In today’s episode, I’m joined by the woman who recently faced the daunting challenge of updating Jim Trelease’s much beloved Read-Aloud Handbook.

Cyndi Giorgis takes us behind the scenes of updating The Read-Aloud Handbook, and some of the interesting (and most surprising!) bits what she learned during the process.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

  • what’s in the Read-Aloud Handbook‘s whole new chapter (it’s a good one)
  • updates about audiobooks and other technology
  • the most important thing Cyndi learned in her research about reading aloud

I also answer a listener question about the best picture book treasuries to invest in right now. (We’ve updated our list of favorite picture book treasuries.)

Click the play button below to start listening:

Listener Guide:

2:16WOW! Writers on Writing
3:40Best bang-for-your-buck treasuries
7:02Meet Cyndi Giorgis and The Read-Aloud Handbook
8:20Working with Jim Trelease
9:55A daunting task
11:09Visual Literacy
14:13Graphic novels
15:45Living in technological times
16:48Time spent reading to our children is a gift
19:18The influence of dads
21:42Recommendation time!
26:58Balancing classics and new books
28:56The impact of ‘The Read-Aloud Handbook’
34:00Let the Kids Speak

Quotes to remember:

“Read it to me is a test. Let me read it to you is a gift.” – Katherine Paterson

“The Read-Aloud Handbook was the first time I realized that reading-aloud was a good all unto its own, not just something you do until your kids can read to themselves.” – Sarah Mackenzie

“It’s not about teaching a child to read, but rather about offering children the pleasure of reading.” – Cyndi Giorgis

Books from this episode:

Some links are affiliate links.

Charlotte’s Web
Blueberries for Sal
Make Way for Ducklings
Strega Nona
Oh, No!
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Where the Red Fern Grows
Stuart Little
Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade
The Magical World of Strega Nona: a Treasury
One Morning in Maine
Giant Squid (Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor (Awards))
Jan Brett’s Animal Treasury
Make Way for McCloskey: A Robert McCloskey Treasury
A Little House Picture Book Treasury: Six Stories of Life on the Prairie
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
Where the Wild Things Are
Lion of the Sky: Haiku for All Seasons
Free As A Bird: The Story of Malala
The Whipping Boy
Princess Cora and the Crocodile
The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids
Shh! We Have a Plan
Jim Trelease’s Read-Aloud Handbook: 8th Edition

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