Imagination flourishes when exercised. Regular read-aloud sessions with your kids will work wonders on their capacity to understand new situations. The flicker of video games, TV monitors, and computers goes to black when children start exploring the ghostly world of A Christmas Carol, survive the hardships of living in Little House on the Prairie, or travel heavenward in Pilgrim’s Progress.

Explore the Internet for information on authors as well as online editions to preview. Once you’ve picked a classic, open to page one. That’s the toughest part. Though daunting, it’s the only way to conquer a journey of hundreds of pages. As you read on, your children will begin begging you for more.

Choose something with elements to entrance the youngest and enthrall the oldest—including you. Your kids will hear affection for the story in your cadence. Enthusiasm is catchy. Read during meals when the stragglers have swallowed their last few bites.

Watch your listeners. If their expressions say you need to clarify, stop the saga and explain. Encourage questions. Children can have amusing impressions of misunderstood words. Jot down humorous examples to enjoy later. If a book is well written and each chapter ends with cliff-hanging excitement, your children will long for the next installment. They’ll want to see what happens, how the story grows. They may even applaud when you’re through.

Whether reading Bible stories or the latest youth fiction bestseller, teach your kids to empathize with the intriguing characters. Learn from their mistakes, emulate their goodness. Your children will discover that’s the point of all good literature: you see, you feel, you touch, and yet you have the chance to choose a better direction for yourself.