Books to Read Aloud (Expanded Version, 2009)

 

 

Ramona the Pest

Henry Huggins

The Mouse and the Motorcycle

j CLEARY

Ramona meets a lot of interesting people in kindergarten, including Davy, whom she wants to kiss, and Susan, whose springy curls beg to be pulled.

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread

j DICAMILLO

When Despereaux, a small mouse of unusual talents, falls in love with a human princess, he is banished to the rat-filled dungeon.

The Random House Book of Fairy Tales

j398.21 E33r

This collection includes 19 of the greatest fairy tales of all time.

Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon

j GANNETT

A compilation of tales that relates the fantastic adventures of Elmer Elevator and a baby flying dragon named Boris.

Anansi and the Magic Stick

jE KIMMEL

Anansi the Spider steals Hyena’s magic stick so he won’t have to do the chores, but when the magic stick won’t stop, Anansi gets more than he bargained for.

Pippi Longstocking

J LINDGREN

Frog and Toad Are Friends

jE LOBEL

Funny, simply-told stories reflect Frog and Toad’s warm friendship.

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle

J MACDONALD

Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile

j398.2 P343m 2003

A Liberian folktale describes how Mrs. Chicken cleverly convinces a hungry crocodile not to eat her.

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

j PINKNEY

A courageous mongoose thwarts the evil plans of Nag and Nagaina, two big black cobras who live in the garden.

Charlotte’s Web

J WHITE

Little House in the Big Woods (series)

J WILDER

All Creatures Great and Small (series)

636.089 H56a

Tuck Everlasting

j BABBIT, y BABBIT

Ten-year-old Winnie Foster befriends a family that accidentally finds the secret to living forever. Winnie realizes she must protect their secret from an intrusive stranger.

Caddie Woodlawn

J BRINK

Freddy the Pig (series)

j BROOKS

The Secret Garden

The Little Princess

J BURNETT

Frindle

j CLEMENTS

Is it possible for a boy to make up a word out of thin air and convince the whole world to use it in conversation?

Sahara Special

j CODELL

Sahara has struggled in school but gets a fresh start with a new and unique teacher who recognizes the individuality of all her students.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

James and the Giant Peach

The BFG

Danny the Champion of the World

j DAHL

Mandy

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles

J EDWARDS

Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices

j811.5 F596j

A collection of poems about insects designed to be read aloud in duet.

The Great Brain (series)

J FITZGERALD

The Thief Lord

j FUNKE

A crew of homeless kids in Venice, Italy, is headed by a young man whose elusive identity as the Thief Lord isn’t exactly what people believe it is.

The Wind in the Willows

J GRAHAM

The Pepins and Their Problems

j HORVATH

The Pepins are helpless when it comes to solving problems and they need you, the reader, to provide solutions!

Twig

J JONES

After magic makes a girl very tiny, she almost goes to fairyland with an elf and a fairy queen whom she meets, but at the last minute she decides to return to her own world which she discovers is not so ordinary after all.

The Phantom Tollbooth

j JUSTER

A journey through a land where Milo learns the importance of words and numbers provides a cure for his boredom.

Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio

j616.835 K26s

The author describes her battle against polio when she was 13 and her efforts to overcome its debilitating effects.

The Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit

j398 L64t

Master storyteller Julius Lester tells hair-raising and hilarious tales in a voice that is at once contemporary and timeless.

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia)

J Lewis

Sarah, Plain and Tall, Skylark, Caleb’s Story, More Perfect Than the Moon

J MacLachlan

When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by their new mother and hope that she will stay.

The Doll People

j MARTIN

Adventures abound when the 100-year-old Doll family meets the new and plastic Funcraft doll family.

The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be

J Mowat

“This is a hilarious, poignant and exceptionally well-written memoir of childhood on the Canadian prairies.”

The Enchanted Castle

J NESBIT

An invisible princess, a magic ring, and more adventures than you could dream of. This is what Gerald, Kathleen and Jimmy find when they stumble upon a mysterious castle. At first it all appears to be a lark. But the children soon discover they need all their bravery and ingenuity to contend with the castle's supernatural forces.

Rascal

J North

The author recalls his carefree life in a small midwestern town at the close of World War I, and his adventures with his pet raccoon, Rascal.

Swallows and Amazons (series)

J RANSOME

The first title in Arthur Ransome's classic series, originally published in 1930: for children, for grownups, for anyone captivated by the world of adventure and imagination. Swallows and Amazons introduces the lovable Walker family, the camp on Wild Cat island, the able-bodied catboat Swallow, and the two intrepid Amazons, Nancy and Peggy Blackett.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (series)

J RIORDAN

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

j HOLIDAY ROBINSON

To everyone’s dismay, the worst-behaved kids in town take over all the main roles of the church Christmas pageant.

Rowan of Rin

j RODDA

Young Rowan, neither brave nor strong, finds he must be a key member of a search party to find out why the village’s mountain stream has stopped flowing.

Harry Potter (series)

J Rowling

The Cricket in Times Square

j SELDEN

A cricket’s uniquely melodious chirp gains him fame beyond anyone’s dreams.

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew

J SIDNEY

Abel’s Island

j STEIG

A castaway on an uninhabited island, Abel (a very civilized mouse) finds his resourcefulness and endurance tested to the limit as he struggles to survive and return to his home.

Mary Poppins

J TRAVERS

The Castle in the Attic

j WINTHROP

A gift of a toy castle, complete with silver knight, sets William on an adventure involving magic and a personal quest.

Rainbow People

j398.2 Y47r

Early Chinese-Americans shared stories for entertainment. These retellings include stories about tricksters, fools, virtues and vices, Chinese America and love.