Religion & Spirituality
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Laura Dugger: Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.
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Laura Dugger: Hi everybody! Today we get to hear from someone who is devoted to inspiring young people to become readers. Megan Kaeb is the founder of the blog, Young Book Love, and she is joining us today to discuss ways to create an atmosphere in our home that encourages a love of learning and reading. I love this chat and I hope you do too.
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Hey, Megan.
Megan Kaeb: Hey, Laura.
Laura Dugger: So excited to get a chat with you today. Can you just start off by telling us more about yourself?
Megan Kaeb: Sure, I'd love to. My name is Megan Kaeb. I've been married to my husband, Cory, for 19 years and we have six kids. Our oldest is 14, almost 15, a freshman in high school. We have twin boys who are almost 12. They are in sixth grade right now. We have two fourth graders and a third grader.
Our youngest two kids are adopted. We brought them home from China, one about five years ago and one about eight years ago. Actually, there is two months of the year when our youngest three are the same age. So it's almost like we've got one and then twins and then triplets in a way.
They're all kind of jammed in there age-wise, but it's really fun watching them interact together. I mean, they're good friends, and they play well together. It's fun having a big family. [00:02:28]
I'm an adoptive mom. I'm also a special needs mom. Our younger have cerebral palsy and just have some physical issues. One needs a walker, they both wear braces. But yeah, that's kind of where we're at in life. This age of my kids is so fun. They're independent and they still think we're cool and they like being around us. I'm really loving this stage of momhood.
Laura Dugger: Oh, that is awesome. I love hearing that they still think you're cool. That's great.
Megan Kaeb: Yeah.
Laura Dugger: You have recently launched your own blog called Young Book Love. Let's just start off, why do you believe that stories matter?
Megan Kaeb: Well, I think they matter for a lot of reasons. I feel like when we read good stories they help us feel like we're not alone, which I think right there is just huge. [00:03:26] They expose us to different perspectives, different points of view, they can entertain us and inspire us.
I also think stories help connect. My mom would tell us stories even just from her own childhood growing up. My husband is a really good storyteller. Our twins are Simon and Jonah and so he will tell our kids Jamone and Sona stories which are basically stories of his childhood that are extremely embellished and they are a highlight of my ki... Like whenever we have campfires or whatever, they're always asking for Jamone and Sona stories. So I feel like just even our personal stories offer us a way to connect.
Then I also think Jesus Himself used stories all the time to get his point across. And somehow I feel like stories just... we remember them more, we connect with them emotionally. And so they just, I don't know... they just hit us in a place where facts and figures just can't necessarily reach. [00:04:29]
Laura Dugger: Wow, that is so well said. And will you just walk us through the journey? What led you to start your own blog?
Megan Kaeb: Well, years ago when my kids were little, I used to have a personal blog and I always enjoyed just the creative outlet. That was more just a motherhood blog, like sharing stories of my kids with friends. I tried to make it a little more than just like all about us. I wanted it to be an encouragement too. But I don't know, I just enjoyed writing.
Also about that time, I started working, started as a volunteer and eventually joined staff for a ministry called Hearts at Home and I was their publishing director for over 10 years. I guess the more and more I got involved with Hearts kind of the less and less I blogged and wrote because that job... I mean when you have a big family and you don't have as much margin for outside jobs, at least I don't. [00:05:31]
Anyway, so with Hearts, I love my job there. I love that I could kind of have a piece of the book publishing world, like work in that a little bit, but still be focused on what I consider my main job of being a mom. And I love the people I got to work with.
About two or three years ago, I just kind of started feeling God prompting my heart that my time at Hearts was coming to a close but I just wasn't quite ready to give it up. But then about a year ago, or a year and a half ago, Hearts was going through some financial issues and they had to dissolve my position. So God kind of like said, "Okay, I kind of told you before it's time for you to move on from there."
