Latest / 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids. / The Power of a Good Story to Improve Literacy w/Author JOYCE MCCULLOUGH

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The Power of a Good Story to Improve Literacy w/Author JOYCE MCCULLOUGH · 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids.

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to another episode of the Five Minute Parenting Podcast.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Karen Ferguson, wife, mom, grandmom, and children's book author with a background in K-8 education and a passion for equipping parents to raise confident and God-confident kids.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: In this podcast, we'll cover parenting practices for both a practical view and a biblical view.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Our goal is to help you raise kids with a positive, godly self-image so they can become all they were created to be.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: I know you're busy, so we'll keep it short.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Let's take just five minutes and dive in.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to Five Minute Parenting.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Today I have the pleasure of interviewing a good friend and children's author, Joyce McCullough.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Joyce is a children's book author, retired high school English teacher, Sunday school teacher, and avid reader.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: She now spends her time writing, giving piano lessons, leading her book club, and volunteering in her community in Middle Tennessee.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Today she's here to preview her new children's book and talk about the importance of reading in today's society.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: So welcome back to the show, Joyce.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Karen.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: So you were on here before with host Sandra Chambers, and now I get the pleasure of welcoming you.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm glad you're here, and I'm just going to jump right in with the first question.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us about your inspiration for writing your latest book, Max and Her Stacks.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, this book is based partly on my own experience as a child and partly on my experience with my young niece over the last 15 years.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: As a child, I was personally a slow reader.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: I think my mother sensed my struggles and she read aloud to me and my sister on a regular basis.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: I loved to snuggle with her on the couch and listen to her read poetry and short stories, and she would often change her voice to show different characters.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: And by the time I was in sixth grade, I was a pretty good reader.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: And my school principal honored me by asking me to read aloud to the kindergartners.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: I loved how they listen to me as I read Little House on the Prairie, and maybe that was the beginning of my desire to become an English teacher.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: Anyway, fast forward to 15 years ago when my niece was born, and I made it a ritual to drive to her house about 30 minutes away to rock and read to her every Monday afternoon.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: She may have slept through many of the stories, but somewhere inside, I think she developed a love of books.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: Over the years, we have continued to read together and share books, and now she is never without a book in her possession.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: She knows that she's going to receive a book from me for every birthday and every Christmas.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: And now, as a sophomore in high school, she's already achieved high ACT scores in English and in reading.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: So my book, Max and Her Stacks, takes readers on my niece's journey.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: From a young child learning to say night night from Amy Parker's board books to a teenager who has been influenced by the characters in the book she has read.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: For example, Bilbo Baggins teaches her to be brave.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: And a lion named Aslon helps her to understand the true meaning of love.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: And over the years, I think Max has learned to love reading and accumulated stacks and stacks of books because of that.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I had the pleasure of reading the book.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's such a clever way of encouraging reading and a love of books in kids.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: And um, what I saw, the illustrations, they're just adorable.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I just can't wait for this to release.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: I believe it's gonna spread far and wide in schools.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: So congratulations on that.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's huge.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: I'm into that.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Joyce, why do you think parents should encourage their children to make reading a priority?
