Back Porch Book Chat: Stephenie Pyles (Mom to 8 and Read Aloud Champion)

Back Porch Book Chat: A casual, virtual conversation about books. Join us as we chat with book lovers like ourselves about a topic we all love! Our guest today is Stephenie Pyles. She chats with us about reading with her family and their collective attempt at the 2021 Reading Challenge! Check out her bio after the interview for more about Stephenie. Interview conducted by Betsy.

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Getting to Know Stephenie

Before we begin, tell us what warm beverage you’d like as we sit, huddled in blankets, in our rocking chairs on this winter day: Coffee? Hot chocolate? Tea? Or are you a cold beverage person, even in the winter?

I’m drinking a Coca-Cola. (Embarassing, but the truth.)

Love it!

Stephenie, we don’t know each other in real life, just via your delightful Instagram account (and mostly your reading challenge stories!). Tell us a little bit about your family, your favorite ways to spend time together, and your schooling approach. 

Mrs. Farquhar, I’m humbled and honored that you would consider me for a Back Porch Book Chat. Thank you. I’m a second generation homeschool mom living in southeast Tennessee. My husband works hard so I can stay home and read to the kids. LOL We have graduated three children and the ones still in my little home school are in the 10th, 8th, 6th, 4th, and 2nd grades. We love to spend time outdoors together and exploring state parks is probably our most favorite thing to do. In 2018 we visited all fifty-six Tennessee State Parks and many Natural Areas! After sixteen years of homeschooling, I’m still not sure I have figured out my approach to homeschooling. I love the Charlotte Mason approach, though I’m not a nature journal person. My personality type is such that I want to complete a curriculum and check off the things, so I’m really all over the place. As I read and learn more about what is best for children, I reevaluate and adjust to how I do things.

I used to live in east Tennessee! My family spent 10 years in Knoxville. I lived in Chattanooga (and Lookout Mountain) for 9 years. Such a beautiful spot. And my mom is from Memphis, so I’ve been around Tennessee my whole life. And I, too, love the Charlotte Mason approach. Enjoy that Tennessee beauty for me!

Reading in the Midst of Real Life

One of my favorite questions to ask our Back Porch Book Chat folks is “what books has your family particular enjoyed this past year?” I know that YOUR family has read a LOT of books (we’ll get to that in a minute), but what are some that really stand out as favorites?

Oh! Wow! That’s a hard question. I personally enjoyed The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix (RR Review link) and was blown away by God’s Very Good Idea by Catalina Echeverri and Trillia Newbell (RR Review link)! When I asked the boys and started reading through the list, I received many, “Oh! That one!” and “Yeah!” So, here are a few that stood out for them:

• The Wreck and Rise of Whitson Mariner by S. D. Smith
• Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
• The Swamp Robber (The Sugar Creek Gang) by Paul Hutchens
• Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John
• Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
• Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Well, we are clearly kindred spirits. I adored all the Sugar Creek Gang books as a kid and re-read Treasures of the Snow, Charlotte’s Web, and Black Beauty many times. And, obviously, the Redeemed Reader team are big fans of those first books you mentioned—we gave them starred reviews!

We obviously love books at Redeemed Reader, and we love passing along good tips for making reading happen in the midst of a busy school year. Do you have any favorite tips or routines that work for your family when it comes to finding and reading good books? How do you juggle reading as a family (like listening to an audiobook or reading aloud) with multiple ages all listening together? What books have worked well for that?

First of all, though reading with my children is something I know is important and beneficial to all of us, life happens, so I use challenges like yours to keep my focus. Each morning after our Bible Time, we read aloud. Each day has a different focus. Wednesday is poetry day, and we read some poems from whatever poetry book we are working through. I like to read biographies to my children so Friday is the day for that. We also have a bedtime read aloud going at all times.

I’m not good about reading with my teens (although that is a focus for the coming year!) so it has been somewhat easy to find books to read with the three youngest boys. They are close in age and interests. Redeemed Reader was definitely an answer to prayer because I struggled for years with what should we read as followers of Christ. I prayed and wrestled with that and one day I Googled, yet again, and your website popped up! I was ecstatic! We have read quite a few books from your Read Aloud list and from other recommendations from your website, but I have found that an enthusiastic attitude from me can go a long way towards engaging my boys in books that may not initially interest them. My best tip is just keep reading. If you have 5 minutes, read a few pages. You’ll eventually get through the book. Honestly, it’s still a struggle to make the time to read, but having those designated days and times helps to keep us on track.