That was really hard because I loved my job there but at the same time, I could feel God in it and felt peaceful about that transition. So then I all of a sudden had a little bit more time on my hands. My kids are all in public school. So when they're at school I have the days to myself. And I just kind of started praying about what was next. [00:06:42]
I have always loved books. I have been an avid reader since I was a kid. I love reading middle-grade fiction as an adult and talking to my kids about it and trying to find books that they like to read. I also have a lot of friends who will ask me, just be like, "Hey Megan, I'm looking for this kind of a book for my kid. Do you have any ideas?
So just kind of combining all of that, I don't know, I just kind of got the idea about maybe starting the blog again, but this time a blog that had a very specific purpose and focus. There's a blogger out there or a blog called Modern Mrs. Darcy that Anne Bogel runs and then she has also started a podcast called What Should I Read Next?. The focus of her blog is more for adults. It's all adult books and books and reading.
And I just kind of thought that would be kind of fun to just kind of create my own Like Modern Mrs. Darcy-type blog, but only focused on kids and middle-grade fiction. [00:07:49] So when I started to kind of share that idea with others, I just got a lot of confirmation like, yes, you would be good at that. Yes, you should try that.
But it's still, I don't know, I just kind of... The idea percolated in my head for a while before I actually moved forward with it. I don't know, there's also kind of a bit of fear when it comes to putting yourself out there. But eventually I just kind of felt like, God... I mean, I just didn't have any other direction. I just felt like this is the way to go.
So I started it last November, it would be November of 2017. It's gotten good so far. I'm finding that I'm really loving it. If I don't focus too much on the numbers of it, because sometimes when you're starting something new that can be slow going, but I really enjoy doing it.
I feel like I've kind of created a job for myself where I just get to read books all the time, which is also pretty awesome. That's kind of the story of how it all got started. I don't know if that's more than what you wanted, but... [00:08:55]
Laura Dugger: No, that is incredible. Thank you for sharing. I love how you even talked about fear mixed in because I think anytime we're on the edge of something big, there will be fear, but courage is still taking the next step forward. It's not like that fear went away and then you could start your blog. So I admire you for having faith in God and walking that out.
Megan Kaeb: Yeah, it's just exciting. I'm excited to see where it all goes. And even if it goes nowhere, I still feel like this is what I'm supposed to be doing right now. So there's a lot of peace in that.
Laura Dugger: Oh, that's incredible. I think it's going to go somewhere. I love it. I very much appreciate your labor of love. Do you think babies are born to be avid readers or taught? I think that, well, there's just so many different personalities that some kids just naturally are avid readers, and I think some it definitely comes a lot harder too.
Dr. Kathy Cook has a book where she talks about the different kind of smarts that we all have and how some kids are word smart, some kids are picture smart, some kids are body smart, music smart, nature smart, people smart. [00:10:10]
So I just kind of think like a kid who is maybe body smart they always have to be moving around but they're really athletic or they're good with coordinated all that big. So it might be harder for them to sit still and actually like get through a book, so reading might not appeal to them from the surface. But I feel like everyone can learn to love stories. And if you love stories then it's a very easy jump to love reading. A lot of times I just think you have to find the right books or even the right way to enjoy those books.
I think audiobooks are a great option for kids that just have a hard time sitting still. Because again, I think it's more than just reading the words on the page. It's about really loving stories and learning from other people's experiences and so yeah. I do think some people reading comes a lot easier too than others, and others it is a struggle, but I think everyone can grow to love stories. [00:11:09]
Laura Dugger: I love the encouragement in that. How do parents provide an atmosphere in their home to encourage a love of learning and reading?
Megan Kaeb: I think there's that saying that more is caught than taught, I think modeling reading is a big way to encourage it. If I think of kids see us reading books, then they might be more inclined to be like, Hey, I wonder what's going on with that. I know my mom read a lot and my grandma read a lot too. I remember as a kid seeing my mom sitting on the sofa reading a book.
I also think if you read out loud to your kids, even if they don't like reading on their own, there's still something about that shared time together that connects. I think, too, you have to be flexible even when you're reading out loud.
