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I love to read chapter books aloud to my two boys. Even though my six year old is getting to the point where he can read on his own I still love snuggling up with a good book with my boys on either side of me. It is great bonding time and fun to have...
In the past few years, the staycation has really picked up in popularity. Besides being cheaper than a standard vacation, it’s so much less hassle. Except for one thing; kids will need to be entertained. Movies can only go so far, so here are a whole list of great crafts and activities to do with...
Spread kindness during these unprecedented times. Bringing your community together is more important than ever. Many people could use some help right now, and lending a hand and spreading positivity, you can help neighbors and the community around you feel more connected. Spread kindness during Doing nice acts, even if they may be small, can help...
Hello My Mommy Style readers! I’m so glad to meet you and thrilled for the chance to share a Valentine treat with you today! My name is Michele and I blog at Our Rosey Life. It’s my little space on the internet to share a fun project, a tasty recipe, a funny story, a beautiful...
Post by Cassia: We are so excited to begin our Valentine’s Day round up! We have 10 new blogs that we can’t wait to introduce you to who will be sharing their tips and ideas to make your V-day this year AMAZING!! So be on the look out, we’ll be posting something new every other...
Are you in need of a creative and fun stocking stuffer idea, well look no further! My friend, Stephanie, has a really cute idea to share today. I was thinking of unique and inexpensive party favors for my kids’ train party when I came up with the idea for coal play dough. It also...
Pinwheel cookies are the cutest Christmas treat to make with the kids, and make cheap, easy and DARLING neighborhood Christmas gifts. Click to continue reading…
It’s official! I am THAT girl. You know, the one who listens to Christmas music even BEFORE Thanksgiving! I can’t help it. We’ve been crafting up a storm around here for Christmas, and what’s crafting without Christmas music? Which, ps: I pretty much only craft at Christmas time. Some of my very best memories growing up are of doing kid’s crafts with my mom, and now some of my best mommy memories are crafting with my kids. So, despite my lack of talent, we through all caution to the wind and just have a blast!
To start off, I am so excited about this darling countdown to Christmas calendar I made! Believe me when I say that if I can do it, ANYONE can!! Click to read in full.
I’m Kim. I’m a blogger, a lover of cooking, cleaning, and playing outside. Most days, I would rather be anywhere but inside my house. I prefer adventure. And I have two young kids. Sometimes I feel like the days just drag on with crying, hitting, and my youngest getting into everything he shouldn’t over and...
I am so excited about these paint markers that I found that I had to share them with you guys. If you haven’t heard of them or tried them out with your kids you should! They are spill-proof bottles of paint that have a soft foam applicator that you dab on the paper. No cups...
WELCOME
Hello! I am Camille, a wife, mother of four, Disney obsessed, certified teacher, and reality optimist. Motherhood comes with its ups and downs, and I hope while you're here you'll find something that makes your #momlife easier!
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AS SEEN ON
True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp. A Little Princess.
The Secret in Miranda’s Closet by Sheila Grenwald
How old are your kids? Little Pear is great, The Courage of Sarah Noble, Mr. Poppers Penguins, Tumtum and Nutmeg, Fancy Nancy chapter books and American Girl books. I have almost 4 year old girl and 20 month boy. May be a challenge to find read alouds they both enjoy down the road!
Where The Red Fern Grows
I enjoyed reading this book to my son. Especially in the end. It was a very sad ending, but it was good to see that my son could be affected by the written word.
Anne of Green Gables series was a favorite of my kids!
Can’t leave out “My Father’s Dragon” by Ruth Stiles Gannett! Kids love that three-book series! Also any of the Junior Classics for Young Readers – if you really want a fun one to do the voices, try Treasure Island!
My 4 year old daughter and I are reading round 2 of Ella Enchanted… but don’t make the mistake of trying to watch the movie. A great girl power spin on an old fairy tale.
