The Generational Magic of Reading Together - Guest Post by Jessica Khoury, Author of Monster and Apprentice

As a parent, the most important time of my day is the twenty minutes before bedtime when I read with my daughters. As an author, the most important part of my job is creating books that other adults will want to read with the kids in their lives.

I adore the letters I receive from families who listened to one of my audiobooks on a road trip, or from parents who admit they couldn’t help reading a few more chapters after their kids went to sleep (despite my book being a “children’s story”). I love it even more when they tell me about the discussions, questions, and conversations the story generated in their household or classroom. What greater bonding experience could there be than sharing and loving a story together, across generations?

I am eternally grateful for moments like this I’ve had with my own daughters, thanks to the books we’ve read together (most recently, Dragonborn by Struan Murray and The Magic Library of Waterfall Way by Julie Abe). Some of my best childhood memories revolve around my dad delivering the “sacred texts” into my hands (The Hobbit, Dune, The Lord of the Rings). Those books mattered enormously to me because they first mattered to him.

There is a deep lesson to mine from these letters and memories: the relational and emotional impact of adults reading not just to their kids, but with them.

Whether we’re their parents, grandparents, guardians, or teachers, if we want our kids to be readers, we must lead by example. When kids see their grown-ups eager to start the next chapter, excited about a plot twist, or teary-eyed at a heart-wrenching scene, they want to share in those emotions. They fall in love with reading because they see that love modeled by the adults they admire. And studies have shown that reading with your child at least three times a week makes them twice as likely to achieve high academic success.

But just as importantly (if not more so), when we read and discuss stories together, we’re teaching our kids how to navigate a multitude of hypothetical situations, moral quandaries, and obstacles alongside the characters we come to love. As a result, we strengthen not only our kids’ confidence but our relationships with them. We’re teaching them far more than just vocabulary and logic. We’re showing them how to be people, how to navigate, survive, and thrive in this complicated world.

When I began writing Monster and Apprentice, this was my goal: to write a story that would appeal to adults just as much as kids, and to provide a context for discussion and bonding. On the surface, the story is about Rolan, a kid who becomes an apprentice to Luc, a monster hunter. They face dangerous enemies and sinister conspiracies, consume obscene amounts of pie, and butt heads on nearly every issue.

But on a deeper level, it’s a story about a boy who needs a father, and a father who needs a son.

Kids will see themselves in Rolan—frustrated by rules and chores, underestimated, unheard. Rolan is slow to trust adults, having been rejected and hurt by them all his life. And adult readers will see themselves in the much older Luc, relating to his struggles of nurturing and disciplining a headstrong kid who has the habit of disappearing when it’s time to do homework and who complains with every breath. And readers of all ages will see how Rolan and Luc overcome their initial mistrust and miscommunication to forge a familial bond that is strong, tested, and true.

My hope is that every kid comes away from the story with a deeper appreciation for the adults in their own lives—the people who have nurtured them, protected them, and recognized the potential in them when perhaps no one else could. I hope the adults will come away with a stronger determination to show up for the kids they love, to find patience and purpose in the difficult parenting moments, and to celebrate the irreplaceable joy kids bring into our lives.

I hope most of all that readers of all generations come away feeling closer to one another and excited for whatever adventure they’ll leap into next, together.

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Credit: Katherine Escobar Photography

Jessica Khoury is an acclaimed author whose books for teens and young readers have been translated into over a dozen languages and recognized by awards like the South Carolina Junior Book Award and the Ignyte Award. Her bestselling middle grade debut, The Mystwick School of Musicraft, was named one of Audible’s Best Audiobooks of 2019 and is among the Top 20 Most Listened To Children’s Books ever. Also, a fantasy cartographer and illustrator, Jess’s artwork has appeared in New York Times bestsellers, games, and her own books. Drawing inspiration from her Scottish and Middle Eastern heritage, childhood, and the world around her, she lives in Greenville, South Carolina, with her husband and daughters, spending free time hiking, gaming, and creating new stories.

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