Like our family, sometimes reading out loud together looks really picture perfect, but other times it does not at all. Like kids will be doing other things which is fine as long as they're quiet. [00:12:10] And honestly I feel like if kids have a hard time sitting still, if they can color or even play a game as long as they can do it quietly while you're reading out loud. That works for me.
But there are times when I'm just like... when they are not being quiet I'm just like, "If you can't listen, then you need to get out of the room," or they're sometimes yelling gets involved with it and it doesn't look quite as picture perfect as what I would like. But we still keep trying and we keep working at it.
Laura Dugger: All the parents are nodding along, like, yes, we've been there before. You alluded to this, but what did your parents do to instill a love of reading in you?
Megan Kaeb: Like I said, I feel like I saw it modeled a lot. My mom read a lot on her own and she also read out loud to us. I also just remember there being books around our house a lot. If you don't have books around your house, they're not going to pick them up to read them.
So even now I will go to the library a lot and sometimes on my own and I'll just bring home a bunch of books that I think they might like and just have them laying around so it's easy for them to pick up. [00:13:17] When I was a kid, we lived in a small town and it was the type of situation where I could ride my bike all over the place. So being a small town, there wasn't a ton of places to go, but the library was one. So just even that I had the freedom to go to the library.
And now my kids don't have that same type of freedom to go on their own, but I take them a lot to the library. Over the summer we're usually at the library probably once a week. So I just think if you expose them to books a lot, and I feel like my parents did a good job of that with us, too, then, yeah, it can just kind of get passed on or... yeah.
Laura Dugger: Those are good practical tips. So, taking your children to the library, reading aloud to them. Is there anything else that you did specifically to promote a love of reading in your own children?
Megan Kaeb: Yeah. I think, well, talking about going to the library, summer reading programs at the library are an awesome way to motivate your kids to read. [00:14:17] I know our libraries have really great prizes for reading. So I feel like if you have never done a reading program with your kids through the library like that is... Every summer we do that. And I feel like that helps a ton.
I also talk to my kids about books a lot. I ask them what they're reading. I ask them if they like what they're reading. One of my boys loves reading Big Nate and he will often read to me from his book. So just even being patient with that and making time for that, those conversations is important.
One other thing I do to kind of provide an atmosphere to encourage a love of reading is I give them the chance to read before they go to bed. I'm kind of a stickler when it comes to bedtime at our house. I like my kids to go to bed early so I can have some time away from them in the evenings with my husband. [00:15:17]
But part of the way that I make that look more promising is like if they don't have to go to sleep right away, they can read in bed for a while. And if they don't want to read in bed, they can go to sleep. That's fine, too. But sometimes I think that the chance to stay up a little later might encourage them to pick up a book a little quicker.
Laura Dugger: Oh, I love that. That's such a good idea.
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Laura Dugger: What can we do to emulate your steps and create a culture of reading in our own homes?
Megan Kaeb: I think a lot of what I've said already. Even with the library reading programs, there are also other reading programs out there that you can get prizes. [00:17:24] I think Barnes & Noble does a free.. Or you can earn a free book if you read a certain number of books during the summer. You can find programs like that, which are awesome.
Again, I just say keep lots of books lying around the house. Give books as gifts. I really think the biggest way that you can, or the most practical step, I don't know, is to just start reading out or continue reading out loud to your kids from little on up.
And even when they get older, I don't think they outgrow enjoying listening to you read out loud. It might look a little different. It might be harder to find the time. That's something we're running into where my kids are in activities, and so it's harder to find the time where we can all be together and share a story. But it is something that I really work to be intentional at. And I never regret that time that we spend when I'm reading out loud to my kids.
Laura Dugger: That's so good. And you even talk about that on your homepage of your blog where that effort truly is worthwhile. [00:18:30]
Megan Kaeb: Yeah.
Laura Dugger: From your faith and expertise in this area, let's just go through a few specific types of books and hear your opinion on how to navigate them with kids. So you mentioned audiobooks earlier. Let's just start with that.
