If you’ve ever found yourself reciting Goodnight Moon or If You Give a Mouse a Cookie from memory—possibly while wondering if you’ll ever read another book again—you’re not alone. Many parents worry that their child’s insistence on the same story, night after night, means they’re stuck, bored, or missing out.
In reality, the opposite is usually true. Rereading kids’ books is one of the most powerful (and underrated) ways children build early literacy.
Why Kids Love (and Need) Rereading
Children crave repetition because it helps the world make sense. When a story is familiar, kids know what’s coming next. That predictability can be comforting, and it also frees up mental energy that lets them build deeper understanding.
The first time through a book, a child might simply track the general plot or absorb the pictures. The second or third time, they may start understanding harder words or noticing patterns in language, rhythm, and structure. Eventually, they anticipate phrases, join in with repeated lines, and delight in moments they know are coming. This isn’t boredom—it’s mastery.
Rereading books also offers emotional comfort. Familiar stories are safe stories. They help children regulate big feelings, wind down at the end of the day, and feel confident in a world where so much is new and unpredictable.
Kids Are Learning Every Time You Reopen a Book
Each reread strengthens key literacy skills—often without children (or parents) realizing it.
- Vocabulary and language patterns: Hearing the same words and sentence structures again and again helps kids absorb them naturally.
- Story structure: Rereading reinforces ideas like beginning, middle, and end; cause and effect; and character motivation. (Get tips for how to fortify this learning.)
- Fluency and confidence: When children “read along” or recite parts from memory, they’re practicing phrasing, expression, and pacing.
- Deeper comprehension: Familiarity allows kids to notice humor, emotion, and nuance they may have missed before.
In other words, the book that feels stale to you may still be doing important cognitive work for your child.
Rereading Looks Different at Different Ages
For toddlers, rereading picture books is often about language acquisition and connection. They may focus on one favorite page or phrase, asking for it again and again. That’s normal—and beneficial.
Preschoolers often start participating more actively. They finish sentences, ask questions, or point out details in the illustrations. Repetition helps them feel competent and in control. Be sure to pause to answer your child’s questions or help them understand and reflect. Your conversation about a book is actually one of the most powerful parts of shared reading.
Older children still benefit from rereading, too, even though it may look different. They might revisit favorite series, graphic novels, or audiobooks on their own.
While you still want to expose them to new books and gently encourage them to explore other material, don’t despair when they keep going back to their favorites. Each pass builds fluency and deepens understanding, while continuing to offer them a valuable emotional safe space and refuge from daily life.
How to Stay Engaged When Rereading Picture Books
It’s okay to be tired of reading the same book all the time—and you’re allowed to suggest different titles or set limits when you can’t take it anymore.
Just remember your child is getting something out of rereading the same favorites, so make sure you agree to their requests some of the time. To keep it fresher, try shifting how you read.
- Try using different voices or changing your pacing. Sometimes, reading in a goofy accent can feel a lot more fun. Just know that littles who are working on predictability and memorizing the story may not like variations, so be prepared to step back if changes upset your child. (Check out this article about different read-aloud styles.)
- Pause to wonder aloud: Why do you think she did that? How do you think he feels? How would you feel? Chats with your child and the chance to build your bond and get into your child’s head can make shared reading feel more rewarding for both of you.
- Invite your child to “read” the parts they know. You may be surprised by how much of a favorite title they can recite from memory. This is not only adorable—it can also give you a welcome break as you snuggle in and “listen” to them read (or let your mind wander, as the case may be).
- Ask them to retell the story or predict what comes next. This is another way to get a little break from reading while still engaging your child around their favorite book, and it’s great for fostering comprehension and language skills.
Small changes can keep the experience fresh for you while preserving the comfort your child loves.
When and How to Introduce New Books
Many parents worry that rereading means their child isn’t being exposed to enough variety. If you’d like to gently expand their reading world, try rotating books nearby without pressure.
Leave new titles within reach. Read them yourself. Often just providing an abundance of reading material or letting your child browse in a library or bookstore will get them interested in some new books. Let curiosity do the work.
Most kids eventually move on—often suddenly. And when they do, they bring with them the confidence and skills built through repetition.
The Big Picture
Rereading isn’t a rut. It’s practice. It’s how children build fluency, confidence, and a deep relationship with language.
So if your child asks for the same book again tonight, you can say yes—knowing that something meaningful is happening, even if you’ve already memorized every word.
As parents, we’re always trying to nurture good readers and good humans at the same time. Gratitude and literacy may seem like different pursuits—one rooted in the heart, the other in the mind—but they’re deeply connected. Both grow through daily practice, attentive listening, and the words we choose to share with our children.
Reading and writing can help kids name what they’re thankful for, express appreciation, and reflect on the people and moments that make their lives richer. Likewise, practicing gratitude helps children develop empathy and perspective—skills that make them more thoughtful readers and communicators.
Here are 10 simple, meaningful ways to build both thankfulness and literacy at once.
1. Read Stories of Generosity and Gratitude
Choose books that highlight giving, kindness, and appreciation—from Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts to Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora. As you read, pause to ask: “How did the character show gratitude?” or “How did someone’s kindness make a difference?” These small conversations help children connect language with feeling, building their self-expression abilities and social-emotional intelligence.
2. Start a Family Gratitude Journal
Keep a notebook where everyone records something they’re thankful for, then fill it in on a schedule that works for you—for example, at Thanksgiving and other holidays, every Friday or Sunday, or even daily. Younger kids can draw pictures or dictate their thoughts for you to write down. Over time, they’ll see how words capture moments and emotions—and that gratitude is a story worth telling again and again.
3. Write Thank-You Notes Together
After birthdays, holidays, or just-because moments when they receive a gift or kindness from someone, help kids write or illustrate thank-you cards. Model how to move beyond “thanks for the gift” by adding detail: “I loved the sparkly markers because I can use them to make cards for my friends.” Writing for a real audience makes literacy meaningful.
4. Tell Gratitude Stories at Bedtime
End the day by sharing one thankful thought aloud. You might say, “I’m grateful for our walk to the park,” then invite your child to share theirs. This sharing tradition strengthens vocabulary, listening skills, and family bonds as it builds a healthy mindset. It can also help kids settle emotionally, so they can sleep better. Of course, part of a healthy mindset is flexibility and responsibility, so don’t beat yourself up on nights you can’t make this happen or force it when your child isn’t feeling it. Just blend it into your wind-down when it feels right.
5. Share Gratitude for One Another
Create space to share something each family member appreciates about the other members of your household. This could be over family dinner, during Thanksgiving or holiday celebrations, at bedtime, or while writing in your family journal. Sharing your gratitude for one another fosters oral language and family connections, with benefits for the whole family, young and old.
6. Make a “Thankful Alphabet”
For a special Thanksgiving activity—or anytime you want to build your child’s gratitude— challenge your little one to think of something they’re thankful for from A to Z. For example, “A for apples,” “B for bedtime stories,” and so on. This fun word game builds alphabetic knowledge, vocabulary, and a grateful mindset all at once.