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: Well, even though I'm now retired, I have tried to stay in touch with colleagues and former students who are now teachers and librarians.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: They all agree that the decline in reading over the last several years has negatively affected test scores, writing ability, and overall school performance.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: I recently read an online post that said reading for pleasure is a stronger predictor of life success than socioeconomic background.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I've I've personally witnessed that.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: Also read that in 2022 the average reading score for fourth graders was at its lowest in over 20 years.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: Scores for eighth and twelfth graders are now at a 30-year low.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I personally witnessed the negative results of relying on online learning because of COVID, increased use of tech devices, addiction to gaming, etc.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: My state of Tennessee has recently banned the use of cell phones in the classroom.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: A nearby middle school announced recently that this new policy has treated a surge in library visits, and their librarian noted that checkouts have increased tenfold.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: So way to go, Tennessee.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm thinking that.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: Ah, definitely.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: And just last week, my publisher with Ingame Press commented that she had learned some startling statistics from Childhood Literacy Project.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: According to them, 40% of American children in fourth grade cannot read at grade level.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: And she goes on to say the problem is growing.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's a massive problem that must be addressed for the good of our children, our communities, and our nation.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I do realize that some students and some adults simply don't like to read.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why I'd like to encourage parents to be patient, not to give up on finding the right books for their kids.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: I met James Patterson at an English conference several years ago, and he encouraged us teachers to find books that would engage our kids.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if a kid likes sports, then find sports books.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: Don't make them read Pride and Prejudice or something like that.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: He used the book Maximum Ride as an example.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: He told us to challenge the students to read two chapters before they gave up on the book.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: And if you've ever read James Patterson, you know that his chapters are very short.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: Some are two pages, and they leave you hanging.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: He purposely does that.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: So you think the kid might think, okay, I can read one more chapter because it's short.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: And before you know it, that kid has read 50 pages.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: Also, I served as an interim librarian at my high school for a couple of semesters right after COVID.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: One day the principal came in and asked me if I thought the library was still serving a purpose.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I responded, absolutely.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: Because I had seen students who use the library as an asylum, a place they can escape to and temporarily leave their temporarily leave their troubles behind.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: One of my favorite authors is Jan Karen, and one of her characters grew up in an unstable home.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: The family had very little.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: So for the last 20 years of my teaching career, I taught honors English classes.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: I had great success with their test scores, most likely because the kids were already smart.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: However, I also required them to read 12 major literary works during the school year.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: So I'd like to think I helped with those test scores.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: Now I think kids mostly only read excerpts and they don't get the full benefit of studying a story's developing plot line, its overall theme and purpose.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: I think the required reading assignments I gave my kids had a positive impact.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: And this is another reason kids should read books from cover to cover.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: Because of the success I had with my honor students, one year my principal asked me to teach a remedial class.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: These kids were required to take the state assessments just like everyone else.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: And he thought I might be able to help because this was a frustrating issue.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: The class was made up of 14 students who all had special needs.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: One student had been in behavior mod classes his entire life.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: Another student had been diagnosed with a brain tumor.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: Several others were in special ed classes, and two girls lived in a group home because of their delinquency.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: Since most of the students had poor reading skills, I decided to read aloud to them every day.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: I chose the book Bless the Beasts and the Children by Glendon Swarthout.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: This was an old book about a group of misfit kids, but I felt the students could relate to it because it was basically their story.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: I gave each of them a copy of the book and asked them to follow along.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: We would stop and discuss key elements of the story so that I could teach them the standards I knew would be on the test.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: These kids actually love this book.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: I get emotional even thinking about it.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: Eventually, several of them volunteered to read aloud, and most importantly, they all passed the state test.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: And the behavior mod kid made a perfect score.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that is amazing.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, what a testimony to the gift, you know, really of being able to read.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: And it it reminds me that, you know, we're never too old to have someone read to us as well, you know, to be able to listen.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I think it's also an example of finding the right fit for some of the students, right?
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: That that aren't um avid readers, like you were saying earlier, you know, if they like sports, don't give them a little house on the prairie, you know, or something like that.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, very true.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that is amazing.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, teaching high school English, why did you decide to now write children's books?
