‘To introduce children to literature is to install them in a very rich and glorious kingdom, to bring a continual holiday to their doors, to lay before them a feast exquisitely served. But they must learn to know literature by being familiar with it from the very first. A child’s intercourse must always be with good books, the best that we can find.’ — Charlotte Mason
Over the years I have read aloud to my children most days, and even though the two eldest are independent readers, I still keep going. They are special family times. For those looking for ideas, I’ve logged our choices here.
Read Alouds with my 4 year old
Read Alouds 2022
(Children aged 12,10,7)
So far:
- Joan Aiken, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
- Lori Rich, William Tyndale: The Smuggler’s Flame
- Lucy M. Boston, The Children of Green Knowe
- Sophie Anderson, The House on Chicken Legs
- Hannah Gold, The Last Bear
- Thomas Taylor, Malamander
Read Alouds 2021
(Children aged 11,9,6)
- Katherine Rundell, Into the Jungle
- Esther Averill, Jenny Goes to Sea
- Esther Averill, Jenny and the Cat Club
- Anna Melbourne, Illustrated Arabian Nights
- Ingri & Edgar D’Aulaire, D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths
- Holling Clancy Holling, Pagoo
- Melissa Harrison, By Ash, Oak and Thorn
- Leo Tolstoy, Fables and Fairy Tales
- Anne Michaels, The Adventures of Miss Petitfour
- Joan Aiken, Tale of a One-Way Street and Other Stories
- Katy Morgan, The Promise and the Light
Read Alouds 2020
(Children aged 10,8,5)
- Geoffrey Trease, The Young Traveller in England and Wales
- James Herriot, Treasury of Inspirational Stories for Children
- Bertha C. & Christine Cannell, Easter Tide Stories
- Beverley Naidoo, Journey to Jo’burg
- Chris Van Wyk, Long Walk to Freedom
- Fiona C. Lunn, The Squirrel
- Julia Cameron, Oxford By a Very Oxford Cat
- Michael Bond, A Bear Called Paddington
- John Ruskin, The King of the Golden River
- Johann Wyss, The Swiss Family Robinson
- J.R.R. Tolkein, Mr. Bliss
- Eve Garnett, The Family from One End Street
- Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding
- Michael Morpurgo, The Snowman
- Katherine Rundell, One Christmas Wish
Read Alouds 2019
(Children aged 9,7,4)
- E.Nesbitt, Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare for Children
- Enid Blyton, Animal Lover’s Book
- Holling Clancy Holling, Paddle-to-the-Sea
- James Mayhew, The Kingfisher Book of Tales from Russia
- Douglas Bond, Mr.Pipes and the British Hymn Makers
- Gerald Durrell, The Fantastic Flying Journey
- Charles Dickens, Illustrated Stories from Dickens
- John Bunyan, Dangerous Journey: The Story of Pilgrim’s Progress
- Andrew Lang, The Blue Fairy Book
- Mig Holder, Mary Jones and Her Bible
- Lucy Fitch Perkins, The French Twins
- E.Nesbitt, Five Children and It
- Oscar Wilde, Stories for Children
- F.H.Lee, The Children’s Book of Saints
- Lucy Fitch Perkins, The Spanish Twins
- E.T.A.Hoffman, The Nutcracker
- Elizabeth Goudge, I Saw Three Ships
Read Alouds 2018
(Children aged 8,6,3)
- C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia
- Rumer Godden, The Story of Holly and Ivy
- M.L.Nesbitt, Grammarland
- Hans Christian Anderson, The Fairy Tales of
- Blanche Winder, Stories of King Arthur
- Palmer Brown, Hickory
- Beatrix Potter, The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter
- Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons
- Alison Morgan, River Song
- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
- Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
- Jostein Gaarder, The Christmas Mystery
Read Alouds 2017
(Children aged 7,5,2)
- Arthur Ransome, Old Peter’s Russian Tales
- Pyotr Yershov, The Magic Horse
- Roald Dahl, Fantastic Mr Fox
- Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Kitty in Boots
- Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
- Enid Blyton, Nature Lover’s Book
- Arnold Ytreeide, Amon’s Adventure
- Caitlin Matthews, Celtic Memories
- Lewis Carroll, Alice Through the Looking Glass
- Henry Winterfield, Detectives in Togas
- Johanna Spyri, Heidi
- Mary & Conrad Buff, The Apple and The Arrow
- Arnold Ytreeide, Ishtar’s Odyssey
CLASSICALLY CURIOUS 