My Story
Hi, I’m Christian Ohnimus.
Do your kids dread reading? Do you dread reading aloud to them?
If you want your kids to fall in love with reading, then you’re in the right place.
The first step to success is finding books both of you can enjoy. But how? There are millions of book titles to choose from and many of them just aren’t that great. The truth is, there’s a lot more bad books out there than good ones.
So, how do you find the best literature for your children? Here’s how:
Why only positive reviews?
It’s simple: I weed out the bad books so you don’t have to.
As a father of five, I read to my kids a lot. Some books are good, some are bad, and once in a while I find a great one. I don’t have time to review every book and rather than make you sift through hundreds of reviews to find the best ones, I only share the winners.
Why should you listen to me?
I’m a dad who loves reading to his kids.
I don’t have a degree in this.
I recommend the books most loved by me and my kids. That’s it.
Excellent, wholesome literature for your child.
Why is this important? Because great books change lives. No one told me this. I didn’t learn it in a textbook. I lived it.
I was diagnosed with dyslexia as a child. Dyslexia is common and many dyslexics are smart, successful people. But they need support. They need someone to walk that difficult road with them and help them unlock the mystery and the miracle of reading. My local public school system didn’t support me. They told my mom I’d never read past a middle school level. Not accepting that answer, she taught me to read herself. She used the Orton–Gillingham Method. If you’re not familiar with this method, it is repetitive and grueling but also effective. It decoded the English language for my dyslexic brain. It was also a chore and I hated it. It may have taught me to read but if that was the end of the story then I probably wouldn’t have gotten very far. My mother wanted more for me than just technical mastery. She wanted to share her passion for books. She did this by finding the best books and reading them aloud to me every day. I loved it. A whole new world was unlocked and I couldn’t wait to run through that door and spend a lifetime exploring.
Now, I have a Master’s degree and work as a family nurse practitioner. I owe that success to my mom who read to me every day, exposed me to great literature, and instilled in me a love of learning and reading that still benefits me today.
I’m passing those lessons down to my own kids. One of the greatest gifts that I can give my kids is a love of learning. How am I doing this? By reading great literature that we all love.
So what makes a great children’s book?
Children’s books are unique in that they have two audiences: the children who read them and the adults who buy them. Sometimes, the children listen and it’s the adults who read them aloud. Either way, the best children’s books aren’t just for children! The best children’s books are for everyone.
There are certain books that my kids like but I can’t stand. Regardless of quality, your child will want you to read the same book over and over. You will enjoy a good book on the first read through. Great books can be enjoyed time and time again. But bad books will make you dread reading aloud. And your kid will demand that you read it over and over again.
If you don’t enjoy reading a book aloud to your kids then find another book. Bad books aren’t worth it! But don’t give up, either. There’s better stuff out there. Remember, the best books should be enjoyable to both of you – whether it’s your first read through or your tenth.