This book offers a practical and thoughtful guide on improving communication with kids, whether you’re a parent, educator, or caregiver. Drawing on her experience as a Harvard faculty member and speech pathologist, Rolland shares evidence-based tools to help foster richer, more meaningful conversations that nurture kindness, creativity, and confidence in children. The author describes "rich talk," a concept of conversations that help kids build the emotional and intellectual skills they need to thrive. The advice isn’t just for toddlers; Rolland includes tips for communicating with children of all ages, including the often-difficult adolescent years. The book is filled with real-world anecdotes and specific conversation prompts, making the strategies immediately accessible.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is a great book for anyone who wants to have more meaningful conversation with children, whether they are educators or parents. It had a lot of great ideas!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a lot of great ideas on how to have more meaningful conversations with your children. I found it very helpful.

As an educator, this is a wonderful resource to use. I think that we often don’t realize the importance of facilitating conversation with children. Teachers sometimes talk just to hear themselves speak. Why don’t we give children the same opportunities? Children are a bundle of curiosity and learning how to channel that curiosity into conversation can be invaluable to growing minds. I can’t wait to recommend this to other educators and parents.

What an important book for parents of young children! Rolland, a speech pathologist, really breaks down the deeper ways that children understand their world through language. Including case studies and tons of specific prompts, she offers parents practical ways of drawing out their children's thoughts and ideas. I can't help but imagine (and happily anticipate!) the critically-thinking adults that will come out of the families that embrace this way of communicating!

I was so happy to be able to read an advance copy --I am ALWAYS up for a science-based parenting book. Rebecca Rolland's is a gem, and highly readable to boot. Along with the research, there are plenty of anecdotes from her own practice as well as actionable conversation tips for parents. Parents will come away inspired to implement her advice! As Rolland so capably demonstrates, conversations are such an essential aspect of how we relate with our kids -- nurturing these skills has powerful implications. (And PS this book is not just for parents of younger children -- Rolland offers specific advice for parents of middle- and high-school-age kids too.)