“Wow, I wanna read a book!” … said no child ever in this day and age.


Okay, okay … That’s a massive generalization and apologies to anyone who has children who love to read.


However, the point we’re trying to make is simply that there are so many other options (distractions) today that it’s perhaps not as natural for children to intuitively pick up a book and read as it was years ago. (Don’t worry, this isn’t a “Four score and seven years ago everything was better” … kind of post.)


We’re not against modern progress. Heck, our book is crammed with “Easter egg” references to our favorite movies, books, and musicals.


Nonetheless, the vision for the book we’ve written is to try and engage and encourage children to read, write, and be creative.


Now, we’re not fancy children’s psychiatrists with degrees and diplomas. We’re just a family of two daughters (aged 12 and 15) and their dad who like reading and having fun. (And the only diploma we have is for eating a 6-patty burger in 45 minutes… although that IS a treasured diploma.)


That being said, there is one thing that all three of us agreed on 110% and which forms the foundation of our book … Children become engaged readers if they read with someone who genuinely ALSO enjoys what they’re reading.


Yes, all reading to/with children is great, but children can sense if an adult is just “going through the motions” when reading a book. If a child, on the other hand, can genuinely sense that an adult is also enjoying what they’re reading and is having fun, it makes the whole experience that much more captivating and memorable.


We know that there aren’t many books out there which meet this requirement of being fun for both children and adults. Movies, yes… Pixar and Disney have done it… (Our DVD copies of “Hercules” and “Monster’s Inc.” are so watched that they’re almost transparent now.) But for books… no. That’s a lot harder to find.


At least… until our book: “The Stories of Smirtz” entered the scene.


We have deliberately written a book that aims to make both children and adults laugh. For the younger readers there is chaos and mayhem when our main character “Smirtz” and his friends get into trouble. And for the older readers (please note we wrote “oldER", not “old”… you’re welcome), there are ironic takes on paradoxical adult behavior, characterizations of “archetypes” we know from everyday life (for example at the gym), and the mentioned hidden “Easter egg” references to plays, books, series, and movies. (And yes, also “oldER" series and movies from the 80’s and 90’s).


It is therefore our claim that our book, “The Stories of Smirtz,” is the perfect story for “Family Reading Time” or a “Family Book Club.”


In this post, we mainly focus on those concepts and how our book is a great match for such family endeavors. That also means that the book itself (characters, story, etc.) isn’t described here.


Before continuing, we will therefore quickly mention that you can read about all these things, including a sample chapter from the book, right here on this site.

  • You can find the sample chapter and Table Of Contents here: Sample Chapter. (We’ve included the Table of Contents, as the chapter headings and the subheadings within each chapter, give you a pretty good idea of the book’s unhinged humor.)
  • You can read more about the book itself and the crazy characters here: What is The Stories of Smirtz about.
  • If you want, you can read about “us” (the three authors) and our book writing journey here: About the Authors of Smirtz and contact us here: Contact Us.
  • Finally, you can find the book here: Sign up for another free sample chapter. (There, you can also find an email sign-up form, and we’ll send you ANOTHER free sample chapter upon signing up.)


What is “Family Reading Time”?


To us, Family Reading Time is simply about spending time together, laughing and enjoying the same story.


That can happen before bedtime, while sitting on the couch on a rainy afternoon, during vacations, or just those rare moments where everyone in the family is somehow not only home at the same time, but also in the same room simultaneously. (Like a solar eclipse… rare but it happens.)


And the thing is, that reading with your children (Family Reading Time) is actually a recognized concept that supports children’s language development, literacy skills, imagination, and emotional bonding with parents. Also, shared reading helps children associate books and stories with warmth and enjoyment. As it’s so eloquently stated in this article by “Reading Rockets”: “Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word.” (Link to article: Reading with Your Child | Reading Rockets).


Or for a deeper dive into this; the article “Understanding the Barriers and Motivations to Shared Reading with Young Children: the role of enjoyment and feedback” draws the same conclusions (i.e. shared reading has positive impacts on children’s language and literacy skills), but goes one step further to highlight that “Enjoyment was important for parents and children to achieve the best interaction.” Understanding the barriers and motivations to shared reading with young children: The role of enjoyment and feedback


Well… if that conclusion doesn’t have “The Stories of Smirtz” written all over it, then we don’t know what has.


Why Does “The Stories of Smirtz” Work so Well for Family Reading Time?


One of the things we discovered while writing Smirtz was that humor creates a surprisingly strong bridge between ages.


Children laugh at one thing. Teenagers/young adults laugh at another, while adults suddenly notice ironic details or references that may have been missed by younger readers.


And honestly, that became one of our favorite parts of the whole project.


Sometimes the funniest moments were not only the stories themselves but seeing completely different generations react to completely different jokes.


And the good thing is that it provides everyone with the opportunity to say: “the reason I laughed was…” and explain, for example, a hidden movie reference. Perhaps leading to the family watching that movie or reading that book at a later time.


Because while The Stories of Smirtz absolutely is an adventure-comedy book for younger readers, it was also intentionally written so parents would hopefully enjoy the experience too. (For more on this, see our other blog post: Calling all Nerdy Parents.)


Another reason is that we actually also tried to make “The Stories of Smirtz”… EDUCATIONAL. (Yikes, you might not wanna lead out with this when trying to “sell” this as the new Family Reading Time book.) But it’s nonetheless true.


