My week is way too busy for me to sit around blogging, but I still just feel like reaching out to everybody right now and saying "hi." The issue on my mind is children's literature. A great friend of mine with a 5-year old asked about good read-aloud chapter books for that age, and it got me thinking about everything we have enjoyed as a family. My mom used to make those long hours on car trips go by faster reading such classics as Trumpeter of the Swans and ... what else mom?
Now I read books aloud--it's my favorite part of traveling. I almost want to plan a road trip on the release date of the new Fablehaven book. Sometimes we pull into a stop and nobody wants to get out until the end of the chapter.
So for 5-year olds I was thinking the Boxcar Children series, the American Girl books, the Borrowers...what else? Please comment with your suggestions. I have to admit we read the first Harry Potter books with our five year olds. And I read many Young Readers Choice books and Battle of the Books books aloud with everyone present. I may be targeting the 9 year-old, but it's often the 5 and 7 year-olds who are begging for more. The 13 year-old has been known to stop by for a chapter of Little House.
I started Anne of Green Gables last night with the girls--the descriptions are so lengthy and florid--not really for 5 year-olds. But then today I heard Maia summarizing the first couple of chapters for her little friend, so I'm going to stick with it.
So what are your favorites from childhood, and what are you reading with your kids?
16 comments:
Our boys both loved the Harry Potter books (and still listen to them on CD at night as they're falling asleep), along with the A Series of Unfortunate Events series. They have also really enjoyed all the Goosebumps books, the Nancy Drew mysteries, Animorphs and Bionicles.
Lately they've been going through some fantasy novels like the Riftwar saga, which they're currently in, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Magyck, etc. Gee, can you see a pattern to their interests? Hmmm...
I remember reading "Where the Red Fern Grows" with the boys on a trip to the canyonlands (you girls stayed with Grandma Olsen) and we were all crying when Little Nan died. We read the Great Brain books and Lloyd Alexander's books and the Chronicles of Narnia. Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web for sure.
When I was young I loved Nancy Drew and Heidi now loves them too. I also loved a series that has been hard for me to find, it was the Three Investigators, 3 boys who solved mysteries. I also have great memories of reading Trumpeter of The Swan and James and the Giant peach and of course Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The books that we read aloud now are mostly battle books at the moment. I have to admit that I haven't been very good at reading aloud to my children since Heidi learned to read. But I know it's important and it was one of the things I was determined to change about a month ago. I'm happy to say that we have read aloud with our girls every night since. They love it and it really helps their fluency.
Since Maren can read a chapter book faster than I can read it aloud to her she would be totally uninterested in me reading one to her. I always read for 30 + minutes to my boys at night but were on picture books. I'll have to try out one of these suggestions here for chapter ones. Maybe they'd like that.
The Great Brain series by John D. Fitzgerald. I loved them.
We don't have much experience with five year old boys, but I think My Father's Dragon would be a good choice. Also Farmer Boy.
Some of my favorites to read aloud:
Raggedy Ann Stories
Little House in the Big Woods
Miss Hickory
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Hatchet
Chronicles of Narnia
Oh, the BEST way to experience Charlotte's Web is to listen to the author E.B. White read it. He has a wonderful accent!
I didn't connect as a child that much of Trumpet of the Swans was set not far from Bozeman. My other favorite Bozeman book is Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance. Not really intended for 5 year olds. Not quite as much a stretch and my recommendation would be Encyclopedia Brown. Erik seems good with A to Z mysteries.
Summer of the monkey
Heidi
Rebecca of Sunnybrook..
The great brain
Rifles for Waite
witch of blackbird pond
THe nephi in tennis shoe series
I also love to read in the car with the kids sometimes we would also do tapes.
I may have missed the parameters. I'm skewing young probably because my kids are younger than yours. The two I remember most vividly from the time period I'm thinking of are: "Blueberries for Sal" and "Where the Wild Things Are". -Carl
I want to comment on the comments--I'm so grateful for the quick responses and great ideas! It's evident you all have a love of reading.
First, Neil brings up Bozeman because we used to live there. I believe we even visited the lake from the book.
Also, Polly, my girls LOVE the Charlotte's Web cds that you gave us. It's the only "book on tape" we own, and they put it on all the time, at random spots, and just sit and listen. It means so much more to hear it from the author's lips.
Of course, how could I have forgotten the Narnia series (which my boys have gone through several times too), thanks for reminding me. (And what is it about kids that they can listen to/read/watch a book/movie over and over and over and over and over without getting tired?)
When I was around Berkeley's age (or a little younger I guess) I was also enjoying books like A Wrinkle in Time, the Tripods trilogy by John Christopher, and anything by Ursula K. LeGuin (e.g., the Earthsea series and The Lathe of Heaven).
Not sure how apparent it comes out in my own blog (?) but my kids really have come up with a love for reading and being read to, and that's something I've been very grateful for.
I really liked the boxcar children I hear the magic tree house series is also pretty good. At least, that's what Erik says.
I say Andrew Lang's fairy tales would be good for kids. This isn't really a little kid book (but was supidly easy), Leven Thumps. Also I remember a book, I think was called Hitty, about a doll and her various owners and travels. Or for boys, I was about 5 when my mom read Artemis Fowl to me. I 'got it' enough to read it to myself when I was older (and still love it).
I love this great list of books. Thanks for the very useful post!
I have books that come in the mail to Greyson they are for young kids but they sent a link this week to a website for great book ideas for kids of all ages. http://www.readkiddoread.com/home
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