Posted on 06/19/2008 7:10:37 PM PDT by incredulous joe
FReeps have such great taste! So, I thought I would put this out there.
One of my favorite things to do during the summer months is read to my children before they go to sleep. Actually, I do this year round, but particularly enjoy reading to them during the summer months. At times we get carried away with some of the great childrens lit available ~ with Mom finally coming up tho the bedrooms at 10:30 to shut down the evening's activities. At which point we may have to get real quiet and me straining my eyes.
Its great to have a book that you cant put down and not have to get up for school the following day!
As the kids have gotten older Ive found that there is a lot of great stuff out there that we can read.
I thought that I would ask my FReeper friends what they may have read with their kids or grandkids and really enjoyed ~ thought funny or profound.
My son will be 10 and my little girl is going to be 7 soon. Theyre interested in a lot of different things, but its sort of a key to meet somewhere in between with them on the stories that we read. My son could go for a steady diet of military stories and C.S Lewis books, but my daughter does not particularly favor those, though she will listen in.
Here are a few that were very much enjoyed;
Flush by Carl Hiasson
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamilo
The House of 60 Fathers by Meindert De Jong
Redwall by Brian Jacques
What do you recommend?
Inconceivable.
“You keep using that word. I do not think it means, what you think it means.”
And this one: No more rhymes now, I mean it ! Anybody want a peanut?
He blurts these out at random then cracks up laughing. My kids just look at him and walk away.
Hatchet (and everything else by Gary Paulsen), Gregor the overlander series, The ranger's aprentice, Potter, Eragon, The Pigman, lord of the Flies, The Pearl, The Old man and the sea, Stuff by Emily Rodda, RA Salvatore, The Powder monkey, The printer's devil, funny stories by Patrick Mc manus.
I will go in his room tomorrow and look through his shelves.
Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons books—british children camping and sailing in their summer holidays.
T.H. White’s The Sword in the Stone
—tkoed
From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (personal fav)
The Borrowers
Stuart Little
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Tom Sawyer
Black Beauty
The last of the Mohicans
The legend of Sleepy Hallow
The Black Stallion
The Count of Monte Cristo
10,000 leagues under the sea
National Velvet
Robin Hood
King Arthur
Little Women
The Little Princess
The Narnia Books, but that's a given.
The Herriot series about his days as a vet: All Things Bright and Beautiful. Great stories about Animals, sick animals, a bit of romance thrown in, and great dialog.
Some great recommends...
I would like to add a few.
Picture books:
Skippyjon Jones
Princess Pigsty
Stinky Bill
Younger readers:
Magic Tree House
Junie B Jones
Secret Agent Jack Stalwart
Older readers:
Percy Jackson by Riordan
Ranger’s Apprentice by Flanagan
Icemark Chronicles by Hill
Young Adult:
Alfred Kropp
Anything by David Eddings
We have loved the Sisters Grimm series written by Michael Buckley. Also Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry is really good(it is the story of Peter Pan before he becomes Peter Pan). Lois Lowry has several good books, but the best one is Number the Stars. It is about a Jewish girl that is in hiding and is separated from her family. She also wrote “The Giver.” This talks about a community and how the children are divided by abilities and assigned jobs. It shows communism at it’s finest in a way that a 8-10 year old can grasp it. Lowry’s books are a little darker but they do hold your attention.
If he likes historical fiction “Across Five Aprils” is really good. It is on the civil war and how one family is divided.
Thanks for the ping. I love this thread. :) I have been trying to determine what books I’ll be reading to my 4th graders next school year...groan, there are so many good ones, I’m having a hard time.
I would say go back to the classics.....
“Paddle to the Sea” by by Holling C Holling and also “The Tree in The Trail” will both be very enjoyable to a 10 year old.
For the son, “The Flamingo Feather” by Kirk Monro is a great tale of a boys adventure and dead on authentic American history.
And lastly, Richard Haliburton’s “Book Of Marvels” is timeless as he visits the really great places in the world.
Sorry, last time to reply, I promise. But my 3rd and 4th graders loved the Spiderwick Chronicles series as well. Also, the Lemony Snicket series are good for vocabulary building.
In a year or two, make sure to read to them ANimal FArm. My oldest daughter read it in fifth grade, at home not at school, and loved it. As a freeper, this is a good start into deep political talk. :)
I keep finding my kids hiding in corners (and bathrooms - and there are 10 of us :-) with books, when they’re supposed to be outside doing Exertion. Fortunately, the two oldest boys are going to Boy Scout camp next week.
Because they all secretly want to be pirates and marry a gorgeous blonde with much prettier clothes than I get to wear. (My 14-year-old just turned up and mumbled, "Well, I didn't like it that much ...". He's offended by the concept of girls.)
My 4th grade teacher read this to our class too, 33 years ago.
Well, that explains another phenomenon.
Dh discovered the “Pirates of the Caribbean Online” game. Some nights he must stay up ‘till 2 am playing that thing.
Husbands really love it when their wives will play that kind of online game together with them. You might give it a try if you’ve got more than one computer :)
The Princess Bride is just such a great movie and book, I’m suspicious if someone isn’t captivated by it. I mean, it’s got True Love *and* Rodents of Unusual Size. That’s hard to beat.
Oh, I’m glad we haven’t mentioned this to our sons ... but we have a “Pirates” game for the PC that they all play: husband, daughter, and two sons. The kids insist that it’s “social studies”!
honestly? do you remember her name?
“My Side of the Mountain”, if you can trust your ten year old not to run off into the woods- he will be tempted.
” The Finch’s Fabulous Furnace”, out of print, but well worth looking for.
I definitely second all those who reccomended “The Indian in the Cupboard”- it’s an imagination catchng book.
“Call it Courage” by Armstrong Sperry, great book about a Pacific island boy alone in the ocean.
“Otto of the Silver Hand” by Howard Pyle, invaluable if you want your children to grow up with a love for medieval history.
“Hiawatha” is a great read aloud poem- poetry should not be an overlooked resource.
“The Trumpeter of Krakow”, another great historical novel for children.
“Dealing with Dragons” by Patricia Wrede, great light fantasy for kids- first in a series.
Dick King Smith’s Sophie novellas, for the seven year old- especially if she has any 4H inclinations.
The lesser known Dahl’s- The Fantastic Mr Fox, Danny the Champion of the World- great stuff.
And don’t neglect the classics- Heinlein Juveniles!
:D
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.