BOOKS WORTH READING ALOUD TO YOUR
CHILDREN
Books for Preschoolers / Books for Primaries
Books for Older Elementary and Junior Highs / Books for Teens
Books To Help Parents Select Books
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Many people have the idea that they don't need to read to children anymore once their
children can read for themselves. Parents who feel this way cheat both themselves and
their children of an enriching experience
It easy easy to lapse into watching television and videos for entertainment as children
grow older, but these passive activities encourage parents and children alike to grow into
couch potatoes who shut each other out so they don't have to talk. Reading books aloud
together, on the other hand, encourages families to communicate and provides natural
stimulation to discuss important issues together. These discussions also provide one more
opportunity for parents to let their children know what values are important to them. This
is in addition to the other benefits we have already discussed.
Parents have an awesome responsibility and privilege in spending the limited time they
have to read to their children reading the very best. What they choose may influence their
children for the rest of their lives.
- Pick books that are interesting, above a child's reading level but well within his
interest level.
- Pick books which model excellent writing.
- Pick books with well-developed characters that you wouldn't mind having your child play
with or visit with at the dinner table. Those characters will influence him and affect his
behavior for better or worse.
- If you have small children, pick books that won't bore you if you have to read them
again and again.
- Pick books you really enjoy, that you will delight in sharing with your children. Your
enthusiasm will be contagious. This may mean reading unfamiliar books by yourself before
you read them to your children. How else will you know if the book is worth spending your
time on?
- Remember, you don't have to read just any book your child hands you, or any book a
friend or relative buys for your child. This is your precious time you are spending. Use
it wisely.
Books for Preschoolers / Books for Primaries
Books for Older Elementary and Junior Highs / Books for Teens
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BOOKS TO HELP YOU SELECT BOOKS FOR
CHILDREN
Books That Build Character ( $11.00).
The author reviews more than 300 books, each featuring a dramatic story and memorable
characters who explore moral issues and the difference between right and wrong. Entries
are arranged by category and reading level, and there is something for every age. When I
really want to know what's in a book, this is the reference I use.
Honey for a Child's Heart.($10.99). Gladys Hunt's
emphasis is on the principles of selecting and introducing the best books to your
children. Every parent should read this book to help navigate through the unworthy volumes
lurking in libraries and bookstores today. It will give parents the inspiration,
motivation, and vision they need to focus on the best that's been written. Hunt's book
list is little more than a list, and is arranged by author. She has missed many excellent
books, and you will find some of them in this web page.
Read for Your Life . ($15.99) In this book, Hunt
addresses teens themselves, discussing how to read a book, what makes a good book, what
questions to ask, and how to discern which books are worth spending the time to read. The
book reviews in the bibliography are much longer than those in Honey for a Child's
Heart, since they are designed to make teens want to read the books.
Unrevised version.
Books for Preschoolers / Books for Primaries
Books for Older Elementary and Junior Highs / Books for Teens
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BOOKS TO READ TO PRESCHOOLERS
See also Favorite Picture Books / Easy to
Read Books
Two Can Read - An
innovative series designed so that beginning readers read one page and an older child or
an adult reads the opposite page with more detail
Also, check out the Five in a Row Curriculum, based on excellent
picture books.
 Aunt
Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair: Hardcover picture book.
Unpaginated. In Triple Creek, TVs were so popular that almost everyone in the town had
forgotten how to read. People loved their TVs more than anything and watched them all the
time. That is, everyone but Eli's Aunt Charlotte. He called her Aunt Chip, and she was the
only person in town who did not have a television and had never owned one. She had been
the town librarian until no one used the library anymore, and after a while even forgot
what it was for. Finally the city fathers had it torn down and replaced with a giant TV
tower. And Aunt Chip took to her bed and vowed to stay there.
Read more.
