I’m Clarkie Doster, MSEd, mother of two, and firm believer in the power of families reading together. I left the English Language Arts classroom to become a Family Reading Strategist because, in a parallel universe, I desperately needed someone to help.

In that universe, I didn’t go back to school to get my MSEd, and I spent zero years as an English Language Arts teacher.

In that universe, I’m still a mom of two with an English Literature degree, but I’m feeling:

• Like I’m failing as a parent because I don’t even know which books to read my children, beyond the ones I read as a child.

• Worried that my children will be behind academically — because what’s my job and what do I leave to the teachers?

• Sad that the cozy reading life I assumed would develop naturally is not my current reality.

• Terrified that reading time either is already or will become a battle.

• Totally confused about where to start.

In that universe, I have a demanding job and a to-do list that never gets fully crossed out. And in that universe, the laundry is (still) never-ending. I want:

• Good book lists

• Ideas for talking to my children about books

• Low-pressure, practical ways to create a reading rhythm in my home

• In essence: a family reading cheat code