In this episode, Penny Letrud-Samons interviews Kelly Starling Lyons and Niña Mata, the author and illustrator of the book -Ty's Travels All Aboard-, which has been selected as the 2024 Book for the Military Child, in conjunction with April’s Month of the Military Child. The Book for the Military Child unites and celebrates military children across the globe through their shared experiences. Kelly Starling Lyons is an award-winning author with over 30 children's books to her name. Niña Mata is an award-winning illustrator known for her diverse artwork. They discuss Kelly and Niña’s creative journey, the inspiration behind the book, and their feelings about Ty's Travels All Aboard being chosen for military children and their families. They also advise aspiring artists and encourage kids to find adventure through creativity. The episode highlights the importance of reading and storytelling and the impact of books on children's lives. Resources from this episode: Dollar General Literacy Foundation Guides United Through Reading Literacy Resources Download the United Through Reading App How to Find a UTR Story Station Watch this episode on YouTube How you can help our mission: Donate to United Through Reading Buy books for military families on Amazon Connect on social media: Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Subscribe to our newsletter
In this episode, our host, Penney Letrud-Samons, speaks with United Through Reading's Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, Molly Haskin, MS CCC-SLP, to discuss the importance of reading aloud and its impact on comprehension. They introduce the concept of P.I.E. and how it relates to reading: Promotes brain development Improves language and learning skills Encourages a positive association with literacy) as the critical ingredient for successful reading. They also explore the traditional reading-aloud experience in the classroom and the challenges emergent readers face in comprehension. Mrs. Haskin shares best standard practices for reading, including playing with sounds and reading together. They highlight how United Through Reading supports literacy in military families and provides resources for parents and children. Mrs. Haskin received her Master of Science in Communication, Speech, and Hearing Disorders from East Carolina University. She has practiced in her field for ten years and finds the development of early childhood literacy skills a specific area of interest. As a United Through Reading Programs team member, Mrs. Haskin facilitates program distribution and implementation to Army, Air Force, and Space Force commands worldwide. By disseminating the program across commands, she maximizes the number of Soldiers benefitting from the program to ultimately increase connections for military families affected by service-related time apart. Resources from this episode: Dollar General Literacy Foundation Guides United Through Reading Literacy Resources Download the United Through Reading App Watch this episode on YouTube How you can help our mission: Donate to United Through Reading Buy books for military families on Amazon Connect on social media: Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Subscribe to our newsletter
Samantha Hagan-Lingad, the woman behind our book selection, joins us on this episode with special guest interviewer and Communications Director at UTR, Jessica Hall. They discuss how United Through Reading chooses books for our library, why it’s important for those books to be diverse, and some great titles that you can read to your kids and request from our library, especially for kids in the 4 to 8-year-old age range. Jessica even gets some advice on how she can pick books for her young daughters, and Samantha’s advice may surprise you. Resources from this show: United Through Reading’s book list Llama Llama Holiday Drama Llama Llama Series Mo Willems books Berenstain Bears Night Before Christmas UTR book recommendations: Books Celebrating Black Americans Books Celebrating Asian Americans Books Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Books Celebrating Women in History Rescue and Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship Knight Owl The Book with No Pictures (AKA “The Silly Book”!) This episode is brought to you by our friends at Veterans United Home Loans. Veterans United Home Loans is dedicated to helping Veterans and military families become homeowners. In two short decades, they’ve closed over half a million VA Loans. But they don’t measure their success in numbers, they measure it in living their values every day: Be Passionate and Have Fun, Deliver Results with Integrity and Enhance Lives. United Through Reading is proud to be a part of Veterans United Home Loans' effort to lift up military families and communities across the country. Download UTR’s reading app: utr.org/app Help keep military families reading by supporting UTR: Give.utr.org
Marty Martinez is the CEO of Reach Out and Read and a champion of children’s health. He and Josie discuss why reading builds connection, and also why that connection and bonding is so important to a child’s healthy development. They also discuss the research on why reading routines are so important for kids and families, and how those little moments of reading matter. Books mentioned in this show: Corduroy, by Don Freeman Berenstain Bears The Bear in the Forest, by David Crossley More Resources: Reach Out and Read Learn more about Marty Martinez Reach Out and Read’s book catalog United Through Reading’s book catalog Article: The Best Choose Your Own Adventure Books This episode is brought to you by our friends at Veterans United Home Loans. Veterans United Home Loans is dedicated to helping Veterans and military families become homeowners. In two short decades, they’ve closed over half a million VA Loans. But they don’t measure their success in numbers, they measure it in living their values every day: Be Passionate and Have Fun, Deliver Results with Integrity and Enhance Lives. United Through Reading is proud to be a part of Veterans United Home Loans' effort to lift up military families and communities across the country. Learn more about UTR and how you can strengthen your military family’s bond through reading at UTR.org. Download UTR’s reading app Want to help keep military families reading? Support UTR today What do you think of the Ready for Reading podcast? Review us in your podcast app, or let us know
If you have a military teen, this podcast is a must-listen. Matt and Elena join Josie and share stories on what it’s like to be a military teen and how that led to the creation of their organization, Bloom Military Teens. They also talk about what books they’ve found helpful over the years. Books mentioned in this show: Dear Mil Teen The Field Guide to the Military Teen Percy Jackson series Moon Over Manifest Pachinko (best for older readers) Other links: Bloom Military Teens website National Military Family Association More about Matthew Oh and Elena Ashburn This episode is brought to you by our friends at Veterans United Home Loans. Veterans United Home Loans is dedicated to helping Veterans and military families become homeowners. In two short decades, they’ve closed over half a million VA Loans. But they don’t measure their success in numbers, they measure it in living their values every day: Be Passionate and Have Fun, Deliver Results with Integrity and Enhance Lives. United Through Reading is proud to be a part of Veterans United Home Loans' effort to lift up military families and communities across the country. Learn more about UTR and how you can strengthen your military family’s bond through reading at UTR.org. Download UTR’s reading app Want to help keep military families reading? Support UTR today What do you think of the Ready for Reading podcast? Review us in your podcast app, or let us know