In the podcast today, I share some reflections about my adventure to England with my family this summer. My husband graduated with his doctorate in theology from Durham University so we thought it was the perfect excuse to take the whole family. We loved seeing the sights and spending time with friends - old and new.

In this Storyformed episode, Holly Packiam and Jaime Showmaker answer listener questions and make a special announcement. 

Topics include:

• Cultivating imagination without it leading to violence and aggression;

• Book recommendations for young boys;

• Picture books suggestions with themes of courage and bravery;

• Favorite audio books for kids ages 3-5; and

• Book recommendations for new readers

Do you want to travel more with your kids, but realize this may not be a likely reality in your near future? Or maybe you are traveling soon and want to enhance your experience through reading books about the place or culture. Today on the podcast, Holly Packiam and Jaime Showmaker share about their summer plans and give book recommendations to aid you in transporting you and your kids to other countries, the beach, woodlands and many other places and locations. 

Topics include:

• The value in taking advantage of more space in summer to read

• Ways to travel to nearby or faraway places through books

• How to create summer booklists with your kids

• Book recommendations

Do you sometimes wish your child had more of an imagination? Do you wonder what steps to take to help cultivate an imagination in your kids? Today on the podcast, Holly Packiam and Jaime Showmaker talk about why imagination matters in life and faith, drawing from the stories of inventors, authors, and even their own experiences with their kids. 

Topics include:

• How imagination inspires creativity

• How imagination leads to a life with God

• Ways to cultivate imagination in our kids' lives

• How to create space for imagination in our children

• Book recommendations

Do you ever hear people rattle off the words, 'goodness, truth, and beauty', and wonder what they are talking about? We mention this triad of words from time to time on the Storyformed podcast, but don't often take the time to discuss what we really mean when we say them. So, today I had the opportunity to interview philosophy professor Adam Pelser about this topic!

Adam received his Ph.d from Baylor University where he studied under Bob Roberts, a renown Christian philosopher. Adam is a currently a philosophy professor at the Air Force Academy where he teaches Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Love, and even a course on C.S. Lewis and Philosophy. He writes on emotions and virtue formation and he is currently writing a book on Emotional Evidence for God where he explains how we can see God with the "eyes of our heart." You can connect with Adam on Facebook and Twitter (@AdamCPelser) and at his website - adampelser.com.  

Topics Include:

• The value of understanding goodness, truth, and beauty as Christian virtues

• How goodness, truth, and beauty show up in everyday life

• How goodness, truth and beauty reveal themselves in stories

• Book recommendations

In this episode, Holly Packiam talks with her husband, Glenn Packiam, and their daughter, Sophia Packiam about farm life. Glenn shares his first experience of going to the farm, and Sophia talks about what visiting the farm has meant for her childhood. Holly discusses how reading Wendell Berry helped realize the gift she was given by growing up on a farm and having a poet-farmer for a father. Sophia contributes to the conversation by talking about the various farm stories and books set on farms that she’s read and what she’s gained from them.

Topics Include:

• How farm life can teach us to see beauty in the ordinary and to have patience and persistence through difficulty;

• What Sophia would tell young people who find farm stories uninteresting;

• Why reading farm stories are not about nostalgia or idealizing a certain way of life, but rather about learning a new perspective and gaining new virtues.

Are you wondering how to navigate reading with teens? Today on the podcast,  Holly Packiam and Jaime Showmaker talk about how to stay connected with teens through books in this changing season of their lives.

Topics include:

• The kinds of questions teens wrestle with-- from identity to purpose

• The value in reading together in the teen years

• Practical ideas for creating space to read together

• How to help teens recognize and choose good books

• Book recommendations for teens

In this episode, Holly Packiam and Jaime Showmaker discuss the picture books chapter in Sarah Clarkson's book, Read for the Heart. The book describes how her parents, Clay and Sally Clarkson, decided that one of the primary gifts they would give their children would be a childhood shaped by great stories. Sarah writes from the perspective of one whose own heart, mind, and soul were formed by books, and in doing so, invites us into what she calls 'the reading life'. We share some of her picture book recommendations in this episode. But this is more than an invitation to get through a reading list; it's an invitation into a reading life.

Topics Include: 

• The value in reading good books to our children

• Reasons for choosing Read for the Heart as your #1 resource for children's book recommendations

• Hallmarks of a classic children's book

• Picture book recommendations from Read for the Heart

In this episode, Holly Packiam and Jaime Showmaker discuss what to do when you have a reluctant reader. They discuss the different reasons for reluctance and how to be a detective to determine what is going on with your child or student.  

Topics Include: 

• Specific developmental challenges to watch for in emerging readers

• Reasons for reluctance in otherwise skilled readers

• Strategies to apply to encourage a love of reading

• Ways to build reading confidence

In this episode Holly Packiam speaks with Sally Clarkson about encouraging our kids to love poetry. The ability to participate in God's presence through the reading and listening of beautiful poetry is a gift of being created in His image.

Topics include:

• Practical ways to capture our childrens' interest in poetry

• The value of putting great works of poetry before our childrens’ eyes

• The importance of presenting a feast of poetry to our children

• Books to inspire a love of poetry