Too many kids’ books, not enough confidence? Start here📍
Welcome!
Can we read? is your weekly guide to children’s books, raising readers, and how to build a culture of reading in your home.
We’re all busy, and we all know how important it is to read to the children in our lives. But there are millions of children’s books out there. Some are beautiful. Some are poorly written. Some are beyond boring. Every list online feels the same. And Googling “best books for kids” just opens the floodgates: five million results, a hundred opinions, zero confidence. (Makes me tired just writing that.)
That’s where most parents and caregivers get stuck — not for lack of love or effort, but because they don’t know where to start or what to read. As a full-time, work-outside-the-home mother of two, I know how hard it can be to prioritize reading and figure it all out, even when you really care.
I created Can we read? to help.
I take the guesswork and time out of finding excellent books for you and the children you love and help you build a reading life that works for your family.
Each Thursday at 5:00am CST, I send a thoughtful, delightful, no-pressure email that does all the heavy lifting for you:
A variety of book recommendations for books that truly click — by age, energy, interest, and identity (no more guessing!)
Carefully curated booklists that help you find what you need, fast
Simple, actionable tips and strategies to build reading into your real life that actually fit your schedule and your energy
Ideas for creating a home where books matter, even if you weren’t read to as a kid
Honest advice from my own family and reflections that meet you where you are, whether you’re juggling bedtime, backpacks, or burnout (or all of the above)
Join 6,000+ other subscribers, some of whom have said:
“I have no bandwidth to go to bookstores and libraries, and trying to find decent books online is so hard. The book recommendations in this newsletter have been immensely helpful.”
“Sarah’s passion, interesting commentary, and fantastic book selection have been the highlight of my inbox.”
“Not pretentious, not unrealistic, just right. I feel like we could be having a coffee and talking books, and it’s just really nice to read.”
Read a few of my recent popular posts:
Why it’s donation-based (and what that really means)
Can We Read? is a donation-based newsletter. That means every issue — every review, every booklist, every piece of advice or pep talk — shows up in your inbox free of charge, every single week.
There’s no paywall to climb.
No locked posts you “should” be paying for.
No guilt trip if you’re just here for the free stuff.
Why?
Because the work of raising readers is hard enough without adding one more subscription you can’t afford or justify.
But if you’re in a position to chip in — if this newsletter has helped lighten your mental load, or made your reading life better, or just made you laugh on a Thursday — I offer a paid option as a way to support it. Think of it like tossing a few bucks in the guitar case of a street musician who just nailed your favorite song (though, trust me, you’d be more likely to pay me not to attempt to play guitar).
Totally optional, but deeply appreciated.
About those old paywalled posts…
Some past posts are still paywalled because there is no magic Substack button that allows me to remove the paywall all at once — I’d have to go back and change the settings post by post and honestly, ain’t nobody got time for that. (Okay, maybe somebody got time for that, but not me.) So only paid subscribers will be able to hop the paywall of the past — but all new posts are free to all.
💛 Are there perks to being a paid subscriber?
As we say here in Wisconsin: you betcha.
Here’s what you get for helping make this work sustainable:
A rotating selection of instant downloads
A customizable Notion book tracker
Exclusive PDF reading guides (a few times a year)
Personalized booklists for your family, classroom, or group
FAQs
🟢 What if a subscription isn’t in my budget?
No problem. As I said, there’s no paywall — no barrier to entry — so you can enjoy everything I write even if a paid subscription isn’t in your budget.
But if you still want to support my work (thank you!), you can donate on a one-time basis, or share. Word-of-mouth will forever be the love language of the internet! 🩷
🟢 I’m an educator — how can I use your newsletter?
Many of my subscribers are classroom teachers, homeschoolers, reading or literacy specialists, librarians, even therapists. They use my booklists to plan/expand lessons, enliven read-aloud time, increase diverse and inclusive representation, and more.
Hear it from one 1st-grade teacher:
📚 “As an educator trying to plan engaging lessons, your newsletter has been an invaluable resource. (Your mini issue on worms saved me!) Your book recommendations often have themes that breathe life into my otherwise very prescribed curriculum. The titles have diverse authors and characters, they give me new ideas, they’re seasonally appropriate. It’s so helpful.”
🟢 I’m not a parent — is this newsletter still for me?
Absolutely! You don’t have to be a parent to find value here. Shoutout to all the grandparents, aunties/uncles, and other caregivers circling kiddos with love who subscribe to this newsletter. (You’re wonderful, btw.)
If there are children in your life in any capacity and your relationship might be strengthened by books and reading, you’re in the right place.
🟢 Can you help me find books about a specific topic or issue?
One of my favorite things to do is create personalized booklists for subscribers to explore topics in more depth or help out with specific issues — but it’s also more labor intensive, so that’s a perk I provide only for paid subscribers.
Take good care and read good books 😘
Sarah Miller
Hi Sarah, I'm stuck in my bedroom separated from my wife and 7 month old in the living room looking for things to read because of covid, and I'm really happy that I stumbled on your newsletter!
As someone who didn't grow up reading a lot but who later in life started reading more, I've wondered what I would read to our daughter. I knew intuitively even before she was born that reading with her would do tremendous good for her and our relationship, but since I hadn't read many children's books, I always just chose whatever was convenient and sounded vaguely familiar, downloaded via the Libby app and my local library subscription.
That photo you have on this page of you reading with your children - you had me at that. Read a few of your posts after that and decided to subscribe. Thanks for doing people like me a big favour, and for being generous by sharing much of it for free. Depending on how deeply our daughter and I get into the reading habit, I believe I might become a paid subscriber in the future. Cheers, Sarah. Sincerely, Nick.
Hey Sarah, I think this works well as your center piece content in your magazine layout. Have you had any other comments about the concept? I appreciate your comments and opinions!