Can reading be too 'comfortable'?
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When times are troubled, there’s no doubt that books offer a comfortable place to escape – but what makes a book a ‘comfort read’? And how can you tell when ‘comfortable’ has become a rut?
These are the questions that Megan Daley and Allison Tait explored recently in episode 244 of the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast, and it seems they’re questions that many of you are wondering about because it’s been one of our most popular episodes so far this year.
“When everything feels really uncertain in the world or in the world of a child, a book to which you already know the ending of is a really safe place to be,” says Megan. “It’s slipping into something familiar where everything turns out okay. It engages your brain, but doesn’t turn it upside down in the way that reading something new can do.”
For younger readers, comfort reading might present as re-reading picture books or junior fiction novels they enjoy, or reading a series where the format and even the stories are predictable.
“The predictability is genuinely soothing for them,” says Megan. “But for emerging readers, that re-reading is actually important. A comfort read can still be improving literacy. Schools now use a mentor and focus text in classrooms, where they will re-read the same book throughout a week and look at different aspects of vocabulary, for instance.”
For older readers, comfort reading can present very differently.
“They might retreat into a particular genre or into a really long series where the world is expansive – a place to which they can escape and ‘live’ for a while,” says Megan, citing John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series as a family favourite. “Fantasy does a lot of heavy lifting in this space, but so does humour.”
As to when comfort becomes a rut, it depends on the young reader, and Megan and Allison discuss in the episode why looking for ‘more challenging’ reading all the time can be counterintuitive.
“But, for me, the signal that the reading might be becoming a rut rather than just a season is when the reading has stopped generating anything new,” says Megan. “When a kid can't tell you anything surprising or interesting that they've discovered anymore in a book, anything that makes them see things differently, then I think that’s the signal to gently build some bridges to something else.”
For more tips and advice on how to do that, as well as a conversation that also takes in the joys of reading outside one’s comfort zone (as Megan has been doing of late, with a list of recommendations for adults from Allison Rushby), hit the button below to listen to the episode.
(Further reading: In this previous article ‘Why children should read scary books’, Allison Rushby makes the case for UNcomfortable reads.)
UPDATES FROM TEAM YKNR
We have SO much Team YKNR news to share that we’ve had to write an entire, separate blog post about the news, reviews, interviews and window views since the launch of the Your Next Read series!
Join us for another exciting YKNR Author Talk!
We are thrilled to announce that the next YKNR AUTHOR TALK event, on 18 May at 7pm, will feature none other than award-winning, bestselling author TRISTAN BANCKS and his brand-new novel RAISED BY WOLVES!
Raised by Wolves is a tense, heart-stopping middle-grade thriller about loyalty, betrayal and finding out who you really are when the people you trust most let you down.
Get to know more about Tristan’s insights, inspiration and best writing tips, and then enjoy his short author presentation about the process of writing ‘Raised By Wolves’, followed by an opportunity to ask your own questions!
This FREE event, presented by Your Kid’s Next Read and Penguin Random House Australia, is suitable for adults AND children.
Hit the red button for all the details and to register your place. Tickets are free, but you will need to register to receive the Zoom link.
In the meantime, find out more about ‘Raised By Wolves’ here and get your copy so that you’re ready with ALL the questions on 18 May!
Not sure what to expect? Watch the video replay of our last Author Talk event with Katrina Nannestad here.
HELLO FROM MEGAN DALEY
Megan is an award-winning teacher-librarian, the author of Raising Readers: How to nurture a child’s love of books and THE BEEHIVE, and co-host of the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast. She is also Artistic Director for Somerset Storyfest and Head of Education at StoryBox Hub. More about Megan here.
This month has been a deep dive into my new role as Head of Education at StoryBox Hub, including a three-day intensive with some of the team in Melbourne. It was great to meet people in real life after two months of online meetings.
