10 (or 20) great reading quotes plus 10 (or 20!) great family read-alouds

It’s summer! And you know what that means… summer reading! I’m not talking about the scary book report kind. I’m talking about reading aloud, just for fun. Because shhh… no one talks about this much but reading aloud is actually just as much for the grown ups as it is for the kids!

In case you aren’t convinced, or in case you are as much a book nerd as I am and you want some extra inspiration, ten (or twenty, I lost count) quotes about reading to children:

Why reading aloud is essential

“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” — Emilie Buchwald

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.” — Dr. Seuss

“You may have tangible wealth untold. Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I you can never be — I had a mother who read to me.” — Strickland Gillilan

“When I say to a parent, “read to a child”, I don’t want it to sound like medicine. I want it to sound like chocolate. ” — Mem Fox

“Books make great gifts because they have whole worlds inside of them. ” — Neil Gaiman

“Few things leave a deeper mark on the reader, than the first book that finds its way to his heart.” — Carlos Ruiz Zafon

“I will defend the importance of bedtime stories to my last gasp.” — JK Rowling

“Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read.” — Marilyn Jager Adams

“Reading … a vacation for the mind.” — Dave Barry

“There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.” — Jacqueline Kennedy

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.” — Walt Disney

“You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child.” — Dr. Seuss

“When you read to a child, when you put a book in a child’s hands, you are bringing that child news of the infinitely varied nature of life. You are an awakener.” ― Paula Fox

“Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift.” — Kate DiCamillo

“Language is to the mind more than light is to the eye.” — Ann Sullivan

“Instead of educating the I.Q., we need to educate the H.Q., the heart quotient, the matters of truth, love, justice, and compassion. There are two ways to do this. One is through the read life experiences and the other is through literature. Literature has the power to take us outside ourselves and returns to ourselves a changed self.” ― Jim Trelease

“Being read to as a child is one of the great experiences in life.” — Billy Collins

And now — I polled my social media followers for this — What kids books do you love to read as an adult? — and we came up with this list of great books for no matter how old you are.