Yesterday I pulled together a list of books I've read over the years with my child. You can read it here: A Beginning List of Books to Read Aloud
Since that time, other titles have sprung into my mind.
The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo
I love this story. It has a moment where Despereaux is banished to the basement (where the rats live) by his family, my son wept. It is that moving.
(Note: good thing he doesn't read my blog because he wouldn't approve of me putting that in here. But it is truth)
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien
What is better than some Tolkien? The Hobbit is a great start for younger kids as well. I've always thought of the Hobbit as more of a child's story, whereas the trilogy is for older readers.
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
I will admit that this one wasn't as much of a hit. I think it will be good to revisit it as the boy gets older. We read when he was a 7th grader and he stumbled on sorting all the characters out. Everyone has several names. My late elementary aged nieces have both read and really enjoyed the trilogy however. The high point is trying to read aloud the poems in elvish. I have an audio recording of Tolkien reading some poems, he does a much better job of it all then I did. Another high point is meeting Tom Bombadil, one of my favorite characters in literature.
Here is a nice clip of Tolkien reading Namárië
Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry
Mafatu is a young Pacific Islander who runs away because he is afraid of the sea and feels that he is a shame to his father. He is shipwrecked on another island where he deals with a shark, a wild boar, an octopus and cannibals, he develops courage from these encounters and returns home to his father.
Holes by Louis Sachar
This book is great! Read it.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
The neat part of this book is that within the 500 some pages are about 250 pages of drawings. The story is told through the written words and drawings. The drawings are awesome. They are the best part of the book.
The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
Do you know about the great glass sea snail? This book is adventure, adventure, adventure and fun. It is one of the first Newbery Award winners as well (1922).
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
I loved this book when I was young, and enjoyed sharing it with my child. If you were going to run away, wouldn't a great place to run to be the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City? Claudia wants to run away because she wants her life to feel differently. It has many interesting things to ponder while reading it.
I will note that this book was written in 1967. Security measures etc. have improved since then. My middle elementary aged child (age when we read this) had a hard time suspending some of his questions on how the children wouldn't be discovered with alarms and lasers etc.
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
This was one of the boys favorites. We had a good run of the survivalist, outdoorsy books such as this one and Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.
Some other picture books that were on heavy rotation in our house were:
Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
This was such a hit that the corner was chewed on. We had the board book version. My son loved it. You can look for the mouse and the balloon in each picture. There is a picture of two eyes in the dark that he hated and would flip past very quickly. Spooky.
Verdi by Janell Cannon
We both love this one. We love the pictures as well as the story. We are also fans of her other book:
Stellaluna
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
My son loved this book when he was very young. Parts of it creeped me out.
Tikki Tikki Tembo retold by Arlene Mosel
When I was growing up I loved this story, and this is one that drove my mother nuts!
What do you Say Dear? by Sesyle Joslin and illustrations by Maurice Sendak
I love this book. A fun book on manners.
Ferdinand the Bull by Robert Lawson
I love this one so much I wrote about it here: Pacifist Bulls and Wee Gillis
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
I love this book!
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren
Another book I previously blogged about: "Winters come and winters go, Summers come and summers go"...Soothing words of the Tomten
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
Tuesday by David Wiesner
A wordless story with amazing illustrations.
The Napping House by Audrey Wood
This has some beautiful illustrations. The thing I don't like is that at one point a mouse crawls on them when they are in bed. That hits too close to home for me, however I still like the book.
Some of my favorite fairy tales:
Rapunzel illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Rumpelstiltskin illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Hansel and Gretel illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Jack and the Beanstalk retold and illustrated by Steven Kellogg
I prefer this version by E. Nesbit (but the child liked the one above better)
Jack and the Beanstalk by E. Nesbit
Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault
There were several books that my child loved that I quickly tired of, or didn't want to read often. Sometimes I may have even hid them. Today I asked him what were some books he remembers that we used to read together, of course some of these titles were the ones he mentioned.
(I need to note that the following are GREAT book, I just would tire of reading them aloud.)
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don Wood
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
This book, really...I just can't...
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
Another one I just can't do.
Any and all Curious George books by Margret and H.A. Rey
My brother-in-law says that the man in the yellow hat is one of the most irresponsible characters in all of literature. True.
The Story of Ping by Marjorie Flack
Lastly, Henny Penny by Paul Galdone
I love Paul Galdone's books and blogged about them here: Celebration of Paul Galdone - Folk Tales & Fairy Tales
He has some highly recommended folk and fairy tales that are great to read. I just dislike Henny Penny and rooted for Foxy Loxy in this story.
