RAR #121: Kate DiCamillo on Reading Aloud for Connection
I ‘ve got a new favorite episode of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast. It’s no wonder, because in this episode, I’m having a conversation with Kate DiCamillo on reading aloud for connection.
There is so much packed into this conversation.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- what Kate really thinks when we ask our kids “what did the author mean?”
- how books help us jump into the Great Conversation (“unwittingly”, as she says)
- that stories are smarter than their authors… and what that means for readers
Listener Guide
Use the time stamps below to skip to any part of the podcast:
- 1:28 Reading aloud with kids in school
- 5:35 Kate DiCamillo is here!
- 9:29 ‘Same side of the table’
- 10:54 In a new light
- 12:03 Trying to get to the table
- 15:12 How we talk about books
- 18:45 Not getting in the way of the story
- 25:11 The Great Conversation
- 28:19 Themes and stars
- 32:02 Microscopes, telescopes and flashlights
- 34:21 Character wants versus needs
- 36:16 More Mercy
- 37:10 Writing advice
- 39:01 A coffee invitation
- 41:01 Let the Kids Speak
Links from this episode:
- RAR #81: Eavesdropping on the Soul, a conversation with Katherine Paterson
- RAR #34: Reading Aloud Around a Traditional School Schedule
- Kate DiCamillo on The Magic of Reading Aloud – PBS.org
- Kate on Facebook
- Andrew Peterson music
- RAR #56: What’s at Stake and Why Stories Matter, Jonathan Auxier
A quote to remember:
“Reading aloud ushers us into a third place, a safe room. It’s a room where everyone involved: the reader and the listener, can put down their defenses and lower their guard. We humans long not just for story, not just for the flow of language, but for the connection that comes when words are read aloud. That connection provides illumination.”
– Kate DiCamillo
Books from this episode:
(All links are affiliate links.)
