The Joy and Profit of Reading Aloud

By Contributing Writer, Jeannette Paulson

About five months ago our oldest son and his wife had a baby girl. Our first grandchild! It wasn’t long before our son Andrew was teasingly called “Uncle Andrew.”  We all laughed as we pictured Uncle Andrew from The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis—tall, thin, sharply pointed nose, bright eyes, a “great tousled mop of gray hair,” and somehow thinking he can define right and wrong as he pleases.  Though the similarities do not go past tall, thin and the name, it was a great joke—one we share because we read Lewis, along with hundreds of other authors, aloud.

Sharing such jokes is great fun, but fun was only one of the goals we had in mind when, about 25 years ago, we first began reading aloud to our children. My husband and I both love books, and we believed reading aloud could make better readers, teach history, build character, and plant faith.

Read aloud to foster lifetime readers and learners (and perhaps writers.)

One of my late readers told me that she would not have had the slightest interest in learning to read if we had not read aloud. Many boys have been motivated to read by hearing rousing tales such as the Scout dog series. I have at times started an exciting book and then left it around only to find a reluctant reader with his nose deep in it, unable to resist finding out what comes next.

Instead of being distressed about a late reader, simply continue to read aloud. Auditory learners can get a good grasp of grammar and good writing. This happened to a friend of mine. In high school she was nicknamed “grammar queen” because of her grasp of the English language. Today she is an excellent writer. Also, I read of an author, a visual learner, who learned to read simply by watching his mother run her fingers under the words while reading aloud.

Read aloud to teach history.

Robert E. Lee said that history ”teaches us to hope.” Core to the study of history is church history—His Story.  Iain Murray parallels us to the Old Testament Church that fell away when she forgot her history:

This “…childish ignorance is no safe state for those who are called to fight against superhuman powers. Church history…ought to provide a standard of comparison, it ought to raise our vision of God, and it ought to show us, by countless examples, what faithfulness to Christ and his Word truly means.”

To very young children we read Trial and Triumph by Hannula.  To our young children we read God’s Care and Continuance of His Church by John Vreugdenhil.  Though a bit awkwardly translated, this three-volume work is a gem, thorough and clear with a tender affection for Christ’s bride, the church, and is packed with stories of the trials and deliverance of God’s people.

Read missionary biographies. Bearers of light to incredible darkness, missionaries are soldiers of God’s church storming the gates of hell.

Read aloud to build character.

Ruth Beechick says,

Giants and monsters and other frightening things have been in the world’s literature for as long as we know, and now our scholars of the mind are showing us how the old tales help children face and conquer the giants within them. The whole world loves the story of David and Goliath.  Wouldn’t everyone like to conquer his troubles as bravely as David did?

Read Wambu aloud—the cliff-hanger tale of a boy in Papua, New Guinea, who gets converted and braves crocodiles, headhunters and hunger. Here is a big God who hears and helps, and children will be encouraged to take shelter there and live boldly.

Read aloud to plant faith.

Most importantly, read the Bible—the only book  that is absolutely true —in which God not only declares but displays his power, provision, justice and love. He is provider and gives manna in the wilderness; protector and shelters David from Saul’s bloodhounds; powerful and divides the Red Sea. He hates sin and slays Ananias and Sapphira; he loves sinners and crushes his son for his people. What we believe about God is the most significant thing of our lives.

For planting faith, we also loved the Building on the Rock series by Joel Beeke and Diane Kleyn. This, along with Taking Root and Bearing Fruit, are short, true stories written for children of conversions and divine providence in the life of God’s people.

Reading aloud is inexpensive. It is highly portable. It teaches language skills. It makes history come alive and gives hope. It can build character and implant faith. It gives us laughs. What’s not to love about it?