The Bears on Hemlock Mountain
by Alice Dalgliesh. Aladdin, 2000. When he is eight years old, Jonathan's mother
sends him over Hemlock mountain alone for the first time -- to borrow a very
large pot. He's been told there are no bears on Hemlock Mountain, but he's not
convinced. His carelessness causes him to encounter the "non-existent" bears in
the dark on the way home. He learns a lesson about following instructions, but
still manages to get home safely. BTH-2611. $4.49-D
The Day the Goose Got Loose.
Steven Kellogg and Reeve Lindbergh team up for a delightful bit of nonsense
as they imagine the riot an escaping goose could cause on a farm and in the
town. Lindbergh sets the stage with his rhymes, and Kellogg embellishes the
words and takes them to humorous extremes in his very detailed, action-packed
pictures. Paper, $6.29-D
 Dandelions,
written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Greg Shed. This is not just another
covered wagon story. It is a rare blend of literature and art. Although it's
written for ages 5-8, there is much in it the little ones might not pick up on
without discussion -- especially the poignant moments where Mama's unspoken
feelings about leaving her lifelong home in Illinois for the isolation of the
new prairie home are apparent to an adult, but might be missed by a child.
Read more
Don't Forget the Bacon, by Pat Hutchins,
$6.26-D, . As the boy's mother sends him to the store, she reminds him, "Six
farm eggs, a cake for tea, a pound of pears, and don't forget the bacon." As the boy
tries to repeat the list on his way, he mixes the list up more and more with every
repetition, and of course, in the end, he does forget the bacon. Any child who's ever
tried to remember something important will identify with this boy. Teachers will find good
examples of rhyming words and nouns.
 Elbert's Bad Word by
Audrey Wood. Illustrated by Audrey and Don Wood. Harcourt, Brace, 1996. This
book deals with the effect on a small child who hears a bad word. Instead of
being forgotten it lurks beneath the surface of his mind until it finally comes
out his mouth. This book shows how a bad word overheard at a mostly adult garden
party creeps inside the mind of a small boy, and later, to everyone's horror,
escapes from his mouth when a mallet lands on his big toe later during that same
party. And it shows how the chastened boy finds a solution to make sure the bad
word has no more power over him. BTH-2616. $5.50-D Click on image to enlarge it.
 HOW A SHIRT GREW IN THE FIELD,
by K. Ushinsky. One day in the spring, Vasya asked his father why he was throwing seeds in
the field. "'I am sowing flax seeds , so that shirts will grow for you and baby
Anya,' said his father." Vasya couldn't imagine how a shirt could grow in the field,
but he waited and watched every day as the seasons came and went, as the flax was
harvested and processed. And, yes, one day he did have a shirt. This simple, poetic story
of life in the Ukrainian countryside was originally published over 100 years ago, when
linen cloth was still made by hand. Hardcover. Ages 4-8. OOP. But I have just a few
available for $30.00*
 Love
You Forever by Robert Munsch, Firefly Books, 2003. This has almost
become a classic gift book, since all ages can relate to it, from children to
grandmothers. As a mother holds her new baby boy, she sings to him: "I'll love
you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living my baby you'll be."
For all the phases of her boy's life
you will see her singing the song, whenever he is asleep. When he grows up and
moves away, she sometimes even sneaks over and rocks him and sings the song to
him. The mother grows older and older, and one day calls her son to come and see
her because she was old and sick. And he went to her and picked her up and
rocked her and sang his own version of the song to her, ending with "As long as
I'm living my Mommy you'll be." And you know his Mommy is no longer alive. And
you'll probably cry as he stands at the top of the stairs for a long time before
going down. And then he goes down to his baby daughter's room, picks her up and
rocks her, and sings the song to her. And carries on the expression of love to
the next generation. This is a great gift for mothers and grandmothers.
BTH-2205. $4.46-D
 Over the Steamy
Swamp, by Paul Geraghty.
