Welcome to our blog series, Plot Twist! Here, we'll be sharing the stories of people in the Words Alive community — stories of change, growth, and maybe a few surprising twists! We hope that through these stories, you'll get to know our community a little better and see the power of literacy come to life.
Meet Jim McIlhon — or as thousands of kids who watch our Story Station read aloud videos know him, Mr. Jim – one of our awesome Story Station Conductors! Jim retired from a career in sales in 2017, and currently lives in Southern California. He enjoys traveling, spending time with his family, and reading aloud on Story Station twice per week with Words Alive, where he also previously served as a classroom Read Aloud Program volunteer for two years. We talked to Jim about why read alouds matter, his techniques for making stories engaging for young kids, some of his favorite classroom experiences, and more.
Jim first got involved with Words Alive in 2018, while he was mapping out ways to serve his community during retirement. While volunteering with Meals on Wheels, he learned about Words Alive from a fellow volunteer. Since he was already volunteering with senior citizens and young adults through other organizations, he was excited about an opportunity to work with young kids, especially through reading.
Mr. Jim reading Bear's New Friend by Karma Wilson.
“I believe certainly in the power of reading, the kind of leg up that young kids can get if they embrace and love reading and what that means for them both in their academic livelihood and…the world in general,” he says, “the world of imagination and learning and knowledge that being a reader provides.”
Jim's passion for the power of reading stems from his personal experiences. As a teenager studying abroad in Holland, he discovered the power of stories to transport us and transform us when he began reading classic American novels. "I was a little homesick, so reading about American lives during that time really made me feel so much better," he remembers. From there, Jim's love for reading only continued to grow. Words Alive was the perfect fit for him to share his passion for reading with young students!
Before the pandemic, Jim visited classrooms to read stories aloud once a week. In the youngest Pre-K classrooms, he often interacted with kids who were shy, new to formal schooling, new to the area, or even new to the United States. He witnessed the difference stories can make in their lives. "Sometimes the books speak to issues that really resonate with the four-year-olds!" he says.
"I love the ones that try to talk about how to make friends, and how to navigate the world when things are new and different for yourself." When he reads, he tries to connect the stories with the difficulties that these young students may be facing for the first time. "It's great to see that melt away as they become more familiar with me, with the school experience, and with reading in English as the year progresses."
“When I went to say goodbye to the kids, they just flooded me, just hugging my legs...”
These relationships that he builds with the students and teachers are the most rewarding part of his work. "One of the things that struck me is after I started reading in the classrooms—like maybe the third or fourth week in...when I went to say goodbye to the kids, they just flooded me, just hugging my legs," he says, smiling at the memory.
"We had to stop it, like 'Okay, we're just gonna do with high fives, kids!' because it was just too much. It was heartwarming to see that kind of response, and I think it's a direct reflection of how much they enjoyed the experience." The teachers love him, too—one of Jim's proudest accomplishments as a volunteer is getting such rave reviews in his first classroom that two other teachers from the school invited him to read with their students!
Mr. Jim reading The Woods by Paul Hoppe on Story Station!
Though the pandemic made volunteering in person impossible, Jim continues to be a beloved read aloud volunteer twice a week through Story Station, our daily storytime on Facebook Live. He doesn't just open the book and flip through the pages — he spends time thinking about the best way to make the stories engaging for kids online.
"I have to really focus on the book and try to pull elements of the narrative or perhaps the illustrations that I can kind of touch base with the kids. That means using questions, maybe some emphatic pauses. I might sometimes make a goofy face or nod my head, something to break up what could be a kind of monotonous act of just moving through the pages," he says, describing his reading style. "I just hope it resonates to some degree with the kids."
And from what we've seen since Jim began reading online, it has! His videos have had a huge reach (one of the most popular ones has more than 4,000 views).
Tune in to Story Station on Facebook Live every Tuesday and Thursday at 2pm PT to read with Mr. Jim!
"All I can say is I'm humbled by that kind of reaction," he says, reflecting on being a reading role model and the face of Words Alive for so many families. He hopes that through the techniques he uses to make stories come alive, he is able to help parents build habits and skillsets to make reading a part of their normal routine with their children. "The greatest gain is being able to model the behaviors that we'd love to see parents embrace in the home," he says.
Kids in one of our Pre-K classrooms before the pandemic.
His experiences working in physical classrooms helped to inspire this passion for family literacy. One week, he was reading a book about a family of bears caught in a thunderstorm. In the story, the parents pretend to be afraid of the thunderstorm so that they can invite the baby bear to snuggle with them and read a book together.
"I pause at that point, reading to the kids. And I said, 'Does anybody here like to cuddle with their parents, reading a book? Or do you cuddle with your parents and read a book at night?'"
Out of more than 20 kids in the classroom, only one or two raised their hands. Jim realized that while reading bedtime stories with his daughters and engaging with books together was something he took for granted, very few of his students had access to those experiences at home.
“If they could just take the experience I’m giving them right now, and if we could just get more parents to do that and model it and read, it’d be so great.”
In that moment, he thought, "If they could just take the experience I'm giving them right now, and if we could just get more parents to do that and model it and read, it'd be so great. If I can just help in that regard...it just made me think how important our work is through Words Alive, and not just with those pre-K kids, but as we move up the grades."
"I'm really excited about the way that the organization has pivoted during the pandemic and what that's meant. Being able to reach into so many homes now, as opposed to just these very specific classrooms here in the San Diego community, has been great. I love that," he says.
"But I do long for a time when I can go back and walk into a classroom and sit cross-legged on the floor and experience that once again. Nothing means more to me than entering the classroom, when the kids look up, and they just start screaming 'Mr. Jim's here! Mr. Jim's here!'"
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Thank you, Jim, for your support of Words Alive! Whether in person or online, we're so grateful for the difference our volunteers are making in children's lives by bringing stories into their homes and inspiring them to love reading.
This post was created by Laura Gruppo and Zoe Wong, Words Alive volunteers! Do you love writing and have an interest in helping Words Alive create this type of content? We'd love to have you on the team! Email to learn more.