A read-aloud childhood

Transcript

I got read aloud to a ton. My mom read me book upon book every night, and then as soon as I was old enough she’d still read aloud to me, and then she would leave, turn off the light, and I would turn it back on and continue reading. But yeah, I think my mom – as a single mom especially – she really wanted to do it right. She had books on how to read aloud to kids.

Books that were like, here are the books you should read aloud to kids. She was always taking me to the library. She definitely knew, one, I think, how important reading aloud was, and, two, how much I loved it, and it was – it was a centerpiece of our time together.

Barnett’s mom read aloud to him long after he learned to read to himself. He says it was the centerpiece of their time together.

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Mac Barnett

Children’s Author

Mac Barnett is the bestselling author of more than 60 books for children, including Extra Yarn and Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, both illustrated by Jon Klassen, and both winners of a Caldecott Honor and the E.B. White Read-Aloud Award. He loves his work because, he says, kids are “the sincerest appreciators of stories, a uniquely receptive and honest audience.” Mac was named the 2025-26 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress.

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A read-aloud childhood

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Mac Barnett