7. Reflect Through Art and Writing
Invite your child to draw or write about something that made them happy that week. Then, talk through their creation: “Tell me more about this part.” Linking art and storytelling helps children find words for feelings—and teaches them to slow down and savor good moments. It can also be a powerful way to help kids decompress and process feelings after a long week at school or daycare.
8. Read About Giving Back
Choose picture books that feature children making a difference in their communities or helping others, like I Am Somebody, written by Nyasha Williams and illustrated by Ashley Evans, or The Can Man, written by Laura E. Williams and illustrated by Craig Orback. After reading, brainstorm one small act of kindness your family can do. Then, write and draw about it afterward with your child—capturing not only what you did, but how it felt.
9. Celebrate Words of Thanks
Make a family word wall or poster of gratitude. Help your child add color and creativity to make it beautiful Thanksgiving decor. Include new words like “appreciate,” “thankful,” “generous,” and “gracious.” Define words your child doesn’t know and practice using them in sentences or stories. The more children see and say these words, the more naturally they’ll use them—and live them.
10. Have a Gratitude Word Hunt
Pick a common word like “thank,” “happy,” or “kind” and see how many times you can find it in books, magazines, or signs during the week. Make every sighting a small celebration and a chance to practice reading the word in context. This simple family game turns print awareness into a playful reminder that thankfulness is all around us—if we look for it.
Gratitude and literacy both begin with awareness—with noticing words, people, and moments worth cherishing. By weaving the two together in your family life, you’re helping your child become both a stronger reader and a more mindful human being.
Because when we give children the words to express thankfulness, we give them a lifelong language of joy.
We’ve all heard about how important it is to read to kids, and—while reading aloud isn’t the cure-all it’s sometimes made out to be—sharing books with your child is key to setting them on the path to thrive. That said, though, it takes two to tango. What if your child just isn’t having it?
The short answer to what you should do if your child resists books is the same as for any parenting challenge that’s too important to give up on: Get creative and keep trying.
That doesn’t mean to keep forcing something that’s turning into a battle; that just reinforces the negative reaction and can cause kids to dig in their heels. Instead, find new stories and especially new approaches. (You can always revisit other books and story styles later.)
How to Get Kids to Listen to Books
So, how can you get creative to keep (gently) pushing story time in new ways? Below are some ideas to get you started.
But first, a few warnings…
It’s crucial to look for books your child and you are likely to enjoy and to pick your moments. Bring patience, respond to their mood, and don’t push too hard or get angry. (There’s nothing like getting in trouble during an experience to make a child avoid it!)
When you do read, model enthusiasm and make sure your body language and voice convey enjoyment. If you seem to hate sharing books, your child isn’t liable to like it much either.
Read to Your Child in the Car
They’re strapped in and don’t have much else to do. On a longer drive, they may also be bored out of their wits. If that’s not a golden opportunity to offer your choice of distraction and entertainment, I’m not sure what is.
If your child has been getting to use devices in the car, though, you may need to wean them off those first. With young kids, a simple approach may work best, such as “forgetting” to bring a device. If the device gets lost, stops working, or has limited data, those are also easy outs.
Read to Your Sick Child
When your small child isn’t feeling well, they probably crave your attention and distraction from their discomfort. You can’t always drop everything to care for them every minute, but it’s a perfect chance to make a bit of time to read aloud. After all, if they’re asking for your time and they’re not up to doing much else, the opportunity is there to be seized.
If your sick child still resists books, try telling them, “This is what people do when kids are sick,” or “This is what people have always done when children are sick.” Often, statements as simple as that can do the trick with small kids.
Let Your Child Play During Read-Alouds
It is totally fine for a child to build with Legos or blocks, draw pictures, play with playdough or kinetic sand, or even jump and dance while you read. There’s no law saying they must sit still and look at the pictures. In fact, isn’t part of the beauty of listening to a book the fact that you can do something else at the same time?
It can be perfectly normal for kids to actually focus better when they’re moving their bodies or getting immersed in some sensory experience. Playing with slime or digging in sand can be very absorbing and help kids calm their bodies and minds, offering an opening to slip into their imaginations—or a book.
Tip: Don’t say it’s reading time and then try to set them up with an activity. Instead, get them going on something they enjoy and then calmly attempt a book.
Read to Your Child Outside
With active kids, it can also be a great fit to read out-of-doors in a fun location. Let them dig in the dirt, play with sand, feel the grass, watch the clouds, or collect fallen leaves as you read out loud to them.
If it’s a new or exciting location for them (or they don’t get outside much), be sure to let them explore more actively when you first arrive. Once their initial curiosity and energy are somewhat spent, you can attempt a book as they engage more calmly with the environment.
Leverage Peer Pressure
If your child has a friend, cousin, or sibling who enjoys listening to stories, attempt a book during a play date. When your little one sees their buddy enjoying the book, they may be more open to it.
You can also get a similar effect by taking your child to a story time at a library or book store.
Most libraries hold regular story times for different ages. Just be ready to head out with good humor and a positive attitude if your kiddo doesn’t sit as still or quietly as the librarian requires. Most librarians these days are fine with kids bouncing around a bit, but if your child is making noise or distracting other kids, it’s best to do something else and try another time.
Evoke the Ancestors
Family tradition and cultural heritage can be powerful for kids, who often love plugging into something bigger than themselves around holidays, family rituals, and other traditions. You can leverage this with a variety of activities, and reading is absolutely among them.
To do this, simply try sharing anything true that could build your child’s interest and desire to engage with story time. You could explain that Grandma used to read the same story to you, Daddy loved snuggling up with picture books when he was small, Grandpa hated reading as a boy because he hated sitting still—until his favorite teacher read a book about tigers…. etc.
Your set-up doesn’t even have to be about books. You could share that your family always told stories around a campfire or that your culture has a long tradition of storytelling and passing down tales from one generation to the next. If you can’t think of anything else, share (enthusiastically) that storytelling is so ancient that some people say it’s what makes us human.
Go Digital or Bring in Back-Up
If your child is steadfastly resistant to listening to you read aloud, even when you try various creative hacks, you may need to break the cycle before you can share books with them. Pulling in a relative or friend to read to your child could feel different enough to bypass the negative cycle they’re stuck in.
If not, you can also try to help them learn to love stories by putting on audiobooks or videos of books being read aloud. Just be mindful of not turning it into TV time with read-alouds that have lots of animated action on screen. A simple video showing the pages of the book and the person reading is ideal. If your child really only responds to “book” videos with animated action, find the simplest available and then slowly wean them down to actual read-aloud videos.
The Bottom Line
Now that you’ve gotten a few ideas, you may think of others that could work for your child. Look out for times your child is calmer or more receptive, then see if you can leverage those opportunities to sneak in a few moments of reading.
Pay attention to when, where, and what helps them focus. Maybe they’re more receptive in the morning or evening, in the car or bath, or during certain activities.