Just how much havoc can one mosquito flying over a swamp cause? It depends
upon who wants to eat that mosquito . This particular mosquito is being watched
by a greedy dragonfly, who is too interested to notice that he, in turn, is
being watched by a famished frog, and so on up the food chain to the peckish
fish, the heron, the starving snake, the craving crocodile, the hostile hunter,
and the ravenous lion. Paul Geraghty's text is simple and reminiscent o "The
House that Jack Built" in its repetitive style. But it's his pictures that make
the book so funny. These animals have facial expressions you won't ever forget
-- especially when the book reaches its climax. After the lion's great, big,
ravenous nose is bitten by the mosquito, to say he is surprised and upset is an
understatement. And suddenly, everyone in the food chain hears the lion's yowl
and looks backwards and sees what's been about to eat him. This book should be
in every young reader's hands. Not only is the art work bold and expressive, but
the text will teach some great adjectives, adverbs, and verbs. And, of course,
it can also be used to illustrate what a food chain is. When my customers see
this book, they buy it.
Besides showing the
food chain in action, this book will make both parents and children laugh with its
humorous illustrations of the animals as they discover who has been lurking behind them,
ready to eat them, even as they have been drooling over their own anticipated
lunch. Not to
worry, though. No one gets eaten in the end, but the lion gets a very sore nose and the
hungry mosquito who starts everything in motion is finally satisfied. Size is 9"
x 10.25." BTH-2614. $6.30-D.
Q is for Duck: An Alphabet Guessing Game, by
Mary Alting and Michael Folsom, (BTH-2740, $6.26-D). young children whose
favorite word is "Why?" will love this. Each page has a statement followed by
the word "Why?" The child can then think through the riddle and attempt his own
answer before turning the page to see the author's. Examples: "D is for mole. Why?
Because a moles digs. E is for whale. Why? Because a whale is enormous." This book
has been popular with teachers and parents alike because it's fun for children, who may
discover better answers than the author's. Most of the author's answers contain good
examples of verbs, and the constant use of the question mark reinforces the concept of
interrogative sentences.
 Sam,
Bangs, and Moonshine, by E.
Ness. When Sam, a fisherman's daughter who daydreams a lot, interacts with people, she's
not too fussy about whether what she tells them is real or make-believe. One day Sam sends
her devoted little friend Thomas to Blue Rock, far out in the harbor, and a sudden storm
brings near disaster to Thomas and Sam's cat Bangs. It is only then that Sam repentantly
recognizes that it's important to draw a line between fantasy and reality. For ages 3-8.
BTH-2297. $5.36-D, paper.
 Some Smug Slug, by Pamela Edwards.
Illustrated by Henry Cole. This
paperback book is one of my favorites. Young children will enjoy
the alliterative "S" sounds in this book as it is read to them, and everyone
will enjoy the great illustrations of animals and creepie crawlies by Henry Cole. The
slug, who is full of personality, is determined to climb a slippery slope. He surmounts
each obstacle to finally reach the top, while other creatures look on with sympathy or
amusement or even sarcasm, because they already know what the reader doesn't discover
until the end. (By the way, if you become fond of the slug, you won't like the ending.)
For ages 4-9. 32 pages. BTH-2615. $5.36-D
Tikki Tikki Tembo, written by A. Mosel
and illustrated by B. Lent. An old Chinese folktale of what happens when a Chinese boy
with a very long name falls into a well and his younger brother attempts to get help. The
trouble is that he must always pronounce his firstborn brother's name completely and
reverently, and this presents a problem when time is short. Paper, $6.26-D.
 If your preschool or primary child is fascinated by trucks, you must not
miss Diane Siebert's poems. TRUCK SONG,
BTH-2304, $6.26-D, illustrated by Bryon Barton, captures the mood of a trucker
driving his rig across our sprawling country. The poetic language makes one hear
the rhythm of the wheels and feel the power of being behind the wheel.
 Amelia Bedelia, everyone's favorite maid, always does
exactly what she is told. She takes figurative language literally, and that is what
entertains young readers so. These books are easy enough for the average first - third
grader to read independently, but will be more fun if you read them with your child first
and talk about them. See all of these books.
 The Thornton Burgess Animal Stories: Written by a
naturalist, these exciting stories show animals interacting in scientifically accurate
ways as to natural enemies, type of home, foods eaten, habits, and special
characteristics. But on another level, these animals, shown in black and white sketches
dressed in human clothes interact as people would, with character traits and emotions..
