Classic children's novels to read aloud

[Caryl]

This question was inspired by Lisa Jo's posts about reading classics aloud to her son:

What books have you read, or do you look forward to reading, with your daughter(s) and/or son(s)? Did either of your parents read aloud to you?

Here are some of the books I remember my mom reading aloud to us:

~ The Boxcar Children
~ Mandy by Julie Edwards
~ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

I just checked my shelf, and there are a bunch I'd love to read with Charon. I'll be back later to post a little list. http://www.storknet.com/boards/smile.gif

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Caryl
Mom to Charon, 7/19/99
Co-Moderator for the Reading Circle and Heart of the Home Forums
"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."
--Annie Dillard

[H'OHara]

what a great idea. My son has the Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe series. I forgot all about the Boxcar Children though.

[HunnyBunny]

Oh my -- I'd totally forgotten about The Boxcar Children! I loved those books!!!

Did anyone else read The Great Brain series when they were kids? I loved those too.

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Laura (36)
DH Dave (41)
Charles James (Charlie/CJ) due 10/2/02!!!

[Caryl]

I remember The Great Brain, Laura. They were fun!

One more that my mom read to us was Charlotte's Web.

Here is the list of books on my shelf that I'm saving to read with Charon:

~ A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
~ Number the Stars and The Giver by Lois Lowry
~ Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
~ Catherine, Called Birdy and The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
~ Homecoming and Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt
~ The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
~ The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

And, of course, all of the Harry Potter books! http://www.storknet.com/boards/smile.gif

Caryl

[hollym]

i don't have children (except for the 140 i teach at school), but i have some favorites. i teach 7th grade, but they still love to go back to their early childhood.

-all the winnie the pooh books by a.a.milne (the older you are, the better you understand it)
-the giver by lois lowry
-the outsiders by s.e.hinton
-something upstairs by avi
-little women by louisa may alcott
-anne of green gables by lucy maud montgomery

i remember my parents reading some of these to me even when i was in high school. i love to revisit these books. they are old friends.

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holly (31)
married to jeff(34) since 1993
TTC #1 since 1995
mc 2000
mc 2002

[hollym]

oh, yeah. i must add:

-tales of a fourth grade nothing by judy blume
-anything by beverly cleary
-stuart little
-the katie john books (i can't remember the author though)

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holly (31)
married to jeff(34) since 1993
TTC #1 since 1995
mc 2000
mc 2002

[Elisabeth]

Hi ladies I thought I would join you. My baby son is 15 weeks and I am now just finding 10 or 15 minutes here and there to snatch some much missed reading time. I managed 45 minutes last night (ah bliss!)

As a child I loved the Enid Blyton books, The Famous Five, The Secret Seven so when Shakil is a little older I will have as much fun reading these again as he will the first time round. My husband bought a set of classics just recently which we will start to read shortly, Treasure Island, Black Beauty, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz (we are doing really cutesy type stories at the moment, Benjamin the Lonely Dragon, Russian Fairy Tales).

[SusanH]

Oh, there are so many books I want to share with my children! Some of them are already listed, but here are a few more off the top of my head:

~ The Secret Garden and A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
~ The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper
~ The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
OK, I can't actually remember anything about this book except that I adored it. So partly I'm just curious to find out what the plot was. http://www.storknet.com/boards/wink.gif
~ The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
~ Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
~ Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
~ From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E.` Franweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

There are so many more, I could be here all day!

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Susan, proud mama of Susanna Jane (http://users.adelphia.net/~harkavy/), 2/3/00 * at the park (http://users.adelphia.net/~harkavy/maypark.html) * "I sleepy!" (http://users.adelphia.net/~harkavy/sleepy.html)
Co-moderator of Attachment Parenting
Having kids is great, Apu! You can teach them to hate the things you hate, and they practically raise themselves, what with the Internet and all. - Homer Simpson

[Caryl]

We are coming up with a great list here!

Hey, fellow teacher Holly! http://www.storknet.com/boards/cool.gif I taught 7th grade English before having Charon. The Outsiders is the first novel I'd read with them each year. Great book!

I thought of another one: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

Caryl

[Lisa Jo]

My son is 9 so we have done a lot of reading over the years. He reads a ton on his own (examples include all the Boxcar Children books, The Trumpet of the Swan, Harry Potter, Hardy Boys, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Stuart Little, plus loads of trash books like Animorphs). A far from inclusive list of books that I have read to him:

* All the Beverly Cleary books involving Henry Huggins, Ramona Quimby, or Ralph Mouse (there are about 10)
* First two Little House on the Prairie books
* First three Chronicles of Narnia books (he read more after that)
* All the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books (which he adored and re-read many times)
* The Cricket in Times Square

Others I want to read to him, though he could easily read them on his own:

Charlotte's Web
Wind in the Willows
The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
Anne of Green Gables
Black Beauty
The Call of the Wild
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Harriet the Spy
all the original Winnie the Pooh books
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Watership Down

Ah, isn't it wonderful rediscovering and sharing old favorites with your kids?! http://www.storknet.com/boards/biggrin.gif

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Lisa
My two precious kids:
Corey - April 1993
Natalie - June 2000
Watering the blueberries (http://www.babiesonline.com/imagegallery/gallery_image.asp?p=%2Fbabies%2Fn%2Fnatalieelizabe th%2F974729%2Ejpg)
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[hollym]

caryl,

the little prince is one of the most comforting books i have ever read. all the times when i get down, i read it and realize that my life has meaning. it is such a wonderful book.