Ultimately, any number of approaches can work. All you need is to spark your child’s interest or capture their attention long enough to engage in a story for a few minutes. Just try to create a few positive experiences with story time that you can build on little by little.
Providing plenty of diverse, varied books is key to helping kids learn to love reading. From babyhood onwards, right up through the teen years, it’s important to regularly put a selection of age-appropriate, engaging, good books in front of our children.
Browsing bookstores for gorgeous new reads is one way to do that, of course—and it’s also a pleasure that’s worth indulging in and helping our kids learn to enjoy. (You can also support independent bookstores when ordering books online.) But providing a rotating selection of good books to kids year after year (after year!) doesn’t have to cost a fortune.
Supplement new titles with affordable used books and library books to keep your child swimming in learning opportunities and book love on the cheap. Here are five ways to get free or cheap kids’ books, so you can fill your child’s shelves and imagination with wonderful stories.
Used Bookstores, Thrift Shops, & Garage Sales
Used bookstores are lots of fun for finding new reads while also introducing your child to the joys of browsing. If you want specific titles, online marketplaces of used books can be your best bet. I’ve acquired great second-hand reads, including all the titles in countless children’s series, from sites like Thriftbooks or Better World Books.
Those aren’t where you’re going to find the best deals on kids’ books, though. For that, try hitting up your local thrift stores or even multi-family garage sales at preschools, churches, and other family-oriented organizations.
You’ll likely find a variety of kids’ books on sale for pennies. (Although, with the penny discontinued, should I say… for nickels?)
Little Free Libraries
Have you seen these small, house-shaped wooden boxes on posts? People build Little Free Libraries in front of their homes to facilitate neighborhood book-sharing. It’s a place to leave books you’re done with and pick up new reads.
Take your child along to browse little libraries for titles they’d enjoy. Bring along a book or two to donate if possible (books for any age are fine), but don’t worry if you don’t have one to give away at the moment. You don’t need to leave a book every time you take one—or take a book every time you leave one. Just encourage your child to contribute at some point.
The Little Free Library website has an online map of Little Free Libraries, so you can look for options in your neighborhood or near your child’s school or activities.
Neighbors
Families whose kids have gotten older often have abundant children’s books to give away, and even families with kids the same age as yours may have a lot of book turnover, especially once kids are reading chapter books.
If you try asking around nicely, you’re likely to get many offers of all types of hand-me-downs, from almost-new hardcovers to read-half-to-death favorites. You can also suggest setting up book swaps with families that have same-age readers.
The hardest part is just getting in touch with other parents who have books to share, especially those with older kids. If your child’s school or daycare has an email list or online group for parents or alumni parents, try that. You can also post on neighborhood social media or community message groups. Local Buy Nothing or give-away online communities are also great places to request or find kid’s books, especially if you’re open to a variety of titles.
Schools
Ask your child’s school or school district staff or teachers if they know where you can get free kids’ books or cheap books. Many school districts or communities have collections of used books available for free to teachers, families in need, or even the general public. Schools also periodically discard kids’ books.
Some schools also have book corners with free reads that children can help themselves to, while others hold book swaps where families can give away old titles and pick up new ones. If your school doesn’t have one of these programs, consider starting one yourself!
Library Sales
Obviously, public libraries are a fabulous source for loaner books of all kinds, including e-books and audiobooks*—but they can also be a great place to acquire “forever” books to stock your own home library. (At least, “forever” until you pass them along as your child grows and reads their way to new levels and stages!)
Many public libraries regularly hold book sales of titles they’re discarding or donated books they can’t use. Some even have a permanent display of used books for sale. The books are usually very affordable and the proceeds support the library. When in doubt, ask your library if they ever have used children’s books available for sale.
Librarians can also be great sources of all kinds of community information, including where to get new or used children’s books for free or cheap. Local children’s librarians often know about nonprofits or other groups that give out books and can connect families with many other great resources.
Many libraries also give away brand-new children’s books during summer reading and other programs, too.
*P.S. If you don’t know how to check out digital library books from home, look into it. Some common apps that libraries use include Libby and Hoopla, and many libraries use more than one service, so if a title isn’t available in one, you can just check another.
Have fun seeking out great kids’ books and growing your child’s home library, book love, imagination … and future.
Some years ago, I saw a meme that showed a dad saying something like, “Want your kids to read more? Shut off the volume on the TV and turn on closed captioning. Boom. Now they’re reading.”
I thought it was funny—and mildly ingenious. After all, subtitles naturally draw the eye. Closed captioning will never replace books, of course, and it certainly won’t turn a TV-bingeing toddler into a reader. (Realistically, most families wouldn’t put up with sound-off shows or movies for long, either.) But having subtitles on along with the sound actually can be an easy way to expose kids to more print and help them absorb the spelling of trickier words. It won’t make excessive TV okay, but it can add a little learning twist to watching time.
This small tweak to family TV time got me thinking about how simple tricks can sometimes succeed in weaving parental priorities—for more enriching, educational, wholesome activities—into the tech-hijacked whirlwind of modern family life.
As another example, when I wanted to play board games with my growing kids, they just weren’t into it … until they discovered phone-app versions of the same games, but with the prompts displayed on-screen instead of on cards out of a box. It was a win-win compromise that was vastly preferable to forcing my version on them or giving on game night altogether.
So, in that vein, I’ve curated seven fun hacks for adding a little more reading, writing, spelling, or vocabulary practice into your family life. They range from the seriously simple to the simply goofy. They won’t replace good, old-fashioned teaching and studying, but I hope they’ll give you some inspiration for fun, lighthearted ways to keep mixing learning into your busy family life with growing kids.
Screen-Free or Screen-Optional Literacy Learning Hacks
Learn the lyrics. When you play music or sing songs together, give your child the lyrics to read along. They’ll probably love learning the words to some favorite songs, and you’ll be happy knowing they’re absorbing spelling and vocabulary. My kids learned a lot of vocabulary (and practiced a lot of sound awareness) memorizing Hamilton and Les Miserable lyrics, followed later by the words to countless popular songs.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to give them the lyrics on-screen—for starters, just printing out the words to a few songs or picking up a songbook will do the trick.
Bonus: Turn this activity into a Friday night party by doing karaoke.
Narrate micro-moments. When kids are small, narrating what you do and see with them helps them develop language and vocabulary. Keep it up as they get older, but turn it into a joke that facilitates introducing more complicated vocabulary or playing with sounds or homophones (words that sound the same but mean different things.)
For example, say, “I’m whisking vigorously so the sauce emulsifies” or “I’m going to pare a pair of pears” as you make dinner.
Write notes. Put up a whiteboard, chalkboard, or notepad in a convenient spot and leave messages for each other—or just post sticky notes. Leave goofy messages to get your child writing and reading back.
You can also write information about upcoming plans, reminders, chore lists, and so on. Anything that gets in more reading and writing is serving a double purpose!
