Some books arrive exactly when we need them. That isn't a coincidence.
1 min read
Stories
Stories about reading,
children and family life.
Personal essays and practical ideas about raising readers, reluctant readers, family evenings and relationships, and the books that sometimes help us understand all of it.
Editor's selection
Reading Life
The Books We Remember From Childhood, and Why They Stay With Us
We forget the plots. We never forget how they felt.
2 min read
Reading Life
I Took the Stars Off ALMA
Until this week, every book on ALMA came with five stars. A rating that never moves isn't a rating, so I took them off and put a sentence in their place.
3 min read
Life & Us
Sunday Notes: The Things Our Children Will Actually Remember
Our children won't remember most of what we plan for them. They'll remember small, ordinary moments. A Sunday note about what children remember from childhood, and the quiet things worth repeating.
1 min read
The Weekly Letter
One letter a week about reading and family life.
Once a week: a short personal note, one article about reading or family life, one practical idea to try, and a question you can answer just by replying. One email a week, never a sales pitch.
Parents & Children
Reading with children is rarely only about books.
Parents & Children
What Age Should a Child Start Reading Independently?
There's a range, not a deadline. And being read to doesn't stop when reading alone begins.
1 min read
Love & Relationships
Stories about the ways we find each other, lose each other and sometimes find our way back.
Love & Relationships
20 Questions to Ask Your Partner Instead of “How Was Your Day?”
“Fine” is not an answer. It's a door closing politely.
1 min read
Books & Reviews
Reviews with a point of view: what a book understands about people, and what didn't work.
Books & Reviews
15 Books to Read Before Your Child Turns 7
Not a checklist. A shelf of stories worth sharing while they still want you to read them aloud.
Life & Us
The ordinary, unglamorous parts of being a person, and the books that sometimes help with them.
Life & Us
We Don't Need Another Perfect Family Routine
The routines on our phones are beautiful. Ours just has to survive a Tuesday.
1 min read
Latest stories
Parents & Children
Your Child Keeps Choosing the Same Book. Should You Let Them?
Why do children want the same book read again and again? Rereading builds confidence, language and comfort. Why it's worth saying yes, and gentle ways to add something new without taking the favourite away.
1 min read · 2 November 2026
Parents & Children
How to Choose Books for a Reluctant Reader
Choosing books for a reluctant reader is less about levels and more about hooks. How to find books a child who avoids reading will open, finish and ask about, with simple questions to guide every choice.
1 min read · 28 October 2026
Parents & Children
Is My Child Behind in Reading? What Parents Should Look For
Is my child behind in reading, or just reading at their own pace? What's normal varies more than parents think. The signs worth paying attention to, the ones that aren't, and when to talk to a teacher.
2 min read · 26 October 2026
Parents & Children
10 Questions to Ask Your Child After Reading a Book
Ten questions to ask children after a story that open a real conversation instead of testing them. No right answers, no comprehension quiz, just ways into what your child noticed and felt.
1 min read · 22 October 2026
Parents & Children
What to Do When Your Child Says “Reading Is Boring”
“Reading is boring” is one of the most common things children say about books. What it usually means, what not to say back, and practical ways to help a child find a book that isn't.
1 min read · 21 October 2026
Parents & Children
Why Some Children Love Books and Others Avoid Them
Why does one child devour books while another avoids them? It's rarely intelligence or laziness. The quieter reasons children turn away from reading, and what a parent can change.
1 min read · 19 October 2026