When I was thinking of topics for this article, I just couldn’t come up with anything. Between working at home, taking care of my child and trying to homeschool her, I feel like all my creative juices have run dry. I know so many of my fellow parents out there are going through the same thing, trying to balance work, marriage, kids, school, all in one living space that seems to get smaller by the day. Keeping up with basic work and home tasks is achievable; generating new ideas in either arena feels like a Sissyphian effort.

My husband and I were discussing how we can keep up with the ever-growing demands of 1st grade distance learning. We keep getting reminders about school expectations, which are just really reminders about how much we are falling short during this unprecedented time. To be clear, I know other families are struggling as well and teachers are doing the best they can during this difficult time. Many of us are asking ourselves and each other, “What is reasonable?” and “How long can we keep doing this?” Answers to those questions change daily for me, depending on how much sleep I get and how optimistic the weather is looking for that day.

In spite of all the assignments and Zoom calls, there is still one thing we can all do to benefit our child’s mental, intellectual and emotional well-being: reading to them. Even if your children read independently or you are struggling to get them to complete online assignments, you can still read to your kids or even listen to an audiobook as a family. Emotionally, reading aloud to your kids gives your family a special time to reconnect and experience something different during these never-ending “Groundhog Days.”

Intellectually, reading aloud to a child of any age stimulates their imagination, provides challenging vocabulary, and keeps them in touch with story structures, which helps them learn how to predict narrative as they read on their own. Finally, parents can feel a sense of accomplishment when they read to their kids. Sure, you may not have done all those assignments on Seesaw or Google Classroom but you did do something beneficial for your children.

There are a few challenges to finding a good family read-aloud. First of all, the library is still closed to the public. Never fear! The library subscribes to several digital resources that allow you to download e-books to your device or digital audiobooks if you just want to listen along with your kids. All you need is your library card. Don’t have one? Apply for a digital card here and get instant access to all of the library’s e-resources. Hoopla is a streaming service that allows people to access the same title at the same time, much like Netflix. Hoopla allows each library user to check out 20 items each month and has a great selection of ebooks, digital audiobooks, music, movies, and graphic novels.

You can also find great read alouds by searching the Libby app from Overdrive, the library’s service for the latest titles available as ebooks or digital audiobooks. Checking out items in Libby is similar to checking out physical items from the library’s book shelves. If a copy is not available for checkout, you can place a hold to join the waiting list.If a copy of an item is available, you can check it out for up to three weeks before you “return” it.

Now that you know where you can access some excellent reading material, it’s time to find the right title for you and your family. I think the main criteria for family read alouds are books that both children and parents can relate to and enjoy. For families with multiple children, parents will have to consider age range when looking at the themes present in each book, especially scarier elements or when difficult subjects come up. It’s a tough bill to fill but here are some great suggestions to read aloud to your kids while we’re all stuck at home. On the top of nearly every list I consulted, including my own, is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. If you have younger elementary school aged kids who are intrigued by the story, starting with the series opener is a great choice. There’s enough fantasy and suspense to hold an older child’s interest but the plot doesn’t get too intense or scary for younger ones. The audiobook version of this title has an amazing reader, Jim Dale, who gives an incredible performance for
each character.

Mrs. Frisby and Rats of NIMH is another classic with appeal for both adults and children. Mrs. Frisby, a resourceful mother of four mice, must move her family immediately or risk her childrens’ demise. Her youngest child, Timothy, has pneumonia and cannot be moved. After befriending the incredibly intelligent rats of NIMH, Mrs. Frisby crafts a plan with her new friends that saves her family. Please note if you saw the Don Bluth animated film adaptation of this book in the 1980s (The Secret of NIMH), take it from a librarian: the book was better!

Tired of siblings always fighting? Perhaps they can unite under a common purpose after listening to From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg. 12 year old Claudia Kincaid is sick of her parents, their unfair treatment of her as the oldest child, and her whole suburban life in Greenwich, CT. She dreams of running away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City but lacks the funds. She manages to persuade her younger brother, flush with cash to join her and they end up camping out at The Met. Slowly, the two siblings get involved in the mysterious angel statue bought for only $225 and do some detective work for the statue’s shadowy original owner.

If you are looking for a more recent read, Trenton Lee Stewart’s The Mysterious Benedict Society features four unusual children who answer an odd newspaper ad searching for gifted children. Reyne, Sticky, Constance, and Kate are the four children who pass all of Nicholas Benedict’s strange tests and are trained to each use their special gifts. The group are then dropped off at a school for children run by a villain with dreams of world domination. In order to
stop the evil Mr. Curtain, the four kids must work together and appreciate each other’s strengths. Fans of Roald Dahl or Lemony Snicket will enjoy this modern classic.

Reading together as a family is one of the best ways to combat the anxiety that is ever-present during this pandemic. More than ever, kids need reassurance that some things will remain the same as a “new normal” emerges. Taking the time to read together, even to older children, helps kids remember their family bonds will get them through this difficult time.

Kate Tigue is the Head of Youth Services at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her article in the May 21, 2020 issue of the Transcript and Bulletin.