Since that time, other titles have sprung into my mind.
The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo
I love this story. It has a moment where Despereaux is banished to the basement (where the rats live) by his family, my son wept. It is that moving.
(Note: good thing he doesn't read my blog because he wouldn't approve of me putting that in here. But it is truth)
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien
What is better than some Tolkien? The Hobbit is a great start for younger kids as well. I've always thought of the Hobbit as more of a child's story, whereas the trilogy is for older readers.
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
I will admit that this one wasn't as much of a hit. I think it will be good to revisit it as the boy gets older. We read when he was a 7th grader and he stumbled on sorting all the characters out. Everyone has several names. My late elementary aged nieces have both read and really enjoyed the trilogy however. The high point is trying to read aloud the poems in elvish. I have an audio recording of Tolkien reading some poems, he does a much better job of it all then I did. Another high point is meeting Tom Bombadil, one of my favorite characters in literature.
Here is a nice clip of Tolkien reading Namárië
*******************
Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry
Mafatu is a young Pacific Islander who runs away because he is afraid of the sea and feels that he is a shame to his father. He is shipwrecked on another island where he deals with a shark, a wild boar, an octopus and cannibals, he develops courage from these encounters and returns home to his father.
Holes by Louis Sachar
This book is great! Read it.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
The neat part of this book is that within the 500 some pages are about 250 pages of drawings. The story is told through the written words and drawings. The drawings are awesome. They are the best part of the book.
The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
Do you know about the great glass sea snail? This book is adventure, adventure, adventure and fun. It is one of the first Newbery Award winners as well (1922).
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
I loved this book when I was young, and enjoyed sharing it with my child. If you were going to run away, wouldn't a great place to run to be the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City? Claudia wants to run away because she wants her life to feel differently. It has many interesting things to ponder while reading it.
I will note that this book was written in 1967. Security measures etc. have improved since then. My middle elementary aged child (age when we read this) had a hard time suspending some of his questions on how the children wouldn't be discovered with alarms and lasers etc.
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
This was one of the boys favorites. We had a good run of the survivalist, outdoorsy books such as this one and Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.
Some other picture books that were on heavy rotation in our house were:
Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
This was such a hit that the corner was chewed on. We had the board book version. My son loved it. You can look for the mouse and the balloon in each picture. There is a picture of two eyes in the dark that he hated and would flip past very quickly. Spooky.
Verdi by Janell Cannon
We both love this one. We love the pictures as well as the story. We are also fans of her other book:
Stellaluna
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
My son loved this book when he was very young. Parts of it creeped me out.
Tikki Tikki Tembo retold by Arlene Mosel
When I was growing up I loved this story, and this is one that drove my mother nuts!
What do you Say Dear? by Sesyle Joslin and illustrations by Maurice Sendak
I love this book. A fun book on manners.
Ferdinand the Bull by Robert Lawson
I love this one so much I wrote about it here: Pacifist Bulls and Wee Gillis
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
I love this book!
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren
Another book I previously blogged about: "Winters come and winters go, Summers come and summers go"...Soothing words of the Tomten
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
Tuesday by David Wiesner
A wordless story with amazing illustrations.
The Napping House by Audrey Wood
This has some beautiful illustrations. The thing I don't like is that at one point a mouse crawls on them when they are in bed. That hits too close to home for me, however I still like the book.
Some of my favorite fairy tales:
Rapunzel illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Rumpelstiltskin illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Hansel and Gretel illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Jack and the Beanstalk retold and illustrated by Steven Kellogg
I prefer this version by E. Nesbit (but the child liked the one above better)
Jack and the Beanstalk by E. Nesbit
Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault
There were several books that my child loved that I quickly tired of, or didn't want to read often. Sometimes I may have even hid them. Today I asked him what were some books he remembers that we used to read together, of course some of these titles were the ones he mentioned.
(I need to note that the following are GREAT book, I just would tire of reading them aloud.)
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don Wood
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
This book, really...I just can't...
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
Another one I just can't do.
Any and all Curious George books by Margret and H.A. Rey
My brother-in-law says that the man in the yellow hat is one of the most irresponsible characters in all of literature. True.
The Story of Ping by Marjorie Flack
Lastly, Henny Penny by Paul Galdone
I love Paul Galdone's books and blogged about them here: Celebration of Paul Galdone - Folk Tales & Fairy Tales
He has some highly recommended folk and fairy tales that are great to read. I just dislike Henny Penny and rooted for Foxy Loxy in this story.
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