Another great one is The Prince of the Pond by Joanna Napoli. I remember this one from 4th grade and bought it for myself with my first paycheck after I turned 18. Still one of my favorite stories. 😀
Thank you for this excellent list! This includes many of my favorites. I have 5 children ages 12, 10, 8, 8, and 4. The youngest doesn’t always get as much out of reading together as the rest, but to this day their favorite 2 books we’ve read aloud are “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again” by Frank Cottrell Boyce and “The Magician’s Elephant” by Katie DiCamillo. Thought I’d mention them, since I didn’t see them on there. Anything by Roald Dahl or J.K. Rowling is pretty high up on their list of favorites as well.
Junie B Jones, the Fudge Series by Judy Blume, James & the Giant Peach, Boxcar Children, Homer Price have been our favorites so far (son just turned 6). Thanks for the new ones to add to our list!!
Where the Red Fern Grows
and The Education of Little Tree.
There’s a number on there we have read (my boys are six and four) and many we haven’t that I will be getting hold of. Some other ideas, that we have been reading: the Faraway Tree series, Secret Seven and Famous Five, all by Enid Blyton; The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy Boston; The String Family by Patricia Cleveland, My Naughty Little Sister and the Tales of Joe and Timothy by Dorothy Edwards, the Melendy books by Elizabeth Enright.
One Thousand and One Nights (AKA Arabian Nights)
Great list! I still read read to my boys and they are 10 and 14. It’s such a great opportunity to bond with your kids over a good book and then discuss it afterwards. Love it!
–Leah @ http://www.fabulousfarmgirl.com
Love this list! I’m pleased that I have some of them already but it never occurred to me to read them to my little guy already. Thanks for sharing this. You have inspired me to write about reading with my little boy. 🙂
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende! My parents read it to me when I was 4 and it is still one of my favorite books ever!
The Secret Garden andThe Last of the Great Wangdoodles wasn’t mentioned. I loved reading some of these books you listed as a child.
You guys are awesome! Thanks for sharing some of your favorite books with me! You are reminding me of so many books that I loved as a child and forgot about. Keep the suggestions coming!
I’m 16 and love to read…..I remember I read American Girl books and the Dear America series in 3rd grade and would go to the library all the time. The Littles, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Caddie Woodlawn, Number the Stars, Because of Winn Dixie, Tuck Everlasting, Runaway Emily, A Wrinkle in Time…..the list goes on and on and on
Wish for suggested ages for these!! We read thru several when our kiddo was 5, but ‘The Tale of Desperaux’ was TOO MUCH – the mom drowning in her soup scarred my son deeply. It took months to undo the damage!! (Great story – just not for that age – I wish someone had told me!)
So good to know about the Tale of Despereaux! I have had it recommended to me, so that is why it made the list. I made this list with 4-8 year olds in mind.
I read The Tale of Desperaux to my 5 and 7 year olds and was worried at certain parts that it would be too much for them (they are both pretty sensitive!), but they absolutely LOVED it and said it was the best book we’d ever read! But, they couldn’t make it through Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – that terrified them! Go figure. 🙂 So hard to know how stories will affect individual children!
I teach second grade and most of the books you listed are on my bookshelf in my classroom. My favorite childhood series were Little House on the Prairie, The Babysitters Club, & Anne of Green Gables. A new series I’ve discovered as an adult is the Clementine series – I read it out loud to my class for the first time and found myself laughing out loud more often than they did. I also enjoyed Lulu and the Brontosaurus – it provides lots of dramatic demonstrations opportunities! Thanks for sharing your list – I’m inspired to start a new read with my class next week!
The Wind in the Willows, Inkheart, The Secret Garden; and if you can find it The Stray by Dick King Smith is an amazing book! Also, for older kids, Fig Pudding by Ralph J. Fletcher is really good. It does have the death of a family member in it, but it is a beautiful story and deals with grief very well; rare in a children’s story.