We’ve not only incorporated references to plays (Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, etc.), Greek tragedies, ballets, and famous literary works (Hemingway, Karen Blixen, etc.), but we also try to explain what these are about. Alongside historical references and scientific principles. All presented in an easy-to-understand language. (Also since … you know… none of us are historians, scientists, or literary experts. We’re just two kids and their dad. So, the information is digestible for all ages and aimed at being useful in school.)


What Is a “Family Book Club”?

To us, a Family Book Club is slightly different from Family Reading Time.


It’s less about “reading together in the same moment,” and more about “sharing the same reading experience afterwards.”


Basically, a book club within the family is where the “club (family) members” read the same book at their convenience and then discuss it later. Compare notes, you could say. Either as small talk during a car ride or something like that. Or at a specific time, devoted to discussing literature. (”Discussing literature” … well, la-di-da, that sounds fancy-pantsy. But don’t worry, in this case “the literature” involves:

  • toddlers destroying fine art,
  • knocking a grown man out with a stuffed fish, and
  • racing through London in child-size electronic toy cars.

… So don’t worry, it’s not exactly Shakespeare.)


But just like with Family Reading Time, having a Family Book Club helps develop younger children’s language and literacy skills, and helps kindle older children’s and young adults’ love of reading. If you want to read more about the emotional and educational benefits of a Family Book Club, as well as some excellent tangible advice on how to set it up and run it, we highly recommend this article from Scholastic: How to Start a Family Book Club


And, in our view, humorous books are especially good for this because comedy naturally invites conversation. Maybe you find that one scene that everyone in the book club keeps referring to and can quote in a heartbeat? Try the sample chapter… perhaps those scenes and quotes are already waiting there, ready for you and your family.


Why “The Stories of Smirtz” is the Perfect Book for a Family Book Club

“The Stories of Smirtz” also works well for a Family Book Club, as the book itself was created across multiple generations.


Not just by a dad or by two children, but by the three of us together.


Which means the humor naturally evolved into a strange mix of adventure, absurdity, hidden references, chaotic energy, and occasional ironic observations about adults behaving… well… like adults. (Which, as it turns out, is excellent comedic material.)


The stories also move quickly.


Things escalate. Rapidly. In fact, there is a reason the main character, Smirtz, repeats the phrase: “Well… That Escalated Quickly,” once in every chapter.


And because the pacing is fast and cinematic, the stories tend to work especially well when read aloud, particularly when the narrator suddenly interrupts the story to explain something that absolutely did not need explaining.


(Again, you can read more about the book – including our unhinged narrator – here: What is The Stories of Smirtz about.)


When comparing notes about “The Stories of Smirtz,” you can, of course, talk about:

  • your favorite scenes,
  • the ridiculous characters, or
  • which adult in the story behaved most irrationally (competition is fierce in that category).

But you could also discuss the hidden references. See who found the most. You “Gotta Catch ‘Em All.”


“The Stories of Smirtz” Aims to Inspire Shared Reading and Spark Creativity

As we wrote in the beginning of this post, it’s our profound hope that “The Stories of Smirtz” encourages the reader (be it children, adults, or people marooned on Ceti Alpha V) to read, write, and be creative.


By “being creative” we don’t necessarily mean that everybody must now become authors … not at all.


We simply want to encourage the readers, especially when the book is read as a family, to imagine and make things together. That could be making up stories that you tell each other. Or making drawings together (perhaps scenes from a certain book … with lots of crazy action … wink-wink, nudge-nudge.) Or you could sing and dance. The point is that you’re creative … TOGETHER.


Because honestly, we think sharing creative moments nowadays matters more than ever.


Especially in a world constantly competing for our attention through smartphones, streaming, social media, gaming, etc. (Again, no “hate” against any of those things from this family. Our three-leaf family clover has slain many fine opponents on the battlefield that is Fortnite, to claim the coveted Victory Royal Crown.) However, we just feel there needs to be more to life than all these external inputs that we take in. A kind of internal creativity that flows from within oneself instead.


That’s also one of the reasons why both the “Epilogue” and “Afterword” of the book encourage readers/listeners to be creative, preferably together with somebody else, like friends, siblings, classmates, or parents.


And yes… that’s also why this project itself has intentionally remained completely AI-free.


Everything in “The Stories of Smirtz,” the writing, translation, ideas, and humor was created by us sitting together at a table with our laptops, occasionally in “mild” creative disagreement. (We use the term “mild” loosely here.) Also, that’s why all the drawings were made by the youngest daughter, Arendse, by hand.


To underscore how much we value creativity, we would – as we also write in the Afterword – love to hear from you, the readers, and see what you made. You can find our contact information here: Contact Us, including a link to our Instagram account (@family_writing_a_book) where we’re particularly active.


We would also genuinely love to hear from anyone, including families, who have read Smirtz. Even if it’s just to get in touch. Perhaps you want to see our list of the hidden references to check if you “collected all the Easter eggs”?


No matter what, we hope that “The Stories of Smirtz” is the book for your family! For your Family Reading Time or Family Book Club.


Because this book was genuinely created by a family, for imaginative families.


That’s all for now, folks. We hope you’ll surf around this site, read the sample chapter, our other blogs, and get in touch with us if you want to.


Bye!


About This Blog

This blog is written by the family behind The Stories of Smirtz: a funny family-written book created by two daughters and their dad.

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