One of my homeschooling goals each year is to complete a list of read-alouds with my kids. Read aloud time is complicated now that I have several kids of very varying ages, but it’s one of the things I’m determined to do each day, even when the listeners are teenagers. I haven’t read all the books I listed, but I have added some other titles.
Here are a few of the read-alouds we’ve enjoyed this year.
The first two titles I read only to the 10 year old.
Nurse Matilda by Christianna Brand
I had no idea that the Nanny McPhee movies were based on these books until I began reading them. What could be more fun than a clever nanny with special powers to make her charges behave? I love any book that allows me to read with an English accent.
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
My Sadie reminds me of Pippi, the original riot grrrl. Who doesn’t love reading about Pippi’s adventures with her friends, poking fun at nosy adults and hosting tea parties at Villa Villekulla? I love Pippi so much as a kid, I wanted to name my first daughter Astrid (her father vetoed the choice, sadly).
These I read to all the kids.
The kids enjoyed this story of a young Indian woman who was left alone when her entire community abandoned her home island. After reading the book, I became curious about the story and discovered that it was inspired by the life of Juana Maria, better known as the Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island.
Flat Broke: The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Greed by Gary Paulsen
This was a fun, short read about a teen boy who is clever at coming up with entrepreneurial ideas, and so takes his money-making ventures a bit too far. A good lesson, but there were certain aspects about the book I didn’t like (the protagonist is a little too girl-crazy), so I skipped those lines.
The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo
I love DiCamillo’s books, they’re always full of interesting, multi-layered characters who resemble people we’ve all known. This one is about the friendship between two complicated, suffering kids who find, of all things, a caged tiger.
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
This is the first book I can remember reading with my kids about a child from Asia (why? I have no idea). Set in 12th century Korean, an orphan boy ends up working for a famous potter, and his life is forever changed by the experience. We enjoyed this book and its author and ended up buying another one of her titles, mentioned next.
A Long Walk to Water (also Linda Sue Park)
This book, based on a true story, is set in southern Sudan. It follows two story lines: one of a young girl who walks for several hours each day to obtain drinking water for her family, and another, of a boy separated from his family who walks to Ethiopia during the civil war of 1985. This book was a bit gritty in places, probably not for sensitive children.
What have you been reading aloud lately with your kids?
I loved “Island of the Blue Dolphins” when I read it in 4th grade. I’m also from California (though quite a bit north of where the story takes place) so it’s part of my state history.