Love some of these! I’m a 1st grade teacher, currently reading Sideways Stories From Wayside School and my kids are laughing hysterically! I would really recommend the Magic Tree House series. Another funny series that I’ve used before is the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series. As a kid, I know that my mom read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe to me. For slightly older kid, some of the Bruce Coville books like Jennifer Murgley’s Toad or Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher are great!
A top that I’ve read for people with children spread out in age is to read art the oldest child’s level. They are the most likely to get bored.
One I read to my classes is Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate diCamillo, SO SO much better than the movie!
I think they’re mostly out of print but the All of a Kind Family series was one of my favorites.
I ADORE the All of A a kind Family books!! Read them over and over and over…
We had two All of Kind Family books growing up, and I loved them! I need to ask my mom if she still has them…!
My 4 year old and I loved Betsy-Tacy 🙂 The second one, Betsy-Tacy and Tib, was good, too. But I heard the next one was when the kids are in High School, so that’ll probably need to wait few years. We are enjoying a Katie Kazoo Switcheroo book right now. We’ll be checking out a new one from the library soon!
Great list. Another book my boys loved is The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall. We’re currently all enjoying Flora and Ulysses by Katie DiCamillo. This book begs to be read aloud!
Wolf Story, Jenny and the Cat Club
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. 8 year old and up
Love, love, love it!!
The Penderwicks, Trixie Belden series, The Little House series, Depend on Katie John by Mary Calhoun, and the Santa Paws series by Nicholas Edwards are all wonderful books for younger kids. I also enjoyed the Bobbsey twins when I could find that series.
I love Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. A childhood favorite that I have read to my kids and my students every year. A must read. There are 3 in the series but the first is my favorite!
Anything by Kate DiCamillio is a wonderful read aloud. I teach 3rd grade and my students all love the stories. But they are not Disney style endings- or middles- or beginnings. They have real emotions which I think most 3rd graders appreciate. That said, you NEED to read your books ahead of time. Don’t ever let it be in front of the kids as your first read. This will save you awkward cover ups for fowl language, or images or themes that they aren’t ready for. I also love Carl Hiaasen young adult books, and M.T. Anderson- for silliness.
One of the very best read aloud books I read to my kids was The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick–my kids could hardly stand to wait to read the next chapter. We would study the drawings to really capture the happenings in the story. Years later the movie came out and we all enjoyed watching our favorite book adapted to that medium.
The White Giraffe series is amazing. White Giraffe, Dolphin Song, The Last Leopard, & The Elephants Tale.
Peter Pan is not written by Bobby Driscol. The story was created by J. M. Barrie. Driscol was the voice actor for the Disney cartoon. And you linked it to the movie, not to a read aloud book. Otherwise great list, I would add Winnie the Pooh 😀
What an amazing list!! I remember reading some of these as a kid and my kids already have and have read a bunch of these as well. So glad I kept some of my book collections as a kid to pass on to mine. Oh, a great book to add to your list (my absolute favorite) Where The Red Fern Grows. LOVE it!
The Magic series by Edward Eager were my FAVORITE when I was a kid. Also, I’m glad to see so much Roald Dahl on this list 🙂
The Last of the Really Great wangdoodles! My students love it!
Phyllis Reynolds naylor has a series about Alice McKinley! They are awesome!!!!
This is a fantastic list. Thank you for the post! For the past few weeks my partner and I have been reading our 6 year old the first book of the Harry Potter series – which we were disappointed to have not seen on your list! While we weren’t sure he would be able to grasp the complexities of the novel, to our astonishment and utter delight he has! Not only does he follow me around the house daily asking if we can read more, he has infinitely impressed us with his comprehensive understanding of the story and it’s characters. I avidly agree that it is imperative to not underestimate our kids and recommend the HP series for your little ones!
One that is often missed, but shouldn’t be, is The Last of the Really Great Wangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards. It is a wonderful read aloud with colorful imagery and great characters.
