“Tell the story of them learning to read — and the first book they read alone.”

Why this question

The sounding-out, the breakthrough word, the first time you caught them reading without you. The title, for the record.

Capturing it in voice

• ·If they're old enough, hand them the phone and let them answer it themselves. Their phrasing is the treasure; don't tidy it.
• ·Don't script it. The ums, the tangents, the half-finished sentences — that's what their voice actually sounds like right now.
• ·Thirty seconds is plenty. A short answer you actually record beats a long one you keep meaning to.

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