First of all, we are thrilled to hear that we’ve been helpful to you! That is why we’re here. I love that advice to read, even if you only have 5 minutes. I have to do vision therapy for 10 minutes most days, and my doctor required me to read aloud for those 10 minutes (because I read so fast silently). It’s been amazing to see what books we can get through 10 minutes at a time! Keep us posted on that reading to and with your teens plan; it’s hard when they’re teens, isn’t it? People are just going in so many directions some days.

Stephenie’s Grand Slam Reading Challenge

Stephenie, you’re one of our “super readers”: you tackled the Grand Slam of the Reading Challenge this past year (Readers, that’s 100 books!!). You approached this challenge as a family, correct? Can you tell us a little bit about your experience with the challenge? How did you find the books for the categories? How did you track your books? Did every family member read or listen to all 100 books or did you divide and conquer?

Aww! Thanks! I did the challenge with my three youngest boys (12, 10, and 8). We did it as a read aloud challenge and so one of us read aloud each book to the others. I decided for the boys that we were going to do the challenge again this year; we gave it a good attempt in 2020 with over 70 books from the challenge being read, but I just believe that reading with them is that important. They were mostly on board. Hahaha! I love your challenge because it helps me grow in what I read with the boys. I refer to your website and book lists frequently to find recommendations for what to read. I get overwhelmed with all the choices out there! I tracked on a spreadsheet, because carrying pages of book ideas around isn’t all that convenient. As I found books that fit categories I would type them in and when we read them I’d highlight them. I spend an extensive amount of time deciding what books to read!

Wow! That is so impressive, Stephenie! I read a lot in a given year, but I don’t know that I’ve read that many aloud (or heard that many)! And a spreadsheet is a good tip. I have so many “to be read” lists floating around….

Were there any new genre discoveries this year? In other words, did you enter the year thinking you didn’t like mysteries, or graphic novels, or nonfiction, or something, and then discover that you might like them after all? Any books that you picked up just to meet a reading challenge category, but wound up really enjoying?

Yes! I have learned so much about my own reading habits through this challenge. For most of my adult life I have gravitated toward nonfiction and this challenge helped me find value in well-written fiction. I was also staunchly opposed to graphic novels as I thought they were all comic books. One of my favorite reads this year was Bluffton, My Summers with Buster (RR review link). The illustrations were unexpectedly pretty and the fact that it was based on a true story made it the perfect read for me! We even watched a silent film after reading that one!

Oh, that is a great graphic novel. Matt Phelan’s style is lovely and quite literary.

What were the easiest categories for you? What were some of the hardest? What did you tackle first? What did you save for the end?

I found that the easiest categories to fill were bios and historical fiction. Those are categories I enjoy most. I struggled greatly with Shakespeare and mysteries. LOL

Oh, that really is funny—did you know that our most popular list *ever* is our Mystery List? True story! And it has been for years. We’re big Shakespeare fans as a team, but he does demand more of the reader than most.

Reading Tips and Final Encouragement

What tips do you have for other readers who might be considering taking on a reading challenge for 2022?

Just go for it! It does not matter if you complete the challenge. The most important thing is that you have grown personally by reading even just one book that you may not have read without the challenge. If you are reading with your family, nothing beats having a child say, “We read about that!” You won’t regret reading with your children! Stories read with our kids are like treasured family secrets so never underestimate the power of pulling a child close and reading instead of a multitude of other things you could be doing.

That is so true! The actual completion is almost beside the point, isn’t it?

Any last words of encouragement for your fellow moms of busy school-age kids as we seek to disciple our children? Do you have any favorite Christian/biblical resources you’d like to recommend for busy families?

Keep up the great work, Mamas! You are doing Kingdom work and I am greatly encouraged that there are so many other mamas out there teaching, training, and reading to their children! Reading with our children is an easy way to build relationships with them. Recently I learned of Dr. Kathy Koch and her books and resources are helping me become a better mom, so check her out!

I was just thinking of the 8 Great Smarts book today, so it’s interesting that you mentioned it, too! I have identical twins, and books like that help me view them as individuals when I’m tempted to view them as a unit. Stephenie, thank you so much for taking the time to “chat” with us. Someday, hopefully we’ll share a beverage in person on a real back porch!

Readers, you can read the rest of our Back Porch Book Chats here (our guests have been authors and homeschool moms like Stephenie, bookstore owners, teachers, and more.)

More about Stephenie: Sinner saved by grace. Married to Jeremiah for 26 years. Mama to eight amazing children. Leveling up to Grandma in January! I would love to have a personal chef and grocery shopper. Camping and reading with my kids are my favorite things to do!