Reading aloud to your children is a fantastic way to spend quality time, build those important bonds, and raise a better reader. If you were read to as a child, you probably have fond memories and favorite stories that you have shared with your own children.
You may already know about some of the books below, while others may be new to you. These are five out of the list of hundreds of my favorite books to read aloud.
Family Under the Bridge
This book is probably one of my favorites. In Paris, during the Christmas season, a fatherless family of four loses their home and begins life anew under one of the many bridges in the city. They are just settling in when they find that the bridge “belongs†to a curmudgeonly old man, also homeless.
This sweet story explores the hardships of being homeless in a non-threatening way while it leaves you with a big smile and a warm heart, page after page.
Ben and Me
I love being able to read a book outloud, keep my children on the edge of their seats, and teach history all at the same time. This classic, fictionalized biography by Robert Lawson does exactly that.
The story of Ben Franklin is told by a mouse that lives in his house and observes his goings on – even assisting him with experiments and adventures.
My Side of the Mountain
One of the best “boy†books out there but my girls love it, too. Jean Craighead George weaves a spellbinding first person account of Sam Gribley who runs away from home and lives in a hollow tree in the Catskills. He fends for himself, learns to overcome a variety of problems, and is befriended by a falcon he calls Frightful.
The book is littered with little sketches of the simple machines he makes to survive. There are three books in this series, as I recall, but the first is by far the best.
The Black Cauldron Series
Lloyd Alexander was an admirer of J.R.R. Tolkein and it is obvious in this children’s series. Full of adventure, the fight between good and evil, magic, and treason, this series of books has characters that your child will never forget.
Don’t cheat and watch the cartoon movie – it isn’t nearly as good.
Mrs. Pigglewiggle
Not only is this a series that your kids will love, it is a great guide to creative discipline.
Mrs. Pigglewiggle is an older widow lady that just has a way with children. Each chapter is about a different neighborhood child and outlines how Mrs. P and the parents work together to help the child build character, overcome a personality flaw, or learn a needed lesson.
The solutions are imaginative and impossible, such as planting radish seeds on the skin of a girl that refused to bathe or having a pet pig teach impeccable manners.
Don’t stop reading to your child when he begins reading for himself. My children have enjoyed read aloud time well into their teen years and have often shamelessly eavesdropped on their younger siblings’ story times.
Is reading aloud part of your time together as a family? What are some of your favorite books.
photo credit: Betsssssy
