Nice work! 

Bringing books and read-alouds to the kids in your life, that is.

However much. Whatever you’re reading. However imperfectly. 

It’s all good. 

How good? 

Well, reading aloud helps …

• awaken curiosity
• show kids they matter 
• develop vocabulary   
• improve writing skills
• broaden thinking and imagination
• grow cultural sensitivity
• increase emotional intelligence
• foster cognitive development
• cultivate empathy
• improve the ability to focus
• do math (!) 
• develop self-discipline
• strengthen parent-child relationships
• plant the desire to read 
• make us better humans
• and much more

Who knew!

If you need read-aloud suggestions, check our Read-Aloud Recs page or, better yet, ask the Read-Aloud Rec Room community.

Happy reading.

Jeff, Bob, and Zoe …
… who believe that reading with kids can change the world for the better

PS. Sources for my list: “The Enchanted Hour,” by Meghan Cox Gurdon; “In Defense of Read-Aloud,” by Steven Layne; “Better Than Life,” by Daniel Pennac; and “The Read-Aloud Handbook, by Jim Trelease.

“Scar and the Wolf”: Chapters 4 and 5

Illustration by Madeline Barber.

This week, we continue our current read-aloud, “Scar and the Wolf.” (Scroll down to read the whole thing.) Here’s an excerpt: 

There are lots of terrible places to be in the world. Stuck at the bottom of a well. Mired in a leech-infested bog. Trapped in the back seat on a long cart ride with nothing to read. Geometry class.

But the worst place to be stuck is In Between — that place where you’ve outgrown the familiar. You need to step into a new space, a bigger space but you’re not sure how to act when you get there.

The thing about growing up though, is that if you’re doing it right, you’re always moving into a bigger, more uncomfortable space.

The secret is that you get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

I know. It sounds weird.

Contents

• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Happy Unearthday, Scarlet
• Chapter 2: The Haggis Project
• Chapter 3: The Cloak Smelled Like Squirrel Pee
• Chapter 4: Forewarned is Forearmed
• Chapter 5: Zombies Roam the Street

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