Ready for Reading: Recent Episodes
United Through Reading
United Through Reading is proud to present Ready for Reading, dedicated to helping military families create reading routines that support family connection, help with navigating change, and build literacy skills for military children.
In this podcast, you'll hear from members of military families as well as experts in the education and child development fields. Gain tips on why reading routines matter to military children, how to read to kids, and tools to help navigate military life, including our United Through Reading app.
In this episode of the Ready for Reading podcast, host Penney Letrud-Samons discusses the role of literacy in the recovery journey of military personnel and their families. She is joined by award-winning author and filmmaker David Barclay Moore and licensed clinical social worker Crystal Bettenhausen-Bubulka LCSW, MSG.
They explore the importance of promoting mental health awareness and breaking the stigma surrounding it, especially in the military community. David shares insights from his book Boyogi, which addresses invisible wounds and the need for mental wellness advocacy. Crystal discusses her journey into the mental health field and the importance of normalizing discussions about mental health. Books play a crucial role in teaching resilience and coping skills to children. They serve as mirrors, reflecting our experiences and identities, and as windows, offering glimpses into different cultures and perspectives.
Reading allows children to escape, learn, and develop empathy. Books can help normalize challenges and celebrate failure, teaching children that mistakes and trials are growth opportunities. Reading also strengthens bonds between parents and children, fostering healthy relationships and connections. United Through Reading facilitates this bonding through reading, especially for military families who may be geographically separated.
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:
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:
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
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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
Victoria Jamieson is the author of the graphic novel and New York Times Best Seller Roller Girl, and she joins Josie to discuss how she became an author and illustrator and why graphic novels are great reads for kids. In this interview, you’ll hear Victoria talk about her hit book Roller Girl as well as her most recent book When Stars Are Scattered. Josie and Victoria also share a few more of their best book recommendations for military tweens.
Books mentioned in this show:
- Roller Girl
- When Stars Are Scattered
- Ramona and Beezus by Beverly Cleary and Jacqueline Rogers
- Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland
- Science Comics: Plagues: The Microscopic Battlefield by Falynn Koch
- Smile by Raina Telgemeier
- Squish by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
- New Kid, by Jerry Craft
- Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy
- The Terrible Two, by Mac Barnett, Jory John & Kevin Cornell
Find more information about Victoria Jamieson
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
Dr. Dorinda Williams is an infant and early childhood mental health expert with Zero to Three, an organization dedicated to ensuring that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life.
She’s also a military spouse and has spent much of her career working with military families. Dorinda is the author of Over There, a book that can be found on the bookshelves of many military families and a particular favorite here at United Through Reading.
In this interview, you’ll hear what’s going on in a baby’s brain in the early years, why positive early experiences like reading are so important for small kids, and why Dorinda ended up writing her book Over There. You’ll also discover a few great books for our littlest military kids.
Resources from this show:
- Over There on Military One Source: Daddy version & Mommy version
- Home Again on Military One Source
- Babies on the Homefront app
- Zero to Three’s article, Read Early and Often
- Self-care resources on Military One Source
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Other books for 0-3 military kids:
- Found by Salina Yoon
- Books from UTR's Library
Find more information about Dorinda Williams
United Through Reading’s own Molly Haskin, a licensed, certified Speech Language Pathologist, joins Josie to discuss what reading looks like at every reading stage, from newborn all the way through the teen years.
As an active duty spouse, Molly is very familiar with military life and how reading can be an important part of bonding as a family. And, she’s an expert in the world of how reading connects to speaking and communicating, so you’ll hear fascinating information on everything from the science of reading to how reading with your children can provide helpful information when moving and changing schools.
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Resources from this show:
- reading tips for different stages: https://unitedthroughreading.org/what-reading-aloud-looks-like-at-different-ages/
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Books for working on speech sounds by age:
- Alphabears
- Buzz Said the Bee
- Catch a Little Fox
- Each Peach Pear Plum
- A Giraffe and a Half
- The Hungry Thing
- Jamberry
- See You Later Alligator
- Sheep in a Jeep
- Yours Till Banana Splits
- Zoophabets
Learn more about UTR and how you can strengthen your military family’s bond through reading at UTR.org.