Bonus: Take your note-writing up a notch by providing dry-erase markers and leaving messages for each other on a mirror or window. It wipes off, and writing somewhere they’re not “supposed” to feels exciting to kids. It may even get them writing longer stories or practicing spelling.
Act out skits together or put on family shows. Kids love making up plays or inventing shows. These can be performed live, or you can record scenes and then edit them into a video with special effects, credits, and even fun touches like a blooper reel at the end. (The bloopers are always the most popular part in my house.)
To sneak in literacy, write a script together first, and then have all the “actors” read out their parts.
Screen-Friendly Literacy Learning Hacks
Many parents of older kids, myself included, would advise keeping kids off screens in general—and smartphones and personal screens, especially—as much as possible for as long as possible. But whenever your child does have access to screens, it’s worth using them to introduce more language practice and other educational fun.
Turn on closed captioning. In line with the meme mentioned above, why not try using subtitles when your child watches TV or movies? My kids couldn’t resist reading the captions once they were there, even though we kept the sound on, too.
You can make it a game to notice when the captions are wrong or different than what the voices are saying. Once your child is fairly comfortable reading, you can even experiment with watching shows in other languages, so they have to read the subtitles!
Make texting part of literacy. My bilingual American-French kids learn most of their French spelling from texting with relatives. When your child starts having access to messaging, keep in mind that reading and writing texts is still reading and writing. Use proper spelling and slightly challenging vocabulary in your family messages, so your child can learn from your example.
They’ll still respond to you in a series of baffling acronyms, no doubt, but that’s fine. Your texts will reinforce the spelling of words and also model how to message more correctly when they need to communicate with teachers or other adults.
Share articles and word play in a family chat. Send interesting, age-appropriate articles that your child may enjoy. After all, reading newspaper or magazine articles is a valuable way to build reading fluency, get exposed to more vocabulary, and learn about all kinds of interesting, inspiring, and educational topics.
You can also share word play like riddles, puns, or other language-based jokes in family texts. If your child is interested, you could even start a “word of the week” chat where you share new vocabulary or spelling words. Just be sure to keep it light and fun.
Invent Your Own Literacy Learning Fun
You can probably think of other fun, simple, or simply goofy ways to mix word play, reading, writing, spelling, and vocabulary into your families routines and downtime.
When possible, encourage a little language learning in your child’s regular playtime and activities, too. Literacy-friendly boardgames, video games, and apps abound. If your child is playing games on a phone or tablet, try downloading some word games for them. There are a plethora of spelling games and other reading and writing apps for kids at different ages and stages.
Once you start viewing your family’s life and activities through a literacy-learning lens, you’ll likely spot all kinds of ways to insert some extra enrichment and educational twists. Have fun and get as playful and silly as you like!
Talking and having real conversations with your child is not only a crucial part of parenting, it’s also a key underpinning of their literacy. The words they know and understand impact both how easily they learn to read and write at first and how far they’ll go with their reading and writing down the line.
If you haven’t read Reading for Our Lives, check out this excerpt explaining the importance of “language nutrition” from a child’s earliest years. And conversation doesn’t stop mattering as children advance through grades and reading levels—any more than your guidance, influence, and bond with your child do.
As your little one gets older, though, it can be harder and harder to engage them in meaningful conversation. Time together can be in short supply, for starters, and when you are together they may be mentally and emotionally exhausted from school or focused on new pursuits.
But don’t despair! Through patience and creativity, you can still get your child talking. With a little luck, you’ll even build habits that carry through into the tween and teen years (though you’ll likely encounter a few new roadblocks around then…).
Below are 20 questions to ask your child that are a whole lot more likely to get a real answer than “How was your day?” Read through them, pick some that might work for you, and then see if they spark ideas for other questions that would work with your child.
First, though, a few tips:
Respond to Your Child
Kids can be absolutely spent by the time they get home. School and activities are taxing physically, mentally, and emotionally. Your child has to tackle new subjects, follow loads of rules, engage with many different people, pay attention, navigate the playground and friendships, and just generally be on for hours each day.
Even when it’s all gone well, they may just not want to talk anymore when they get home. If something went wrong, they may need a break without having to talk or think about it. If you try some creative questions to get them talking and they still resist, put yourself in their shoes and give them a break. Don’t give up—just try again later or another day.
Seize the Moments
Sometimes, we parents bang our heads against the metaphorical wall trying to get our kids talking when they don’t feel like it, but when they do want to engage, we brush them off. Now, I’m not saying to drop your work, burn dinner, or take your eyes off the freeway to give your child attention when it just isn’t doable.
Just try to see every one of their bids for conversation as worthwhile, and respond when and how you can—even if it’s just to pause, look them in the eye, and say “Wow! I really want to hear about that. Can we talk when I finish this?” If it’s a time you can engage, even if you really don’t want to (think: bedtime or when you’ve just gotten an important email), try to give your child your undivided attention for five minutes. Often, that’s all they need, and it’s plenty for a meaningful chat.
Listen More than You Talk
This one is hard! It’s so tempting to pelt our kids with questions, especially when we’re actually getting answers out of them. And it’s even more tempting to share our wisdom about everything they tell us. If we jump in too much, though, they may clam up. As much as possible, once they get talking, hear them out.
Ask simple questions or make neutral comments to keep them reflecting and sharing. Do your best to reserve judgment—about them and people they talk about. If you don’t know what to say, have a few go-to neutral phrases you can drop in, like wow, I see, or What do you think about that? When you listen closely, you learn more, and you can remember details to ask about later on to keep the conversation flowing.
Questions to Get Your Child Talking
Below are 20 questions designed to invite elementary-aged kids to share about their day—what happened and how they felt—without feeling like they’re being interrogated. Try one or two at pickup, during snack time, or while getting ready for bed, and see what clicks for your child.
Remember, don’t pelt them with questions. Just use one or two when it feels natural. Rotate questions through the week or tailor them to what you know about your child’s day: for example, You said you were going to have an assembly today. What was the best part?
Getting Started: Warm-Up Questions
- What’s one thing that made you happy today?
- Who did you sit next to at lunch, and what did you talk about?
- What was the most interesting thing you learned in class?
- Was there a time you felt proud of yourself today?
- Did anything surprise you?
Digging Deeper: Feelings and Friendships
- Who made your day better, and how?
- Was there a moment today that felt tricky or confusing?
- Did you help anyone—or did anyone help you?
- Did anything or anyone make you laugh?
- If you could change one thing about today, what would it be?
Exploring the Classroom
- What was your favorite part of your lessons today?
- If your teacher gave out a gold star, who would deserve it and why?
- What’s something you would like to learn about at school?
- Did you do anything creative—like draw, build, or write something new?
- What’s something you’re looking forward to this week?
Imagination and Reflection
- If your school day were a book, what would the title be?
- If you could switch places with your teacher for a day, what would you do first?
- What’s one thing that made you think hard today or one thing you didn’t understand?
- What would you tell a new student about your class or school?
- What’s one thing you’re grateful for at school?
You can probably already think of some other questions specific to your child’s personality, school, interests, or other activities.