Melbourne also delivered on the cold front. For those playing at home, I am a Queenslander through and through, and I was spectacularly underprepared for the very cold mornings. I have no excuse. I’ve been to Melbourne before. I still packed entirely wrong. My excuse is that I had one day at home between a week at the beach in Very Warm Agnes Water and the chill of Melbourne and swapping swimmers for scarves was too much.
The role itself is stretching me in the best possible ways. I’m working with a Most Excellent Team on something I feel incredibly passionate about, sharing Australian stories with children and educators across the country, and I am reminded daily of what a privilege this is.
There’s also been Somerset Storyfest regional festival prep, school holiday management, ongoing beehive management, beekeeping documentary management and the general organised chaos that is life in the DaleyArkadieff household.
MEGAN’S BOOKMARK REVIEWS
Each month, I share full reviews of outstanding books that have crossed my desk. Bookmark these for your readers.
Unbearable’ by Kathryn Apel and Beau Wylie
Every child knows the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the uninvited guest, the porridge, the beds, the chaos. But what if the bears were the ones who needed a lesson? That’s the deliciously subversive premise at the heart of Unbearable, a picture book that takes a beloved classic and turns it beautifully, pointedly on its head.
Kathryn Apel and illustrator Beau Wylie (the team behind the acclaimed Miss Understood) clearly delight in finding the unexpected angle. Here, it’s the three bears themselves who are the problem, grumpy, self-centred, and stubbornly locked into their own perspective. That is, until a certain golden-haired girl wanders in and inadvertently teaches them the Golden GRRR-Rule. It’s a pun-laden, paw-stomping masterstroke of a concept, and the whole book has enormous charm.
Kat Apel’s text drips (like honey) with playful wordplay and bear-themed puns, while Beau Wylie’s detailed illustrations are layered with clever visual details that reward multiple readings. What elevates Unbearable beyond a charming retelling is its thematic ambition; this is a book that plays with perspective, asking readers to reconsider a story they thought they already knew. Who is the villain of Goldilocks, really? It rather depends on who’s doing the telling. These are rich ideas that make it an exceptional choice for classrooms and bedtime reading alike.
Funny, fresh, and genuinely thought-provoking. Highly recommended.
Recommended for: Ages 4–8 | Perfect for classroom discussion on perspective, empathy and kindness | Fans of fractured fairy tales and clever retellings
‘Daisy and Bug: Treehouse Troubles’ by Kim De Haan
There’s something irresistibly energetic about a character who launches headfirst into the grandest of plans with absolutely zero concern for the finer logistical details, and Daisy is exactly that character. In this debut graphic novel, readers will find a wonderfully chaotic heroine whose enthusiasm is as infectious as it is hilarious.
The premise is delightfully simple: Daisy wants to build the best treehouse ever. The snag? As her long-suffering companion Bug is quick to note, they don’t actually have a tree. For Daisy, this is merely a minor administrative hurdle. The contrast between Daisy’s boundless, impractical optimism and Bug’s preference for a quiet nap is a pairing that feels instantly classic.
Treehouse Troubles is a warm celebration of creativity, friendship, and the particular kind of problem-solving that only happens when one friend has too many ideas and another reluctantly gets swept along for the ride. Kids who have ever hatched a scheme that got slightly out of hand will recognise themselves in these pages. It arrives from Perentie Press, a new independent Australian publisher with a clear mission to champion visual storytelling, and this is a strong opening for them.
Here’s hoping Daisy has many more terrible, wonderful ideas ahead of her.
Recommended for: Ages 5–8 | Fans of graphic novels and highly illustrated texts
HELLO FROM ALLISON RUSHBY
The award-winning, bestselling author of many, many books for children and adults, Allison Rushby’s novels are firm favourites in the Your Kid’s Next Read community. Her illustrated junior fiction series, The Wish Sisters, is a fan favourite, and her latest adult novel Slashed Beauties is out now. More about Allison R here.
