There are far too many books on my shelves that my kids have never read.
And there are far too many books on my shelves that I have never read to my kids.
In harmony with my goal to read fewer books with more intention (more on the goals I’m working on this year in a later post), I am going to stop buying books for my children until we have read everything on our shelves.
(This doesn’t include picture books, only chapter books. I’ve read all the picture books until my eyes bleed. And I’ll keep buying those for the little ones since they wear out quickly from much use!)
Here is the list (so far):
- Nurse Matilda: The Collected Tales by Christianna Brand
- Flat Broke: The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Greed by Gary Paulsen
- A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
- The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
- The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
- Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
- The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo
- Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lundgren
- Persuasion by Jane Austen
I tried to pick titles that would appeal to my older kids, who range in age from 9-16, with the exception of Nurse Matilda and Pippi. Those two I’m reading with just the girls. So far, the little ones have been joining us, and with the help of plenty of crayons, paper and watercolors, are actually listening.
I know Persuasion will be a bit of a tough sell at first, but the characters and dialogue are witty and interesting enough from the get-go to grab attention, I think, and I want to challenge them (and myself) a bit. (It also helps that it’s the shortest Austen novel.) Plus, the accents are super fun to do.
My bare minimum goal is one book a month. I’m doing well so far. I’m over halfway through Nurse Matilda and almost finished with Flat Broke.
I’ll be adding to this list as I decide on new titles, and I’ll also be writing quick reviews as we complete each one.
Read-aloud has always been very important to me, and one of my favorite ways to connect with my kids. But I’ve gotten away from it this year because of all the stress we’ve been under. Getting the schoolwork done has taken priority. But I miss it, and I think the kids do too.
Reading aloud is very much a family thing for us. I remember loving “Island of the Blue Dolphins” when I read it during the summer before 4th grade. We (my family) also loved “Paddle-to-the-Sea” by Holling C. Holling and the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
I’ve always loved the read aloud with my children. It was important to me to continue as long as they would listen. Then I remarried had a baby…big gap. He is now four…oldest flew nest…18 yr old still with me. Any suggestions on how or what to read for us older kids as read aloud with four yr old present. I feel we never get to read novels anymore. Such a big gap from picture books to young adult novels. He isn’t quite the sit quietly doing his own thing next to me type.
Ooh… The Tiger Rising will be on my wish list. We love all of Kate DiCamillo’s books! But I am in the same boat with needing to read what we have before we get any new books! Although I did just order Bendigo Shafter, but I said we HAVE to finish My Side of the Mountain before we can start on it. Those are for our family read aloud with Dad, which are even harder to get through than our daytime titles, lol.