Over time, these open-ended questions can build a habit of connection and meaningful conversation that will help your child grow into a deeper reader, writer, and thinker—and help your relationship blossom over the years. You’ll learn about your child’s friendships, challenges, and joys. Most importantly, they’ll learn that you’re always ready to listen.
Learning to read is the culmination of a long process that starts with learning to talk and then developing diverse skills and knowledge from vocabulary to the ABCs—not just the names of the letters or what they look like, mind you, but the sounds they represent.
These things take time. Kids don’t just recognize the 52 uppercase and lowercase letters—or distinguish similar ones like p and q—after seeing them once or twice. They certainly won’t remember the sounds the letters make, or the ways they combine to make various other sounds, without a lot of exposure and practice.
For the smoothest experience, kids should know as many letters and sounds as possible before entering kindergarten (or whenever they officially start learning to read). All that is why it’s crucial for parents and other early caregivers, from grandparents to babysitters to preschool teachers, to mix letters and literacy learning into daily activities with small kids.
Don’t try to cram it all into mega-lessons—it won’t work and it will make you and your child miserable. Instead, look for chances to include a little learning in playtime or routines with your child. Point out words on a cereal box or your child’s T-shirt, look for letters on signs outside, draw your child’s attention to the text of a recipe you make together, or mix a little writing into drawing time.
You can populate your home with fun prompts and reminders to practice letters and literacy with your child. In Reading for Our Lives: The Urgency of Early Literacy and the Action Plan to Help Your Child, Maya suggests that parents stock their homes with objects to spark little doses of literacy learning throughout daily life, like nursery rhyme mobiles, alphabet charts, waterproof books by the bathtub, or conversation cards on the dinner table.
And anytime you’re shopping for gifts for your child is a great moment to add some of these thoughtful, literacy-supporting toys and decor to your home. You can get intentional about birthday presents, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts, or presents for Kwanzaa, Diwali, Eid—any time you want to surprise your little one with something special.
Have fun and get creative! There are so many unique and beautiful personalized gifts available that make letters, words, and reading a fun and natural part of your child’s day. To get you started, here are a few fun ideas for educational birthday or holiday gifts for kids that support reading skills:
Wooden Letter Train
So many small kids love toy trains, and wooden train sets can make a beautiful (and non-plastic!) addition to your family’s home. You can find lots of small producers on Etsy and other online marketplaces who make wooden train cars out of the letters of a child’s name. You’ll see a plethora of darling options like this train of letters with wheels or this train with letters topping small cars.
ABC Magnet Animals to Teach Letter Sounds
Letter magnets are ubiquitous and a fun way both to practice letters and eventually spell out words—but what if yours gave a clue to the sound the letters represent, too? There’s nothing about an S that tells kids what to make of the symbol, but an S crafted to look like a snake gives them a valuable hint. You can find gorgeous animal-shaped alphabets like this felt ABC magnet set. Of course, some of the letters are necessarily more of a stretch than others, but they can be a fantastic prompt for fun letter learning.
Nursery Rhyme or Storybook Rug or Quilt
If you’re fitting out your child’s space, there are lots of opportunities to enrich it with prompts to practice letters, recite rhymes, engage in oral storytelling, or read together. Rugs, quilts, or blankets with quotations or images from favorite nursery rhymes or tales are ideal for this purpose, and blankets in particular can make popular gifts for kids who love to snuggle up. As your child grows, they’ll be motivated to start trying to sound out the familiar words themselves, especially if you can find one with writing that’s easy to read. Create your own image with text on it for a custom woven cotton blanket, or find ready-made options like this Winnie-the-Pooh rug or an ABC blanket with your child’s name. There are even adorable doll-sized nursery-rhyme rugs for creative play.
Magnetic or Sticker Poetry
Magnetic words or word stickers that your child can use (with your help) to “write” their own simple sentences, messages, or stories are fun ways to build early literacy skills. You can read out the words and let your child arrange them into sentences at first—then, later on, they can sound out the words themselves as they create longer stories. The Magnetic Story Maker Kit is designed for kids to create fun, silly stories. The Magnetic Poetry line also includes various kits of easy words for children, including options in several languages besides English.
Name Puzzle—or Stool
Alphabet puzzles are popular, and you can find many beautiful wooden name puzzles that you can personalize with your child’s name (or even a favorite short phrase or quote). There are also fun twists on the concept, from name puzzles with animal shapes in addition to the child’s name to standing name puzzles, wooden name-puzzle stools, and even name-puzzle step stools with storage that could double as toyboxes.
Personalized Story Book
A picture book customized with your child’s name or that uses it for the main character can make a sweet gift to engage your little one in story time. You can find many options, like a personalized adventure story, a personalized alphabet book, or a personalized coloring and activity book that comes with letter crayons spelling your child’s name. Alternatively, you can make an even more unique tome by getting your own simple DIY storybook printed by one of the many photobook services, like Shutterfly or Google Photos. Illustrate it with photos of family and loved ones, your home, or familiar objects, then add some text naming who or what is in each picture—or even adding a little story of your own.
Personalized Holiday-Themed Gifts
You can also find or make all kinds of customized gifts for different holidays or events that add more letters and print into your child’s world. After all, even clothes with letters, words, or phrases can also be prompts to practice early literacy skills wherever you go with your child or whenever you have a moment together—provided you make it a point to use them that way. You’ll find endless options for different special events, from personalized Diwali treat jars to all-cotton personalized Christmas pajamas.
Story Advent Calendar
If your family celebrates Christmas, a story advent calendar can make an educational Christmas gift that encourages shared reading. Instead of opening a window every day to chocolates or toys—or pictures, when I was small!—your child will get to reveal a little story each day to enjoy together. There are a variety of niche options, as well as a Disney-themed storybook advent calendar, or with a little time and ingenuity, you could create your own!
With these ideas to get your creativity rolling, you can probably come up with many more variations on literacy-rich gifts for your little one and home. (Nursery rhymes on a personalized wall calendar? Book quotes or song lyrics on a customized T-shirt? The possibilities are endless…) The main point is to invest some of your time and thought into preparing your child for reading over the days and years to come. With a little information and intention, you can set your child up with the key skills to become a thriving reader. Reading for Our Lives gives you the blueprint of how to do that.
Then, of course, the next step is helping them learn to read well (and love it)—an even longer process that requires new elements, including ongoing exposure to challenging texts, spelling study, and deep, interactive conversation. But building a literacy rich home and, more importantly, the habit of engaging meaningfully and frequently with your little one are exciting first steps on this lifelong journey. Happy trails!
Taking kids to places and activities that build their brains and broaden their outlook is among the most fun parts of parenting, in my book. From science museums to library events, there are so many fun adventures to have with your child that will shape them for life. And one underrated enrichment activity that should make your list is literary tourism.
Visiting sites related to children’s authors and books can build or reinforce excitement around reading (and even make a child want to author their own works!)—as well as create a valuable opportunity for learning, conversation, and bonding.