His stories give children an opportunity to observe the consequences of greed,
selfishness, teasing, boasting, and other undesirable qualities as the animals interact.
In case the children might miss these insights about character and consequences, Burgess
often points them out in the text, either in verses or as he develops the plot, inviting
readers to anticipate what might happen. He uses his stories to teach moral values that
are Biblical, and one could memorize related verses as one reads the books.
I cut my teeth on these stories when I received six of them as a Christmas
present in the first grade. I had them read by New Year's and wanted more. My son, who
struggled with reading, loved to have me read these stories to him, and they were the
first chapter books he read on his own. (Even when he was 13, he would take them to bed to
relax before going to sleep, because they were old friends by that time.) These books are
available as Dover Thrift Classics, and they can be found, along with many other titles
that make great read-aloud books, on our page of Dover
Literature.. By the way, my favorite book in the series is Chatterer
the Red Squirrel, and I think it's a great one to start with if your family hasn't
met Burgess before. Or you can get the books in attractive slip-cased sets of six for only $9.00-D per set.
IF YOUR CHILDREN ARE OVER EIGHT
The books our family most enjoyed reading aloud together were the eight
books written by Ralph Moody, beginning with Little Britches.
Until we read these books, my preteen son was not much interested in reading for pleasure.
We started reading them when he was about eight, and they became his favorites. They had
the same effect on my 13-year-old nephew the year he lived with us, and he wanted to buy
them all and read them again himself after we finished reading them aloud. Up until that
time, he would not read on his own for pleasure. (Of course, it helps that we didn't have
television, a VCR, or a Nintendo game and that we let him read in bed until he fell
asleep.)
IF YOU’VE ALREADY READ THE MOODY BOOKS AND DON’T KNOW WHAT TO READ ALOUD NEXT,
you might want enjoy Patricia Beatty’s Nickel-Plated Beauty ( $3.93-B,
with remainder mark) if you have children from 8-12. As in Moody’s books, there is a warm,
closely-knit family. The children in that family want their mother to have a new cook
stove for Christmas, so the oldest son, who works in a store, orders one from his employer
C.O.D. The trouble is, he thinks he can give the stove to his mother and pay for it later,
and learns differently only after the stove arrives in the store. The children have only
seven months before Christmas to earn the money for the stove, but they pull together and
work hard to achieve their goal. The story is set in Astoria, Oregon, at the end of the
nineteenth century.
Another book we recently discovered was The Dog Who Wouldn't
Be (BTH-2077. $4.49-D) by Farley Mowat. The author shares the
entertaining story of his childhood on the Canadian prairies. This book focuses on young
Mowat's canine friend, Mutt, an amazing dog that turns out to be a better sporting dog
than anyone expected. He had other skills unique for dogs as well: climbing trees and
ladders among them. This book is just right for reading aloud to older children --
especially preteen boys who are hard to find books for. Mowat's books are very well
written and extremely funny. You also might want to try Owls in the Family.
Other
good books for reading aloud with this age group:
 Brady,
by Jean Fritz. Penguin, 1998. Brady has never been trusted with secrets, until
now. When he discovers an Underground Railroad station near his family's farm,
he is forced to make his own decision about the slavery controversy. Whatever
his decision may be, he knows that this is one secret that must be kept. Reading
level 5.6. Target age group, middle school. 128 pages.
BTH-2603. $6.29-D
 The
Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson. HarperCollins, 1989.
How can a crusty old independent hobo who lives under a bridge in the streets of
Paris stand up to a struggling mother with three appealing children who claim
squatters' rights to his spot on the day before Christmas? Seems the only way he
can have any peace is to share his home. But he knows they won't be happy until
they have a real home of their own again. Can he help? BTH-2584. $5.39-D
 Johnny
Tremain by Esther Forbes. Yearling, 1987. Digest size. Reading level 5.5
for ages 10 and up. Johnny is a young apprentice to the silversmith, Paul
Revere, and like most people is caught up in the fever of excitement building in
Boston in the 1770s, just before the Revolutionary War. Like most people
surrounding him in Boston, Johnny is swept along by the events that lead to the
Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Lexington. But even more fascinating than the
events all around him are the important discoveries Johnny is making about
himself. This is one of those books not to be missed. A Newbery medal winner.