My absolute favorite is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It’s a beautiful story and adults learn from it as well!
Another that I read as a kid and still remember to this day is The Bridge to Terebithia. Heartbreaking, but really good.
Wonder by: R.J Palacio, I read it with my nine year old son, It is an amazing book. A must read.
My mom read so many of these as I eas growing up, some of my favorite memories. I can’t wait to read them to my own one day.
Great for 7 – 9 year olds as read alouds–The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop and Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright. These are both adventure type books that both boys and girls enjoy. They both have sequals when your kids ask for more! I always read to our kids on car rides and all three of my children love reading and were identified as “gifted” in school. This sounds terrible but I don’t think they were as gifted as they were “prepared” with a rich vocabulary and experiences. They are now adults and still prolific readers. Talk with your kids!!
A lot of wonderful books have been mentioned. These aren’t for really young kids, but I also loved reading Maniac Magee, Savvy, Remarkable, and the Giver to my kids. Love A Wrinkle in Time too, but I’m not sure my kids were ready for it.
Awww, I love Wrinkle in time too! You can check out our “read aloud” chapter books post that you might enjoy as well! 🙂 Thanks for the input we’ll add them to the list!
Great list! My 4 year old son and I have read several of these this summer and we can’t wait to go the the library to check out more of your suggestions. Others we have read, that aren’t on your list, include My Father’s Dragon and Doctor Doolittle. He loved both of these. Thanks for the great suggestions!
Mary Poppins is just so wonderful! I read it to my precocious three and a half year old, and he was riveted. Still talks about it now that he is six. Vivid imagery and appreciation for the plasticity of imagination/real world play when very young.
Gone Away Lake and Return to Gone Away by Elizabeth Enright are excellent reads as well. The main characters are a boy and a girl (cousins). They find a ghost town and basically make it their go to place. It’s such a fun story.
I agree with Tiffany-The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is phenomenal!!! My daughter & second graders LOVED this book!!!
So many great books already listed! Adding the following that my children loved when 4-10. The Freddy Books by Walter R. Brooks; The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede’s; Childhood of Famous America Series; Misty of Chincoteague and anything else written by Marguerite Henry; The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster; A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck; The Pony Pals series by Jeanne Betancourt; Pippi Longstockings; and the Cherry Ames series by Helen Wells
Page- I have read The Phantom Tollbooth to my kids too and I have loved as they did since I was young. It’s fun and challenging for the person reading it too. Great list. Thank you all for sharing!
What about for an 18 month old? We read lots of books and at bedtime she loves to snuggle up and listen to longer stories. We read Dr. Seuss’ Sleep Book almost every night. I’d love to broaden our horizons a bit!
Stephanie,
That’s a great question! 18 months old is still too little for chapter books, but really any picture book is great. My kids have all loved Sandra Boynton books. They are silly and cute and they might even have you giggling a little. We have also really like “If you give a…” books. Like “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie” and “If You Give a Pig a Pancake.”
I don’t see any books on that list that are culturally diverse.
Thank you for making this list! I have read some of these to my 7,6, and 4 year old but i found interesting titles I’m sure my kids will want to explore! The one book we are currently on is Stuart Little. am i reading this book wrong? I had never read Stuart Little but have seen the movies and knew of the books. My son picked it out since it was his turn and i was more than excited. EB White has been one of our favorites and have read Charlotte’s Webb Five times, however This book seemed to have run on sentences and the chapters were more of a random collections of things Stuart has done in his life. ON the last chapter my son asked me to move on that he didn’t want to read it and even though i was secretly glad i was also very disappointed. My daughters also said they didn’t enjoy the book.
I’m really impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing, its rare to see a great blog like this one these days.. deabbddadgcdecdb
We are reading through the Heartwood Hotel series right now and it is adorable. Very feel good and appropriate for any age, I am reading to my 8, 6, and 2 yr old.
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