There are many historic literary sites open to the public, including authors’ homes and other spots. There are also a variety of other places with special homages or connections to specific writers and literature. This list rounds up some of the U.S. sites associated with authors of books for children and teens, to help you plan your own literary adventures with your family.
You can also do your own research to find locations close to your home or related to your family’s favorite books or authors. Consult the American Library Association’s literary landmarks list, the nonprofit Author Adventures site, the National Register of Historic Places, and library or bookstore events calendars for ideas.
Before you start, check out these tips for successful literary tourism with kids.
Literary Tourism Sites for Families
Below is a sampling of U.S. sites associated with various children’s and middle-grade authors (compiled in part from the ALA’s wonderful list, along with other resources). It’s organized by author name, followed by the title of one of their best-known works for young readers.
Tip: Be sure to check details ahead of time to confirm which sites are open to the public—some can only be viewed from outside—as well as visiting hours and whether reservations may be needed. Call ahead if you can, because sites periodically close for renovations (or even shut down altogether, like the former cottage of children’s poet Robert Frost, which was a museum until it closed permanently for lack of funds).
Children’s Author and Book Tourist Sites
Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
- Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts is both the setting for Alcott’s 1868 Little Women and where she wrote the novel. The house, originally built about 1650, is now a museum open to the public, with guided tours and information about the members of the real-life Alcott family and how they influenced the fictional characters.
Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- This walking tour itinerary through Stamps, Arkansas, where Angelou lived as a child, shows places the author would have known. It includes locations mentioned in her classic memoir and other sites that would have been familiar landmarks.
- In St. Louis, Missouri, you can see the author’s birthplace and first home in a neighborhood that was segregated at the time. The house is now an official city landmark.
- In New York, you can walk by the Harlem house that Angelou renovated and occupied part-time later in her life. The house is privately owned.
Lydia Maria Child, Over the River and Through the Woods
- Child was an abolitionist writer known in the 1800s for promoting the rights of Indigenous Americans, enslaved people, and women. These days, she’s remembered for the 1844 Thanksgiving poem usually called “Over the River and Through the Woods.” The Grandfather’s House Historical Marker in Medford, Massachusetts marks the real-life house from the poem, where the author’s grandparents lived. Growing up, Child would visit this site from her home on the other side of the river. The original house is still there, although it was enlarged later in the 1800s.
Louise Erdrich, Birchbark House
- Birchbark Books in Minneapolis is an independent bookstore owned by Louise Erdrich and focused on Native American literature. A unique, eco-friendly space, it features plenty of fun for kids: a selection of children’s books, a birchbark children’s loft, hand-stuffed chairs for kids, a hobbit hole reading nook, and a handmade wooden canoe hanging from the ceiling. There are also rotating displays of works by Native American artisans—and Louise Erdrich will sign or personalize any of her books ordered through the bookstore, according to the website. Check ahead for special events.
Marguerite Henry, Misty of Chincoteague
- Henry’s middle-grade fiction features the wild ponies of Assateague Island on the Maryland-Virginia border. Wild ponies really have lived there for hundreds of years, likely descended from survivors of a Spanish shipwreck. Spectators can watch the annual pony swim, when “saltwater cowboys” herd the ponies through the water from their island home to the nearby Chincoteague Island.
Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
- The Moseley House in Eatonville, Florida was the home of Hurston’s childhood best friend, and the author often stayed there. It holds a museum with memorabilia of the town, which featured heavily in Hurston’s work.
- The Hall Branch of the Chicago Public Library in Illinois was a meeting place for black literary giants including Hurston, as well as Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Richard Wright, and many others.
- Idlewild, Michigan was a vacation spot favored by Hurston, Hughes, and W. E. B. DuBois. The Idlewild Public Library has a literary landmark dedicated in their honor.
Ezra Jack Keats, The Snowy Day
- Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York features a bronze statue of Keats’s characters Peter and Peter’s dog, Willie, in the park’s Imagination Playground. Keats evoked the Brooklyn neighborhood where he grew up in the award-winning picture books that he wrote and illustrated.
Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
- The Monroe County Museum in Alabama has an exhibit about Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird. It includes photos, memorabilia, and a documentary about Monroeville—the author’s hometown and inspiration for her fictional setting—during the 1930s.
Jack London, The Call of the Wild
- The author’s ranch in Glen Ellen, California has been preserved as the Jack London State Historic Park. Visitors can tour numerous buildings, including the cottage that London bought in 1911 and where he wrote many of his later works, as well as explore the grounds and hiking trails.
Maud Hart Lovelace, Betsy-Tacy
- The homes of the author and her best friend in Mankato, Minnesota serve as key settings in Lovelace’s autobiographical historical novels. Both are open to the public with prior reservation, offering a window into early-twentieth-century life and the books’ fictional world.
Robert McCloskey, Make Way for Ducklings
- The Boston Public Garden in Massachusetts was the setting for McCloskey’s 1942 Caldecott Medal picture book Make Way for Ducklings and now features a bronze statue of the duckling family.
- Hamilton Lane Library in Hamilton, Ohio, was a childhood haunt of the author, who was born in Hamilton and whose first book featured scenes set around town, including at the library.
A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
- The New York Public Library is home to the original Winnie-the-Pooh teddy bear, along with Eeyore, Tigger, Piglet, and Kanga. The stuffed animals belonged to Christopher Robin Milne, the author’s son, and inspired the iconic characters.
Toni Morrison, Peeny Butter Fudge
- The Toni Morrison Reading Room at the main library in Lorain, Ohio, where Morrison grew up, celebrates the Nobel Prize-winning author. It houses a collection of her writings, complete with her works for adults and the lesser-known children’s books Morrison co-authored with her son Slade. A glass wall is etched with an excerpt of Morrison’s Nobel Prize for Literature acceptance speech.
- Look for the historical marker in front of Lorain’s Carnegie Center, formerly a library, where Morrison once worked, too. It now houses the Lorain Historical Society—pop inside to get a peak at what Lorain was like in years past.
Walter Dean Myers, Monster
- The award-winning author and former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature grew up checking out books from the George Bruce Branch of the New York Public Library. The library put up a plaque to the author dedicating it as a literary landmark in 2015.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Yearling
- Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’ house in Cross Creek, Florida, is now a state park, preserved as it was when she lived there in the 1930s. This was where Rawlings lived when she wrote her Pulitzer prize-winning 1938 novel The Yearling, and Cross Creek provides the setting for the book.
Woodrow Wilson Rawls, Where the Red Fern Grows
- Rawls grew up on his mother’s Cherokee land allotment in the hills around Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The town now hosts an annual Red Fern Festival with all-ages activities, including children’s games, a rubber-duck race on a creek, a coon dog field trials event, and a Miss Red Fern Pageant.
Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat
- Visitors to Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, can visit the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden and The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum. The museum contains exhibits in English and Spanish and encourages word play, including rhyming games, making up stories, and prompts to experiment with new sounds and vocabulary.
