HERE IS WHAT MATTERS:
If your child loves the books in front of them. If they ask for more. If they want to keep living inside the story.
Nobody gets to decide which books do this for your child but them.
Your privilege — and mine!!! — is to open the door. To expose them to different kinds of books. To keep the story living beyond the last word.
I know time is tight. So I made you a Notes app note.
It includes people to follow, newsletters to read, questions to ask your bookseller, your librarian, your friends. And your child.
Think of it like a bit of my brain inside your phone. To take the pressure off yours.
Comment PARTY and I’ll send it to you. 💛
Because we can’t make time expand.
But we can make the most of the time we have.
And the people and knowledge here to help us.
I made you a Note to save in your Notes App with accounts to follow*, newsletters to bookmark, questions to ask, and reminders to give you a boost when you need it.
Comment PARTY to get it.
Because reading matters, and our children deserve it to feel like the party it is.
*accts in the note (that share great recs) ➡️ @thebookmommy@carmkidsbooks@wildrumpusbookstore@readingmiddlegrade@shelfeditions@spiralbooksnyc ➡️ (thanks for doing what you do!!)
We got some fun new picture books in April! And you know what I love? How a new book gets so much richer when put into conversation with an older one.
Book pairings invite conversation that can ignite magic. Don’t you love it when you can see inside your child’s brain?
I never had the time to do this before Book Party, btw, so I’m VERY happy to share these three pairings with you!
Save this post for your next library trip. And if you want more of this (ways to make reading feel like connection, like something living) comment BRIDGE.
The books:
THE VISIT (Nuria Figueras, illustrated by Anna Font) + THE DARK (Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Jon Klassen)
A DOOR IS TO OPEN (Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Julie Morstad) + A HOLE IS TO DIG (Ruth Krauss, illustrated by Maurice Sendak)
BILLIE BUILDS A ROBOCORN (Jose Lourenco and James Braithwaite) + COLETTE’S LOST PET (Isabelle Arsenault)
📚🎉💛
My cousin said this to me about a year ago and I think about it constantly.
The guilt of not doing enough is real. But sometimes the thing we’re already doing — without even trying — is exactly right.
Save this for the next time you feel guilty for reading your own book. And send it to the friend who needs the reminder, too.
The door is open at jointhebookparty.com 🚪
The literacy crisis doesn’t have to last forever. I created Book Party to do my part in reversing it.
If these stats break your heart, too, I’m making something for you. Comment BRIDGE or go to jointhebookparty.com to turn your sadness into action.
*National Literacy Trust’s 2025 Annual Literacy Survey
We all have the fear, but we all have the open door, too.
Save this for when you need a reminder, and send it to the friend who wants to keep the door open, too.
More at BookParty.substack.com
If you’re a parent who wants to keep your kids excited about reading, I made this for you.
Two card decks:
SAY + WONDER gets you talking;
DO + REMEMBER keeps reading worth talking about.
I’ve been working on this for a long time. Holding a beta deck in my hands this week felt like everything.
Limited first run presale opens this summer. First dibs if you’re on my email (not Substack!) list.
Comment BRIDGE or head to jointhebookparty.com to get on the list. Early joiners get a bookmark via 🐌 mail while they wait.
📚🎉
The day they learn to read on their own is everything.
It’s pride. But it can also feel a little like loss.
It doesn’t have to be a loss
Reading together never has to stop. Keep reading aloud. Read alongside. Read in conversation.
The look might change. The connection doesn’t have to.
💛 if you’re still reading aloud to a child who could read on their own
This bookmark is just a preview.
The Book Party Decks— SAY+WONDER for conversation and DO+REMEMBER for making reading never feel like a chore — are coming this summer.
Comment BRIDGE to get on the list for early presale access. Early joiners will get a bookmark to use while you wait.
OR visit 📚🎉
Comment EMPATHY, and I’ll send ya the link to the whole piece about your children being capable literary thinkers.
(Includes fun books and questions, too!)
💙 Asking questions that build connection — with you, the book, and life in general — are what turn a reading practice into a reading life. It’s what makes the memories that keep them coming back to books.
Tell me what you’re reading now, and I just might have a fun question for you to ask 📚🎉