Big news, YKNReaders! YKNR is about to hit 40K members. I’m telling you this now so that Allison T and Megan and I will be forced to celebrate instead of having our usual undercelebration. But surely 40K members requires cake? Maybe even a balloon?
In writing news, you can tell I’m in the middle of writing a manuscript, because I’m having daily tantrums. This might be book 34 (35? I don’t remember anymore and we shall not discuss the unpublished ones), but I always hate writing the middle and will most likely hate writing the middle forevermore.
The strange thing is, there’s always a moment where I realise I have, in fact, exited the middle and can surge on happily towards The End. This makes no sense because I’m a big planner and know where I am at all times. But the fog lifting always happens and I’m hopeful it will happen again soon.
I’m less than six months out to my next adult release now (All Her Beautiful Deaths) and reviews are just starting to trickle in. Thankfully they have all been lovely, despite my unintentional killing of yet another fictional bird (not a spoiler – it’s in the blurb – my agent asked me if I have bird issues… maybe?).
THREAD OF THE MONTH
Seriously. It’s like this post was made for me. This is my kind of small reader and I’m very hopeful that we have all given her some ‘core memories’.
HELLO FROM ALLISON TAIT
Writing as A. L. Tait, Allison is the internationally published, bestselling author of 11 middle-grade novels, including The Mapmaker Chronicles, The Ateban Cipher and the Maven & Reeve Mysteries. She is an in-demand speaker, a writing teacher for kids and adults, and co-host of the YKNR podcast. Her latest novels include THE FIRST SUMMER OF CALLIE McGEE, WILLOW BRIGHT’S SECRET PLOT, DANGER ROAD and THE LAST WORD. More about Allison here.
THE LAST WORD has been out for a month and the reviews have been giving me all the feels. It’s hard to pick favourites, but I think these two are up there…
I’ll be over here, polishing my crown, if you need me…
Speaking of polishing, I’ve done the final edits and tweaks on my next middle-grade novel, coming on 1 September, and I’m looking forward to sharing ALL the news about that very soon.
It’s been a very, very busy couple of years for me, which is why, for the minute, I’ve put aside my current Works In Progress for a bit of a breather from writing… which just means I’ve got more time to annoy inspire you on social media.
With my publisher Scholastic Australia celebrating the 30th anniversary of National Family Reading Month in May, I’ve pledged to not only read every day (no real hardship for someone with a reading habit like mine), but to post a reel on Instagram every day with tips on how you can get the reading going at your place, as well as lots of book recommendations for inspiration.
Join me on Facebook or Instagram to play along – and please (please, please) talk back to me. If the reading part is easy for me, the reeling part, not so much and I’d love to know you’re there.
FRIDAY FIRST CHAPTERS
Speaking of 30 and reading more, there are now 30+ episodes of the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast Friday First Chapters bonus series!
When you add in the 13 from our original Summer Series, that’s … well, an excellent selection of stories for kids of all ages. And they are a terrific way to get a taste of what a book is like – and hopefully a young reader hooked!
Each episode features the first chapter or two of the book, and most are read by the authors themselves!
Hit the red button to be taken to the full menu of episodes, or find the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast wherever you get your pods.
MAY BOOKMAIL WINNER
Each month, we give away a prize pack consisting of some of the brilliant bookmail sent to us for the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast. One winner** is chosen from our full subscriber list by random draw and announced here!
There are SIX books in the MAY prize pack.
The MAY bookmail giveaway winner is … sian.joseph
Congrats! We’ll be in touch by email.
Want a chance to win next month? All you have to do is subscribe.
Thanks for being part of the YKNR Village!
Allison T, Allison R and Megan
**Australian mailing addresses only. Prize consists of one copy of each book pictured, sent as a pack to the winner by Australia Post. Winner will be contacted by email and prize must be claimed within 14 days or a redraw will take place. You must be subscribed to the YKNR newsletter by midnight (AEST) the night before publication each month to be eligible to win. No correspondence will be entered into.