Gene Stratton-Porter, Freckles
- A pioneering naturalist and popular writer, Stratton-Porter documented the unique “limberlost” swamp ecosystem of Indiana and brought it to life dramatically in her fiction—even as it was rapidly disappearing in real life. Generations after her death, her work inspired nature-lovers to restore a portion of the lost habitat. Now, visitors can see it for themselves at the Limberlost State Historic Site, as well as visit Stratton-Porter’s lakeshore cabin at Wildflower Woods.
Hildegarde H. Swift, The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge
- The lighthouse celebrated in Swift’s 1942 children’s book is no longer functioning, but fans worked to save it as a historic landmark. It’s now part of the Historic House Trust of New York City and visitors can see the beloved lighthouse in Manhattan’s Fort Washington Park.
Kay Thompson, Eloise
- Fans of Thompson’s 1955 picture book can visit the historic Plaza Hotel in New York, the real hotel that served as the setting for the fictional Eloise. Visitors can have afternoon tea in the Palm Court, shop for a wide variety of Eloise-themed products in the Plaza Boutique, and put a message for Eloise into a special mailbox. Those who want to go all out (and drop a small fortune) can even book a stay in a special pink Eloise hotel room.
Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer
- The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hannibal, Missouri includes the author’s boyhood home, built in the 1840s, and its gardens, as well as an interactive museum with exhibits, films, and more.
- Bonus: If you want to engage in a little virtual literary tourism, you can take an online tour of Quarry Farm, where Mark Twain created his famous characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
Alice Walker, Sweet People Are Everywhere
- Though she won the Pulitzer Prize for her adult novel The Color Purple, Walker has also penned various children’s works, including the 2021 Sweet People Are Everywhere. The Georgia Writers Museum in Eatonville, Georgia—where Walker grew up—features exhibits about the author, and its website gives a day-trip itinerary for an Alice Walker driving tour to places including her birthplace, the Walker family home, and her school. Interesting tidbit: Walker reportedly engaged in a little literary tourism herself, visiting the former home of writer Flannery O’Connor, who influenced her.
Richard Wright, Black Boy
- The library in Memphis, Tennessee once barred young Richard Wright during segregation, although he found a way to get around the ban, a story told in his 1945 autobiography. Nowadays, the Memphis library gives out the Richard Wright Literary Awards annually.
Places to See Picture Book Art
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
- Located in the Five College area of Western Massachusetts, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art showcases rotating exhibitions of picture book illustrations from around the world in a 40,000 square-foot facility. There’s also a permanent collection with works by Maurice Sendak, Leo Lionni, Rosemary Wells, and others—plus a hands-on art studio for little visitors to make their own art.
- Society of Illustrators’ Annual Exhibit of Children’s Book Art Every year, the Society of Illustrators in New York City puts on an exhibition called “The Original Art” that showcases illustrations from children’s books published in the U.S. during the year.
One New Year’s Eve when I was a teenager, no one in my family had any plans. On a whim, my mother, siblings, and I headed to San Francisco’s wonderful, multi-story Green Apple Books, an independent bookstore that’s been an institution in the city since its founding in the late 1960s. We browsed the store’s extensive collection of used books, then we picked up dim sum from a hole-in-the-wall restaurant near the bookstore and took our haul home for a cozy evening.
We crammed together in our cluttered, bookshelf-lined living room to read and indulge in our takeout feast. We probably lit a fire in our old fireplace at some point, and our dog and cat snoozed right in the middle of it all. No one straggled off to entertain themselves behind closed doors; without personal devices, internet, or individual TVs, there was little to draw us apart.
It was a simple and quite modest celebration, but it proved to be happier and more memorable than many other more extravagant holidays other years—and it opened the door to the kind of conversation and connection that shaped us.
Raising my own kids, I’ve found that parenting in the 21st century doesn’t lend itself to these sorts of moments, especially as children grow into tweens and teens. The endless screens are not only distracting and disturbingly riveting, but they also mean kids less often feel bored enough to drift into the living room looking for connection and entertainment. Overscheduling and the FOMO that reinforces it also take their toll.
All this has left me feeling that it’s more important than ever to be very intentional about building moments of connection, conversation, and bonding into our family lives. One way to do that is to create a few special family traditions or rituals that create space for connection and shared reflection, building our kids’ characters and strengthening our families. Simple, small habits can become cherished traditions that help weave the family culture that makes a household unique and binds its members together.
The turn of a new year can be a great time for this. It feels like a moment worth celebrating, but without gifting or many specific traditions, there’s an opening to build your own. So, this New Year, why not try engaging your family in a little reflection and conversation? It can be as deep or goofy as you feel like—the main point is to connect and enjoy each other.
You can start with this family year-in-review activity (there’s even a printable worksheet to use with smaller kids) and then make some resolutions together for the year to come. Then consider taking it deeper by looking farther ahead and farther back. Check out the ideas below for easy ways to spark fun and meaningful conversations with kids of all ages.
(Note: If your child isn’t feeling the conversation, let it go and try another time. You never know what sticks, and sometimes the chats that feel like failures to us—you know, the ones that last about 30 seconds or where we get nothing more than a grunt in reply—have a deeper impact on our kids than we realize.)
Daydream Together: Resolutions for Future Years
Help your child come up with resolutions for the year ahead. If the idea is new to them, explain the concept and share a few you’re considering yourself. Then suggest a fun game: coming up with a goal or resolution for future years. What is something your child would like to do, try, or accomplish the year after next? In 5 years? In 10? In elementary school, middle school, high school?
This is a chance to get your child sharing their ideas and dreams with you, as well as thinking ahead. It’s also a gentle way to build excitement about goals they want to work towards that may inspire and motivate them. If they’re in the mood, you may get them thinking about trying new things, from joining a play or sports team to becoming a camp counselor someday—or even imagining possible careers or college majors.
Just be sure to keep it low-stress and fun! If they say they want to be an astronaut when they’re 20, there’s no need to tell them to study harder now to meet their goal—or point out how unlikely they may be to achieve it. Simply lean in, listen well, and enjoy daydreaming together.
Reinforce Memories & Reflection: Remember Together
You can help your child build their sense of identity, family belonging, and resilience when you help them reinforce positive memories across the years. Talking about happy times you’ve shared fortifies those memories—but recalling challenges overcome can be just as powerful. It takes the sting out of harder recollections, and builds your child’s confidence in their own resilience.
My family spent a school semester in France when my youngest child was starting kindergarten. Discussing stories from that time helps her hold on to memories that could easily become elusive. It’s also helped turn some of the challenges into a narrative of resilience. Lacking confidence in speaking French, she struggled to make friends. In fact, her first friends at school quickly unfriended her for talking too little and running too fast (she caught them in tag). It’s become a running joke for us that helps remind her she can handle setbacks.
At New Year’s, after reflecting on the past year, it may be fun for your family to delve farther back. Does your child remember a favorite moment from the year before last? The one before that? Even small children can recall some special memories, especially with a little help. Looking at old photos or videos together can also spark or rebuild more recollections.
