading aloud are hands-down my favorite parts of homeschooling. I wouldn't give it up for the world. Finally, c) I have a to-read list a mile long and a limited budget.

But I loved Sarah's first book (Teaching from Rest--trust me, buy it now; it changed my life and my mothering for the better) so much that I decided I wanted to support her new one even if I didn't find it life-altering or anything. But I did find it life-altering. Like her first book, The Read-Aloud Family focuses on finding the true priorities in your life and not stressing about the rest. She includes compelling research into why reading aloud with your children will help you do this. The book includes lots of excellent book lists--which is important, because not every excellent book makes an excellent read-aloud. (Hi there, Fellowship of the Ring.) Those reasons, however, aren't what made the biggest impression on me.

The single most important lesson I gleaned from The Read-Aloud Family was this: you are not alone. Turns out I am not the only mother dedicated to reading aloud who has to deal with cranky toddlers screaming in the background. Or 7-year-olds who would rather dance through story time than sit through it. Or a whole group of children who realize they're starving two minutes into a chapter. You'd think I would have known...but I needed the reminder.

And that last point, simple as it may seem, was a nugget of wisdom that has already made our family read-aloud time so much better. Put another way: hungry children don't listen well. So just feed them. Sarah invites her readers to welcome children to read-aloud time with a big tray of brownies or a bowl of buttery popcorn. I tried it...and even my two-year-old sat quietly through three chapters of By the Great Horn Spoon, leaving me to wonder why on earth I hadn't brought food into the mix before. A quick five-minute vacuuming when we were finished took care of the popcorn kernels strewn around the living room, and that was that.

Lest you think you have all the secrets now (I mean, we all know wisdom involving chocolate is the most important, but still...), I should confess that The Read-Aloud Family had me, well, reading aloud passages to my husband at least three times a chapter. Sarah writes eloquently, persuasively, and humorously about a few of the topics I care about more than anything else in the world: family, faith, courage, creativity, and the power of story. I can't recommend this book enough.

You can buy The Read-Aloud Family at Amazon by clicking here or on the image above. And check out Sarah's incredible website and podcast over at The Read-Aloud Revival!