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holly (31)
married to jeff(34) since 1993
TTC #1 since 1995
mc 2000
mc 2002

[Mojo]

~Lurking~
Anybody ever read the book "Neverending Story".....it's far more amazing than the movies could ever be. I still love reading it.

[Bettie]

Great List, it's easy to forget how many great books are out there.

Where the Red Fern Grows
Hedi
Summer of My German Solider
Killing Mr. Griffen(I think that's right)
Summer of Monkeys

I could be wrong on some of these titles, it has been a while. I love some of the books mentioned above but I think A Wrinkle In Time is a fantastic book! I can't wait to read that to the kids. We are working on Harry Potter right now. I have also read Freckle Juice, Frog Soup and Bug's Breath, and Charlotte's Web.

[MiMiToby]

Pippi Longstocking and Pippi Goes on Board
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Bridge to Teribithia
A Taste of Blackberries
Bunnicula and all the sequels
The Polar Express (make sure you get the bell!)
Indian in the Cupboard and all the sequels

[Caryl]

So many fond memories are coming back as I read over this list we're creating. http://www.storknet.com/boards/smile.gif I forgot about the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books. I adored those!

Has anyone read The Princess Bride? I haven't, but I bet that would be a fun one.

Caryl

[Corrie]

My younger sisters (7/8th grade) have enjoyed reading J.R.R. Tolikien's The Hobbit

Corrie

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Coralee 3.25.79
DH Jeremy 12.17.79
Married 6.1.02
EDD around 4.1.03

[rebeccav]

One year for Christmas I got a leather-bound copy of the original "Alice in Wonderland". I loved the story, especially since the only version I'd seen was the Disney animated version. Excellent book to read to children.

I agree, Caryl, "The Princess Bride" would be an excellent story! We own the movie, DH and I love it so much, and I have often wondered where I could get the book!

I also have Kipling's "The Jungle Book and Other Short Stories", which I may read to DS as he gets older.

Did anyone read "My Side of the Mountain"? My 5th grade teacher read it to us and I always loved the independence and self-reliance of the character in that story.

Edited to say, I just realized someone just mentioned "Mr. Popper's Penguins"!! What a great story, that just brought back a FLOOD of memories!

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Rebecca (27)
DH (27)
DS Devon Michael 12/06/99
and a Baby Girl EDD 12/06/02 Camryn Laurie
Co-moderator, SC4

[This message has been edited by rebeccav (edited 09-09-2002).]

[SusanH]

I've read The Princess Bride and love it! I highly recommend it for fans of the movie. The introduction and the first chapter are both wonderful. It actually has some parts that are really best for adults (more entertaining to adults, at least), but you could read an edited version of it to your kids.

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Susan, proud mama of Susanna Jane (http://users.adelphia.net/~harkavy/), 2/3/00 * at the park (http://users.adelphia.net/~harkavy/maypark.html) * "I sleepy!" (http://users.adelphia.net/~harkavy/sleepy.html)
Co-moderator of Attachment Parenting
Out with the jive, in with the love. - Mr. Burns

[Lisa Jo]

I just thought of another series I loved as a kid that would be great read-alouds: Paddington Bear. Anyone else remember those? http://www.storknet.com/boards/smile.gif

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Lisa
My two precious kids:
Corey - April 1993
Natalie - June 2000
Watering the blueberries (http://www.babiesonline.com/imagegallery/gallery_image.asp?p=%2Fbabies%2Fn%2Fnatalieelizabe th%2F974729%2Ejpg)
Bathing beauty (http://www.babiesonline.com/imagegallery/gallery_image.asp?p=%2Fbabies%2Fn%2Fnatalieelizabe th%2F974730%2Ejpg)

Moderator, Product Opinion/Review

[miche]

Did anyone mention The Wind in the Willows yet?

Also there is Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott. I liked that better than Little Women when I was a kid. I loved that and The Secret Garden and The Little Princess - which have both been mentioned before. http://www.storknet.com/boards/smile.gif

Also the Little House on the Prairie series.

And a whole bunch that Susan especially already mentioned http://www.storknet.com/boards/smile.gif

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Miche
Mommy to Thomas Joseph (Tommy), 6/30/99 and Sean Emery, 9/1/01
My StorkNet Pregnancy Journal (http://www.storknet.com/journals/michelle/)

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