Megan Kaeb: Yeah, I love audiobooks. I feel like they are a great way to create a shared experience or a great way for your child to just listen to one on their own. There was one summer our family, whenever we drive around to the pool or to the library or whatever field trips we kind of had planned over the summer, we would work our way through the Little House on the Prairie series on audio. So every time we were in the van, we would listen to that series. That summer just was filled with those stories which was fun. And sometimes my kids will listen to them in the room.
The problem with audiobooks is even a good book, if it has a bad narrator, it can make a bad audiobook. [00:19:31] So you really want to find a good narrator and then kind of try to find the books that they narrate.
I know Little House on the Prairie is well done, Ramona, there are some really good ones there. I have a friend who listens to a lot of audiobooks so she's gonna hopefully get me some of their favorites, and I'm hoping to do a blog post on that as well.
Laura Dugger: Oh, that's exciting. What about hard-topic books or books with sad endings?
Megan Kaeb: I think these are important. I feel Like this is another way that books and reading can, I don't know, influence our kids or... not even influence. It's just a way to help them feel that they're not alone, that there are hard things in the world, and if they can experience that with us. I feel like that just... I don't know, that exposure is not a bad thing. Because there are hard things in the world. [00:20:28]
And yeah, we want to shelter them, but if you can kind of start to expose them somewhat through harder things in books, I feel like that is not a bad thing either. Now, some kids are a lot more sensitive to some of those type of topics, so you kind of need to know your kid and what they can handle and what they can't.
I actually just read an article the other day that was so good. It was written by... his name is Matt de la Peña, and he wrote a book called Last Stop on Market Street, which it's a picture book and it is phenomenal. It actually won a Newbery... I don't know if it was an honor or actually won the medal.
But he kind of was talking about this same question, and he just kind of said if he had any question or could ask any author any question, he'd want to ask Kate DiCamillo, who's one of my favorite authors, how honest can an author be with an auditorium full of elementary school kids? How honest should we be with our readers? Is the job of the writer for the very young to tell the truth or preserve innocence? [00:21:35]
He talked about a book called Love, and in the book there's a scene where a little kid is hiding under the piano, and you can just kind of tell the parents are arguing. It's just a tougher picture. The publisher wanted to take it out thinking that maybe that was too hard of a picture for kids. But he and the illustrator fought to keep it in, and he just said, "There's a power to seeing this largely unspoken part of our interior lives represented too. And for those who've yet to experience that kind of sadness, I can't think of a safer place to explore complex emotions for the first time than inside the pages of a book while sitting in the lap of a loved one."
And I just thought that was really good. For kids who haven't experienced that sadness to kind of be exposed to it when they're with parents is important. And then for kids who have experienced that sadness, to know that they're not alone, that there's not shame in that, that's really important too. [00:22:40]
So I can give you the link to that article. It was really good. And then Kate DiCamillo actually responded to him and just what she wrote was so good too. Just really good thoughts on why it's important to expose our kids to even the harder stories.
Laura Dugger: What do you recommend for books that include magic?
Megan Kaeb: I honestly love magic. I'm going to include fantasy books in this as well. I feel like they inspire a sense of wonder and imagination in our kids and it just kind of keeps them young. There's just something about... I don't know, I remember as a kid after reading the Chronicles of Narnia, opening our hall closet and just kind of wishing that maybe I would... I remember pulling the coats apart and actually thinking maybe this is the way into Narnia. I don't know, there's just something really special about that.
So I don't have a problem with magic in books. Sometimes it can be a little bit of a darker magic, but I think if you have the right books, it is very clear whether it's good or evil. [00:23:43] So even the evil, more darker side of it, if it's portrayed that way, again, I feel like that's okay because there is good in this world, there is evil in this world. So being exposed to that, whether there's magic involved or not, I don't think is a bad thing.
Laura Dugger: I love that. And what is your opinion on graphic novels?
