Classics for Kids

Just Choose One

/ classicallycuriousblog / Leave a comment
Here in Oxford, carol services are in full flow. Nativity costumes are being aired, Christmas jumpers are enjoying their annual frolic, turkeys are ordered.

14 more sleeps (as I write).

Christmas is nearly here.

If your to-do list is as long as mine, can I suggest adding just one more? It won’t make much difference to the list but it will help keep the magic alive for the independent readers in your life.

 

Choose a book.

Just one.

Gift of knowledge concept with a pile of books and reading glasses with Christmas ornaments

As the children wait impatiently for Christmas, rather than you getting overwhelmed by the endless festive titles adorning the shopfronts, or feeling burdened by the long lists pouring into your inbox, just choose one.

Let’s keep life simple, and dare I say it, a little more enjoyable.

Take time to just choose one book your child might enjoy as they wait for Christmas – it could already be sitting at home on a bookshelf collecting dust, or be picked up on a quick trip to the library or local bookshop, or bought online.

So as you scroll the list below — Just Choose One.

CHRISTMAS CHAPTER BOOKS

51uaii0i2cl._ac_uy436_ql65_

51nonw-ypql-_sx328_bo1204203200_

61cdkd8rivl._bg0000_fmpng_ac_sy320_sx320_

51s9goqimhl-_sx335_bo1204203200_1

51jwweqe08l-_sx336_bo1204203200_

51bewsentdl-_sx323_bo1204203200_

612pzspectl-_sx321_bo1204203200_

51ghea0yfll-_sx349_bo1204203200_

51emp4e5j1s._sx372_bo1204203200_

511uy17styl._sx324_bo1204203200_

51plidaotdl-_sx327_bo1204203200_

51j9stejl-_ac_us436_ql65_

51gskvfnpsl-_sx352_bo1204203200_

51doqsaxo5l-_sx324_bo1204203200_

61lqsfwaj4l-_sx325_bo1204203200_

51kLf7PsQXL

51z0Fu-Y8qL._SX323_BO1204203200_

51KjkQI3q5L._SX334_BO1204203200_

61OWbYrSo7L._SX341_BO1204203200_

61oqihorbal._sx390_bo1204203200_

518mqoiwvtl._sx324_bo1204203200_

51aqxrhr6ll._sx350_bo1204203200_

5108wsgtt4l._sx329_bo1204203200_

51ys1mpqefl._sx323_bo1204203200_

5188uecktvl._ac_uy436_ql65_

Continue reading →

Over 30 Christmas Picture Books

/ classicallycuriousblog / 11 Comments

O star of wonder, star of light,

Star with royal beauty bright,

Westward leading, still proceeding,

Guide us to thy perfect light.

— “We Three Kings”, John H. Hopkins Jr., 1857

Here in England, the evenings are ever darker, the warm glow of Christmas lights are emerging in the windows along our street, and the question I keep getting is, “what are you doing for Christmas this year?”. For families with young children, it is a busy month ahead, but in the midst of the preparations and plans, we need to take time to stop and pick up a book or two. I need this encouragement just as much as the next person. Reading stories makes us slow down and points us to bigger truths outside of the now. Continue reading →

Starting Out as an Independent Reader 6+

/ classicallycuriousblog / 1 Comment

Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, or a duty. It should be offered as a gift.

— Kate DiCamillo

I couldn’t agree more with Kate DiCamillo. So let’s get offering.

These early years of independent reading are laying down foundations for our children.  For a child to be immersed in a story and taken off to a faraway land will come naturally and be easy for some children, but many will need a helping hand or two. Continue reading →

Read Alouds for 5 year olds

/ classicallycuriousblog / 1 Comment

“…the voice that tells us a story aloud is always more than a carrier wave bringing us the meaning; it’s a companion through the events of the story, ensuring that the feelings it stirs in us are held within the circle of attachment connecting the adult reading, and the child listening. To hear a story is a social act.” — Francis Spufford, The Child that Books Built

I love Francis Spufford’s reminder that “to hear a story is a social act.” Continue reading →

Best Family Read Alouds of 2019

/ classicallycuriousblog / 5 Comments

I will defend the importance of bedtime stories to my last gasp.

— J.K. Rowling

Rowling talks of bedtime stories, and of course there is something special about children all ready for bed being read aloud a story about a faraway land before they drift off to the Land of Nod. Continue reading →

Read Alouds with my 4 year old

/ classicallycuriousblog / 2 Comments

There are few stronger family bonds than this habit of devoting an occasional hour to reading aloud, on winter evenings, at any rate. The practice is pleasant at the time, and pleasant in the retrospect, it gives occasion for much bright talk, merry and wise, and quickens family affection by means of intellectual sympathy. Indeed, the wonder is that any family should neglect such a simple means of pure enjoyment, and of moral, as well as intellectual culture.

— Charlotte Mason, Formation of Character

Happy New Year!

With my elder two at school since Easter, it has been very special to have time in the day to read longer chapter books to my four year girl that are pitched just for her. Continue reading →

Children’s Audiobooks 7+

/ classicallycuriousblog / 4 Comments

The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.”

— Jean-Jacques Rousseau

With the summer holidays fast approaching, there is plenty of time to develop the world of our imagination.  We find audiobooks a great way of immersing ourselves in stories, so here are some we’ve enjoyed this year that you might like for your travels: Continue reading →