- Download UTR’s reading app: utr.org/app
- Help keep military families reading by supporting UTR: Give.utr.org
What do you think of the Ready for Reading podcast? Review us in your podcast app, or let us know at communications@utr.org
Patty Barron is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy and she joins us in Episode 2 to discuss the programs and resources her office provides to help support military families. She also shares how the DoD is working to make accessing resources even easier through technology.
Patty is a military spouse and the mother of a military spouse, so she has a deep understanding of what military family life is like. You’ll hear her share stories about how books influenced her life and how they played a role in raising her military kids.
Resources from this show:
- Military One Source
- Listen to Military One Source’s podcast
- SECO (Spouse Education & Career Opportunities)
- The Berenstain Bears Trouble at School
- Find more information about Patty Barron, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy
Learn more about UTR and how you can strengthen your military family’s bond through reading at UTR.org.
- Download UTR’s reading app: utr.org/app
- Help keep military families reading by supporting UTR: Give.utr.org
What do you think of the Ready for Reading podcast? Review us in your podcast app, or let us know at communications@utr.org
For over 30 years, United Through Reading has been helping connect service members and their families through reading aloud, no matter the distance. With our new CEO, Tim Farrell, on board, we are excited to look to the future for how we can support our military families with even more opportunities to bond through reading.
Listen to Tim and Josie discuss Tim’s background as an Airman, what he’s learned in his post-active duty career working with military nonprofits, and how United Through Reading can offer military families even more opportunities to connect through reading.
Tim also shared many of his favorite children’s books, listed below.
- Goodnight Moon
- The Giving Tree
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar
- Good Night Scarlet Knights by Rutgers University
Find more information about Tim: https://unitedthroughreading.org/staff/tim-farrell/
Learn more about UTR and how you can strengthen your military family’s bond through reading at UTR.org.
- Download UTR’s reading app: utr.org/app
- Help keep military families reading by supporting UTR: Give.utr.org
- What do you think of the Ready for Reading podcast? Review us in your podcast app, or let us know at communications@utr.org
United Through Reading is back with a new season of Ready for Reading. This podcast is a resource for military families to help strengthen bonds and grow stronger through the magic of reading.
Ready for Reading is hosted by military spouse, mom, and bookworm Josie Beets, and she'll introduce you to 8 people who share tips and recommend books to fuel your family's reading routine.
So snuggle up and get ready for Season 2 of Ready for Reading!
Learn more at UnitedThroughReading.com/podcast
Want to help military families through the magic of reading? Donate today at utr.org/donate/
Listen to Christy VanVleck, a Navy military spouse and mom, as she shares why she began a reading routine and why she feels it's so important for her family to have a reading routine together. You'll also hear from Dr. Lee Savio Beers, a pediatrician in Washington, DC, a professor of pediatrics at Children's National Hospital, and a former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (2021).
- Download the United Through Reading app
- To learn more, visit our website
Listen to mom, teacher and Marine Corps military spouse Liz Castro share how reading routines help family readiness and her advice to her fellow military spouses. You'll also hear from Dr. Mark Pisano, a clinical psychologist who has been working with military kids for 39 years, on why connection between military family members is so important and how reading together can help build that connection.
- Download the United Through Reading app
- To learn more, visit our website
- More resources for military families: Military One Source
Hear from Navy Lieutenant Commander Graham Van Hook on how his family focuses on routines and how he makes reading time fun. You'll also hear from Alicia Levi, CEO of Reading is Fundamental, on why reading routines matter and tips for reading to your children.
- Download the United Through Reading app
- Find reading tips and resources from Reading is Fundamental
- To learn more, visit our website
Military children are faced with many changes in their young lives, leading to disruptions in routines that can have lifelong implications. They can even fall behind in reading skills, which can have profound effects on their academic careers and futures.
Listen to Ready for Reading, hosted by military spouse, mom, and United Through Reading staff member Josie Beets, to learn why your military family should establish reading routines with your children, and how to make reading fun for the whole family.
To learn more, visit our website, unitedthroughreading.org