Megan Kaeb: I think graphic novels can be a great... I kind of call certain graphic novels, like I think of Big Nate or even Captain Underpants, which isn't necessarily a graphic novel, but I'm going to kind of throw it in this category. I'm not a fan of Captain Underpants, but my boys did read them for a time.
I kind of call them gateway books. I feel like they are a way that our kids can... like especially my boys, they're just more visual. And I feel like those kind of books they draw them in. And now as my boys are older, they still enjoy graphic novels, but they're reading more traditional novels. [00:24:49] So I feel like graphic novels were a great way to kind of get them to enjoy reading and slowly move them towards books that maybe have more words and less pictures.
And there are some actually really well-done graphic novels as well that tell amazing stories. You just have to find them. There's one called Around the World by Matt Phelan. I'm not 100% sure how to pronounce his name, but it talks about three... it's kind of a historical... It's really not fiction but it talks about Nellie Bly, and it talks about a guy who wrote his bicycle all over the world. There's one of those weird like with the giant wheel-type bicycles. It was a fun one.
El Deafo is a book by CeCe Bell. It's about this girl... or it's actually a rabbit in the story, and I think it's autobiographical of the author, but she had to wear a hearing aid that hung around her neck and just kind of how she felt different and trying to find friends through that. I don't know, it was a well-told story through pictures. So those are a couple of good ones. [00:25:55]
Laura Dugger: That's awesome. You're just opening our world to so many possibilities and sounds like you're encouraging the parents to do their homework and research and know their child. And yet there's this awesome world of wonder.
Hey friends, I just wanted to give you a quick reminder that we're asking for ratings and reviews on whatever platform you use to listen to this podcast. If you would be willing, could you also hit subscribe to the podcast and share this with a friend? Thanks for listening. Now back to the show.
Well, this time has been so rich. We're going to have to come back to finish and maybe we can talk about book lists next time and get some more recommendations for different age groups. But I have one final question for you today. The name of this podcast is The Savvy Sauce because "savvy" means knowledge that we can apply in practical ways. So, Megan, what is your savvy sauce?
Megan Kaeb: Okay, I'm going to say naps and quiet time are super important for your kids, even when they're little and even when they're big. [00:27:00] Over the summer or whenever we have breaks, my kids still are required to have an hour, hour, and a half of quiet time every day. Now they don't have to nap.
Usually, they have to read for part of that, but then after that they can do whatever they want as long as they're quiet. Especially over the summer when we're all together so much, we need space from each other and I need space from them. So I think instituting naps/you can call it quiet time when they're older, even for my teenagers, is important. I don't think you give up naps when they're preschoolers, but it's something that continues on into the teenage years. You just maybe rename it to quiet time.
Laura Dugger: Oh, that is incredible and something we can all apply today. Megan, this time it seriously was just such a gift. I could listen to you for hours. You shared so much of your research and your heart behind it, and it's such a balanced approach. So thank you for spending time with us today.
Megan Kaeb: My pleasure. This is really fun. [00:28:00]
Laura Dugger: One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term "gospel" before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news. Every single one of us were born sinners and God is perfect and holy, so He cannot be in the presence of sin. Therefore, we're separated from Him.
This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved. We need a savior. But God loved us so much, He made a way for His only Son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute.
This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with Him. That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. [00:29:06]
We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
So would you pray with me now? Heavenly, Father, thank You for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to You. Will You clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare You as Lord of their life? We trust You to work and change their lives now for eternity. In Jesus name, we pray, amen.
If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring Him for me, so me for Him, you get the opportunity to live your life for Him.
At this podcast, we are called Savvy for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So you're ready to get started? [00:30:07]
First, tell someone. Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision my parents took me to Barnes and Noble to get the Quest NIV Bible and I love it. Start by reading the book of John.
Get connected locally, which basically means just tell someone who is part of the church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.
We want to celebrate with you too. So feel free to leave a comment for us if you made a decision for Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read Scripture that describes this process.
Finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." The heavens are praising with you for your decision today. [00:31:06]
If you've already received this good news, I pray that you have someone else to share it with today. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.
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