You could even try making a list together of memories from different years and then store it as a fun keepsake that can spur even more happy memories and reflection in years to come.
Happy New Year to you and yours!
When my oldest child was about seven, we happened to visit the Jack London State Historic Park, the preserved ranch of the early 20th-century author famous for adventure novels like Call of the Wild and White Fang.
We were on a family road trip, and the state park offered a convenient stop along the way. As it turned out, it also opened a door into new literary worlds for my son. Realizing a little context would make our spur-of-the-moment stop more interesting, I downloaded an audiobook of White Fang from our public library and handed my son a pair of headphones.
He was fascinated, and it kicked off a love of wilderness adventure stories that wound up driving him to independently read a slew of books starting with the Hatchet series by Gary Paulsen and progressing through a wide variety of other children’s literature.
Eventually, the rich reading world that had opened up to him led him beyond children’s and middle-grade fiction. Soon, he was devouring all-ages fiction like The Martian by Andy Weir, along with nonfiction like Revenge of the Whale, a young readers’ version of a National Book Award-winning historical tale of a real-life event that inspired Moby Dick.
His reading level skyrocketed, and I’m confident his enjoyment of reading for fun was a huge driver of that. Many things contributed to his love of reading—listening to stories read aloud by me and other relatives, oral storytelling, abundant (if tattered, often free) books—but I think that trip, too, helped build our family culture of excitement around stories, history, and learning.
Some years later, I wound up on another literary adventure, this time with my daughters. We had the chance to visit two beautifully preserved historic homes that belonged to a children’s author and her childhood best friend—both immortalized in a set of autobiographical children’s novels.
The writer, Maud Hart Lovelace, based her Betsy-Tacy series very closely on her life growing up in small-town Minnesota in the early 1900s. The homes of Lovelace and her best friend—Betsy and Tacy in the stories—featured in great detail. The houses have been preserved as historic monuments, offering a fascinating window into both the fictional world and times gone by.
This literary adventure, too, offered up new horizons for my kids. It not only fostered and reinforced excitement around reading, but also opened the door to conversations about history, the interaction between literature and life, and important topics touched on in the books themselves. It also transported all of us, mentally, into a very different time and space, causing us to see the world from another perspective, stretching our thinking and growing our empathy.
It got me thinking about literary tourism with children, and how wonderful and invigorating it is to expand young minds with special experiences. From children’s museums to aquariums, historic sites to art museums, library presentations to author talks to political events, there are fun enrichment options for any family, budget, and interest. (My brother traveled to see an eclipse with his kids, for example.)
All enrich their minds, build their vocabulary and knowledge, challenge their thinking, and spark their creativity.
I suggest that literary tourism should be on your list, whether to a local site where you can make a day trip or a farther-off spot you can build a vacation around. Below are a few tips for literary tourism with children and for finding good destinations to get you started.
Tips for Literary Tourism with Kids
Follow their interests, but build excitement.
If your child loves a certain author or book, that’s a great place to start exploring literary tourism opportunities—but it’s also powerful to expose them to a new author or book, especially if you model enthusiasm, genuine interest, and curiosity. Ultimately, your choice of destinations will be bounded by what’s in reach within your area, timeframe, or budget.
Any outing will work best if you’re mindful of your child’s interests and attention span. The Jack London ranch site was a good match for an active seven-year-old, because the historic house tour was balanced with plenty of space for free play outside. Be sure to avoid any obvious mismatches, like taking an easily frightened child on a tour of a “haunted” site that inspired a ghost story!
If possible, read some of the stories before you visit a literary tourism location, but you can also use an interesting visit to kick off family explorations of a new writer or book series. You can even share a book on the way to or from an excursion. I used to love reading aloud to my kids during road trips (when I was fortunate enough not to be the one driving), but throwing on an audiobook while I drove generally worked just as well.
Wherever you go, bring your sense of fun, curiosity, and patience. Whether or not you got to dig into the relevant stories ahead of time, build excitement on the trip itself through your attitude. Make it fun for your kiddo: get them snacks, take breaks, cut short any parts that just aren’t working for them, and adapt to their mood.
Most of all, talk to them. Ask them questions, explain things they don’t know or understand, share your reactions, and get them thinking about it all—which brings us to the next point.
Foster curiosity and critical thinking through deep conversation.
Visiting sites associated with an author or literary work offers an opportunity to discuss important concepts, and often values, with your child. It can open up powerful chances to engage around the author and their works’ context, themes, and impact. Many literary tourism sites are connected with older literature, meaning they introduce children to the relevant historical eras, along with weighty social and political issues from their times.
For example, the Betsy-Tacy series brings to life a time before TV, when telephones and cars were major novelties. The series also frequently explores themes of standing up for beliefs vs going along with the crowd. One of the books features the characters making friends with a Syrian immigrant, then being faced with an angry crowd taunting their new friend with slurs.
Another recounts a theatrical production of Uncle Tom’s Cabin—an 1852 abolitionist novel credited with building popular anti-enslavement feeling pre-Civil War—complete with white actors in blackface. This was shocking to me, and it might have been tempting to gloss over it or just put the book aside in favor of newer works. But it described a historical reality, and the story proved a valuable opening to broach important, challenging topics in a natural way.
It got them thinking about why white actors would have played black characters, alongside questions like how popular culture influences politics and the difference between going along with the status quo in a moment in history or trying to rise above it. In the end, it was a chance to impart values, develop their empathy, and foster critical thinking—all in the guise of entertainment and family bonding.
Mind you, any conversation and engagement with your child during shared experiences will build their knowledge, vocabulary, brain, and bond with you, so don’t worry if you’re connecting around lighter topics! Just talk and reflect—together.
Make literary tourism work for your family’s schedule, budget, and ages.
There’s no one best way to do literary tourism with kids. You don’t have to spend a fortune flying to England to see the stomping grounds of Beatrix—or Harry—Potter or to Japan to trace the origins of your child’s favorite manga. You can likely find various options close to home or in areas you’re traveling to anyway.
There are opportunities for literature-related adventures everywhere. Local libraries often have displays about popular authors and the worlds they write about, book stores host author talks or themed book events, or you could craft a literary adventure to anywhere related to a book’s location, author, or topic.
A visit to a science museum could be a bookish outing for a child obsessed with Chickasaw American astronaut John Herrington’s Mission to Space—or for one who loved E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web (to see an arachnid exhibit). The latter might also love a trip to the countryside that inspired the author, while the former might like to know more about Chicasaw culture if they come from a different background.
Get creative and you can find a way to build literary exploration into your outings, already-planned travel, or spur-of-the moment adventures.
Check out our list of some U.S. literary tourism sites associated with children’s authors, search for sites in your area or vacation destination, or research places associated with a favorite author or book series.
Tip: Consult the American Library Association’s literary landmarks list, the nonprofit Author Adventures site, the National Register of Historic Places, and library or bookstore events calendars for ideas. Have fun!