Family Read Alouds...

I was blessed to grow up in a family of readers. My earliest memories include both my parents reading aloud to me. I am 41 years old and when I go home my dad still reads aloud to us...it is something I treasure.

When my sister and I were very young our parents read books like Dr. Suess and all the P.D. Eastman stories. Grimms Fairy Tales, the stories of Hans Christian Anderson and Beatrix Potter all figure prominently in my memory. As we got a little older the tales of E.B. White (Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, The Trumpet of the Swan) and Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House series) were the entertainment we enjoyed most evenings.

As we matured the content of what was read to us became more advanced. We often had family discussions about the books we read, and many of the values that have shaped who I am and what I believe had their seeds planted in my mind during those times. My mother favored books like Ben Hur, The Robe and anything by Jane Austen or the Brontes. My dad preferred more theological fare and shared passages from his favorite authors. He fully expected us to understand what was read to us, and wanted us to prove we understood by narrating back what we had heard. It wasn't unheard of for him to feed us information that wasn't theologically sound and then wait for us to realize it and refute it with truth.

All of this brought about several positive results...we spent our leisure hours in the company of our parents, there was a secure bond forged between us, and as a result my sister and I became voracious readers ourselves...reading both for pleasure and information.

When I married and began having children I determined that I would continue this rich tradition in my own family. I began as soon as Rush was born, and I am still reading Dr. Suess and Goodnight Moon to the little girls 21 years later! I have read innumerable books aloud to my children. Some of our fondest memories are of being piled up in the living room eating popcorn while I read Where the Red Fern Grows, Old Yeller, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Cat of Bubastes, My Side of the Mountain, Rascal, The Summer of the Monkeys, Little Britches and all the Ralph Moody books, Cheaper By the Dozen, and myriad others.

Here is a list of age appropriate books for reading aloud. I have found, however, that reading a little above your child's ability to understand is not a bad thing.

Toddlers/Preschoolers
Goodnight Moon
The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (all Eric Carle books)
Are You My Mother? (all P.D. Eastman books)
The Cat in the Hat (all Dr. Suess books)
Guess How Much I Love You
The Snowy Day
Chicka-chicka Boom Boom
Where the Wild Things Are
Bunny Bungalow
The Sleeping House
Corduroy
Harold and the Purple Crayon
The Runaway Bunny
Goodnight Gorilla
Put Me in the Zoo

Five to Eight Years
The Five Chinese Brothers
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me
Miss Rumphius
Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born
Olivia Saves the Circus
Frog and Toad (series)
Little Bear (series)
Tikki Tikki Tembo
If You Take a Mouse to School
The Old Woman Who Named Things
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Babar (series)
The Cat Who Walked Across France
The Indian in the Cupboard
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
The Secret Garden
The Incredible Journey
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Courage of Sarah Noble
The Hundred Dresses
My Side of the Mountain
St. George and the Dragon
The Narnia Chronicles
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Charlotte’s Web
The Trumpet of the Swan
Little House in the Big Woods
Company’s Coming

Nine to Twelve Years
Tuck Everlasting
Harriet the Spy
Redwall
Bridge to Terebithia
Where the Red Fern Grows
Black Beauty
The Bronze Bow
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Cheaper By the Dozen
Call of the Wild
Number the Stars
The Sign of the Beaver
Chronicles of Narnia (series)
Little House on the Prairie (series)
Dear America and My Name is America (series)

Thirteen and Up
Watership Down
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: the Ultimate Teenage Success Guide
The Old Man and the Sea
All Creatures Great and Small
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Hobbit
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Agatha Christie mysteries

Ageless Titles
Aesop’s Fables
Andersen’s Fairy Tales
Mr. Popper’s Penguins
The Indian in the Cupboard
Banks, Lynne Reid
The Wizard of Oz
Madeline
The Five Chinese Brothers
Caddie Woodlawn
Goodnight Moon
The Secret Garden
Through the Looking Glass
Alice in Wonderland
James and the Giant Peach
Bonjour! Babar!
The Little Prince
The Hundred Dresses
Cheaper By the Dozen
The Wind in the Willows
Read-Aloud Poems for Young People
Oxford Book of Story Poems
All Things Wise and Wonderful: the Lord God made them all
Redwall Series
The Jungle Book
Just So Stories
The Story of Ferdinand
A Wrinkle in Time
The Tree That Would Not Die
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Frog and Toad Treasury
The Betsy/Tacy Series
The New Way Things Work
Make Way for Ducklings
Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie the Pooh
Anne of Green Gables (series)
Tikki Tikki Tembo
Sing Down the Moon
Bridge to Terabithia
Mr. Lincoln’s Way
Where the Red Fern Grows
The Complete Adventures of Curious George
The Journey: Stories of Migration
The Cricket in Times Square
Where the Wild Things Are
Oh, The Places You’ll Go
The Cat in the Hat
Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!
Horton Hears a Who
The Lorax
Falling Up
Where the Sidewalk Ends
The Giving Tree
The Red Pony
A Child’s Garden of Verses
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
The Hobbit
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Polar Express
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Peppermints in the Parlor
Charlotte’s Web
The Happy Prince and Other Tales
September Roses
Old Turtle and the Broken Truth
Mice, Morals, & Monkey Business: Lively Lessons from Aesop's Fables
Crow Boy
Rumpelstiltskin

There are hundreds, even thousands of books that I haven't listed here. Once when the older kids were young teenagers I read The Big Brag by Dr. Suess aloud to them. At first they were a little exasperated...after all, this is a KIDS book! They became interested in spite of their determination to remain aloof, however, and the lesson was received without any further instruction...bragging isn't cool!

I couldn't end this post on reading aloud without mentioning Bible reading and Bible study. My mother read our B.R.E.A.D. (Bible Reading Enriches Any Day) to us every morning before we left for the school bus. She also used chalk-talks, object lessons, flannel graphs and drama to convey to us timeless biblical principles. This wasn't occasionally...it was almost daily. I have had the Bible read through to me more times than I could tell you. Daddy was a firm believer in regular, organized bible study and I have heard the entire Search for Truth bible study through at least 10 times (no exaggeration!) Thanks, daddy and mama!