322 pages. BTH-2692. $5.85-D
Books for Preschoolers / Books for Primaries
Books for Older Elementary and Junior Highs / Books for Teens
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IF YOU HAVE TEENS
If your family enjoys a good laugh and wants to have some
short stories handy to read around a campfire or just to pass a rainy night, you
must read Patrick McManus's crazy reminisces (fictionalized for humorous effect)
of his childhood and adventures in the great outdoors. I recommend people start
with The Grasshopper Trap ($10.80-D). There's no
special reason to read the stories in order. My personal favorites in this book
are "Mean Tents" and "The Skunk Ladder." The only problem in reading these aloud
is that whoever is reading might not be able to keep from laughing -- I mean
ROTF laughing! That's especially true if that person has read the story before
and knows what's coming. My second favorite book by McManus is
The Night the Bear Ate Goombah ($10.80-D), which should be read after
The Grasshopper Trap to fully appreciate it. Some of the McManus stories
are a bit off-color, though such incidents are usually understated to the extent
that their full impact might go over a child's head. Some of the language can
get mildly rough as well, because some characters are not great role models, as
is pointed out by other characters. So parents might want to preread the stories
before reading them aloud. It's also a good idea because some stories just
aren't as funny as others. Preteen and teen boys (and their parents and sisters)
will love these books -- even if reading is not their favorite activity. When my
son was thirteen, I'd always know when he was reading McManus in bed because I'd
hear him laughing. You don't want to miss these stories, which are ideal for
families whose children are eight and over.
If your teens are girls, they shouldn't miss
Bess Streeter Aldrich's
books. It is hard to pick a favorite, but one of the best is Miss Bishop (Out
of Print). The heroine of this novel, Ella Bishop, is a healthy, sensitive, energetic,
and happy person as she begins her college career in the Midwest in 1876. Her energy and
devotion to learning made her an first an excellent student, then a gifted teacher. People were
drawn toward her friendliness and enthusiasm. During her life she was betrayed in love
when the man she was to have married was stolen by her young cousin. She was called upon
to raise their daughter when the cousin died. Later on in life Ella was sorely tempted to
have an affair, but she resisted the temptation. She is an unselfish heroine whom one can
both love and admire, and the novel is one the reader won't want to put down until it is
finished. In this day of flexible morals, Ella shows us one can remain steadfast in doing
what is right, and that one can forgive one who has inflicted deep emotional pain. Other
Aldrich titles include Lantern in Her Hand BTH-2792,
$6.29-D);
its sequel, White Bird Flying (Cat. #655, $9.95); The
Lieutenant's Lady
(unfortunately out of print), Mother Mason
( $10.95); Rim of the Prairie ( $15.29-D); Song
of Years ( $12.95); and Spring Came on Forever
( $13.95.) These books portray strong , capable women who still care about their
families. Those who are married are good role models as wives and mothers. Those who are
single struggle with issues of choosing the right marriage partner. Aldrich is an
excellent writer who knows how to portray her characters and their inner feelings and
moral struggles well. She wrote during a period when Christian values were the norm, and
her characters share those values. Her plots are complex and although they usually show
developing relationships between men and women, they are not primarily concerned with the
details of dating. In the Lieutenant's Lady and Lantern
in Her Hand, for example, most of the plots centers around the marriage
itself rather than the romance preceding the marriage. Marriage is portrayed
realistically, with problems to be faced together and hardships to endure. Most of the
novels are set in pioneer times, and the characters are of pioneer stock. If your daughter
likes romances and you'd like to get her into something more solid, these books are the
ticket.
Books for Preschoolers / Books for Primaries
Books for Older Elementary and Junior Highs / Books for Teens
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