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: That is a great question, Karen.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes I wonder about that myself.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: Over the years, I have written magazine articles, Sunday school lessons, and devotions, but in recent years I felt God giving me these ideas for children's books.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: As a matter of fact, the first conference I went to, I had an idea because one of my students had actually died during um the year, and I had written a story about him, and I wanted it to be for you know a teen magazine.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: And a guy from Focus on the Family, actually for the youngest group that they um wrote for, uh Focus on Your Child, and he asked me to adapt a story, and that was probably the beginning.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: I hadn't really thought about that until you asked that question, but um we all have stories to tell, and we can probably fit them to a particular audience if we work on that.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: But anyway, my background as an English major, I think, may have given me a little more insight into a story's underlying meaning.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_01: My favorite stories to teach in high school were those that had allegorical elements, and these elements made the students think.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: So not all children's books have these special meanings, and sometimes they're just meant to be for fun, but I do think all books can help children think.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: Being a regular reader can help children increase their vocabulary, their comprehension, their speed, which is a valuable tool for today's test prep, and their understanding of the world around them.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: I also think children's books are valuable for adults as well as children.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: I've been reviewing children's books for several years now on my blog, and I'm amazed at the insight these children's book authors have into the world around us, not just the make-believe children's world.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: We can all learn valuable lessons from reading these simple books about kindness and patience and faithfulness.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: And sharing these books with young children is a great way to teach these values.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: Also, I think children's books are easier to write than 80,000-word epics.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, indeed.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: And my children's book, Look for the Pink Ribbons, is one of those allegories that I talk about.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's about my mother's death from breast cancer.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: And originally I was not wanting to write a story about death because I thought children needed to read positive things.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: But my publisher, Ambassador International, encouraged me to have my main character die.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: And it's been amazing how many people have responded that this book was something the children needed to read about.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_01: And reading a children's version of the Bible is a great way to instill important biblical teaching at a very young age.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I would strongly suggest the Companion Storybook Bible by Crystal Bowman, if you're familiar with that.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: And also, a friend of mine named Karen Ferguson has written some great stories about biblical teachings.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for the plug, Jace.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: Later in middle school and high school years, book can books can also provide families with subject matter to discuss.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: You know, around the dinner table on a family road trip.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: I think parents need to know what their kids are reading.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's even more important now than ever before for parents to oversee book content because of the current trend in YA books.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think most Christian parents would approve of some of today's popular books.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I think they should check into that.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: Bottom line, reading can expand anyone's imagination, whether he or she is old or young.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: As I've said before, books can help people connect with others, improve brain function, reduce stress, and so many other wonderful things.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: If parents are looking for book ideas, they might want to scroll through the blogs on my website.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: Because for the last several years I've been featuring books, mostly books for children, by Christian writers.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: I've met these people through conferences, and it's amazing the connections that we've had with each other.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: So this might be a good starting point for parents to find recommendations.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: And in the words of Emily Dickinson, one of my favorite poets, there is no frigate like a book to take us lands away.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, if if a parent is reading that line to a child, the child might say, What is a frigate?
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: And a parent can have an old-fashioned dictionary nearby and they can look that up and not have to Google the definition of it.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: And finally, to quote Dr.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: Seuss, the more you read, the more things you will know.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's one of my favorite quotes.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: I absolutely love reading Dr.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: Seuss to my grandkids.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: He's great.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Joyce, it's been such a pleasure having you on the show.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, how can listeners connect with you and find out more about your books?
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, my website is easy to find, JoyceMcculla.com.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: And they can also find a way to subscribe to my newsletter on that first page.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: And you'll also see Amazon links to look for the pink ribbons and Max and her stacks.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: Wonderful.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: Well, listeners, be sure to check the show notes.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: We will have links to Joyce's books and to sign up for her free newsletter.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: Joyce, thank you so much for being here.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: And listeners, thank you for joining us today.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Be sure to like, subscribe, and share this podcast with someone you want to encourage.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: Then come back next week for another episode of Five Minute Parenting.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: Have a blessed week.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Are you looking for creative, biblically based books for that special child in your life?
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Would you like to inspire in your child a love for reading and a love for God's Word?
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: Check out Questions for Kids, a picture book series your whole family can enjoy.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: You'll follow the adventures of Lucy and her Papa Joe as they journey into the Bible to discover unique periods of Bible history, getting answers to life's important questions, learning all about God's never-changing, never-failing, and never-ending love.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: Each book encounters the cultural narrative by diving into the Bible to explore the people, places, and events that will help shape a strong faith in God.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: With these delightfully illustrated books, you'll help build your child's biblical literacy.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: One bold, beautiful book at a time.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: You'll find the Questions for Kids series by Karen Ferguson on Bookshop, Amazon, at your favorite book retailer, or visit Karen's website at Karenferg.com.