Read-Aloud Revival ®

RAR #273: Imagining the Childhood of C.S. Lewis, with Judith McQuoid

Read-Aloud Revival ®

Show Notes

Many of you will already know that I am a huge fan of The Chronicles of Narnia. Today, I want to introduce my fellow Narnia lovers to a new book that jumped right off the shelf as soon as I saw it.

Giant is a middle-grade novel by debut author Judith McQuoid where we meet Davy, a fictional working class boy from East Belfast, Ireland who is sent to work in the wealthy Lewis household in 1908. There, he forges a friendship with Jacks–as C.S. Lewis was known to his friends and family–over books, stories, and building worlds of imagination and adventure.

Giant is a must-read for Narnia fans that adds a whole new depth of experience to C.S. Lewis’s world and will help you read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in a fresh way. And today, I’m chatting with the author about what inspired her to write the book, how much of the story is fictionalized, and how the process of writing the book shaped her identity. And you’re going to love her Irish accent!

In this episode, you’ll hear: The way her dad’s love of Narnia and Lewis’s Belfast heritage inspired Judith to write this story How Judith started with a “skeleton” draft and added layers of detail and depth with revisions The faith that carried Judith through the ups and downs of creating Giant

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie: Read-Aloud Revival Waxwing Books Subscribe to the Newsletter Find the rest of the show notes at: readaloudrevival.com/judith-mcquoid

More from Read-Aloud Revival ®

Oct 15, 2026

Today, I am over the moon to welcome one of my very favorite guests back to the show. She’s been on the show and visited us in RAR Premium several times over the years and I always love our conversations.

Oct 1, 2026

There is a type of children’s book that we haven’t talked much about here in twelve years of Read-Aloud Revival. But it’s one that almost anyone who has spent time with babies knows well: board books. Board books are how so many of our kids meet stories and books for the first time. They’re often the first books babies and littles are able to really get their hands (and mouths!) on, and experience touching the pictures and turning the pages for themselves. So today, we’re going to do a bit of a deep dive on board books, and I couldn’t think of a better person to join me for this than bestselling author and illustrator Tabitha Paige. Tabitha is a speech language pathologist as well as a creator of absolutely stunning board books, and in this episode she shares all about what they can do for our littlest readers as well as what to look for when choosing board books. In this episode, you’ll hear: How board books create positive experiences that make kids want to come back to books again and again Why realistic illustrations are an important tool for building vocabulary The way the multi-sensory experience of physically interacting with a board book enhances learning

Sep 17, 2026

We all want our kids to be readers.

Sep 3, 2026

The heart of homeschooling is relationships. Building meaningful, lasting connections is the real secret sauce of reading aloud with your kids. Those connections are also built when you spend time in nature together. Sounds simple, right? Read books. Go outside. But it can also feel like yet another thing to add to your already packed to-do list. How do we make time in our already full days to get outside with our kids? We’ve got an absolute treat for you today on the show. Ginny Yurich, the founder of the global 1000 Hours Outside movement, is here to talk about how families can bring the transformative power of nature into their everyday lives. She candidly shares her journey from indoorsy kid to overwhelmed mama to the fall afternoon that planted the seed of 1000 Hours Outside. We also dig into the benefits of spending time in nature, and of course, practical strategies for spending more time outside. In this episode, you’ll hear: The lifelong physical, social, emotional, and academic benefits of spending time outside How accessible 1000 hours really is Practical ways to get more time outdoors, how to engage older kids, and why it doesn’t have to be that complicated

Aug 20, 2026

Over the past few months on the podcast, we’ve talked a lot about how reading aloud benefits kids academically, how it develops their resilience, empathy, and virtue, and even reduces physiological stress. Today on the show, we’re diving into the flip side of reading: writing.

See all episodes →