Thursday, April 3, 2014

Recommended Reads: Read-Aloud Chapter Books

It is time for another edition of Tif Recommends!!

Today, I will be sharing with you a list of our favorite chapter books to read aloud.  Since my children were infants, I have read chapter books to them out loud.  Over the years, I have gotten better about using different voices for the characters, even though I often confuse them!  And, now that the kids are older, they even like to participate in the read-aloud as well.  

The following list is the books that have been the biggest hits over the years, both in the enjoyment of reading and in the response from my children.  The books range in level from early chapter books to those that are more complicated.  Without further ado, I give you the top ten favorites . . .


1.  Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

2.  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

3.  The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

4.  The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

5.  Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo

6.  The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

7.  Bunnicula by James Howe

8.  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

9.  The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

10.  The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Which of these chapter books are your favorite?  Do you think I'm missing a favorite?

12 comments:

  1. I'm so glad to have your recommendations! Greyson will be getting to this age soon enough, and I can't wait to read chapter books aloud to him. Bunnicula was one of my favorite books as a kid (the whole series), and given the things he's beginning to show an interest in now, I think he'll love it too!

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    1. Andi ... I've actually been reading chapter books to my kids since they came home from the hospital! Some of them just took a bit longer to get through depending on their ages. IMO, it is never too early!!

      Speaking of Bunnicula, I need to get to the rest of the series. I have never read beyond the first one and I think it would be fun to discover it with my kids!

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  2. Well, we've done five of these together (Oz, Spiderwick, HP, Charlie and Bunnicula) and they've all been successful. We did try a bit of Boxcar but neither Z nor I could get into it at the time.

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    1. Kristen M. ... The Boxcar Children used to be my favorite book as a child! I just loved the idea of living on my own in a boxcar! Unfortunately, I have come to discover that this one is not for all kids. Though I think the mystery part that starts in book 2 would be more appealing to some kids, but they miss out on it by not getting interested with the first one.

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  3. I loved reading the HP books aloud. And the Chronicles of Narnia were the first books my mother ever read aloud to me and my sister -- I was three or so, and those are some of my earliest memories.

    I'd add: Anything by Diana Wynne Jones, when the kids are a bit older, and The Adventures of King Midas by Lynne Reid Banks, one of my all-time favorite reading-aloud books. Oh, and Edward Eager! Edward Eager also -- I read all seven of those books aloud to my sister, and it was great fun for us both.

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    1. Jenny @ Reading the End ... Ohhhh, definitely DWJ someday with my kids. I have loved the few that I have read of her's! (In fact, I'm almost done with Enchanted Glass right now!) I need to check out those other titles though. I have not even heard of those.

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  4. A couple of my faves are The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall and The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder.

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    1. Carol ... I haven't heard of these either! Totally checking them out!!

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  5. Absolutely love these! I wish I had saved my Boxcar Children books- sigh. I'll have to try to recollect them cheap from Amazon or something. Read all of these except Bunnicula. I'll have to check that one out. A comment above mine mentioned The Egypt Game- boy did that bring back memories!

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    1. Kimberly Lynne ... Someday, I hope to own all the Boxcar books myself. I only have the first four I think. I really need to check out The Egypt Game!!

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  6. Love this list! I also want to add Hatchet. It's such a great read aloud, especially for boys. Girls like it, too, but 5th grade boys are really intrigued! Have you read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen before?

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    1. Rebecca LoveAtFirstBook ... I have not read Hatchet, but have heard really good things about it. Adding this one to my list too!

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