These 3 books were on my former blog, and that post started the idea for this Book a Day blog. So this may be a repeat posting for some readers.
If reading chapter books to children at home, here are some ideas:
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman is such an exciting story. The prince has a whipping boy for when he is naughty. Someone in the castle punishes a boy from the streets when the prince won’t learn to read, and other things. The boy from the streets does learn to read though no one knows that has happened, which makes for a very interesting turn of events when the two boys are captured in a bog. This story is sure to delight elementary age children. It is the winner of the Newbery Medal, and has won other awards.
This is a link to a play I wrote based on The Whipping Boy book, posted for FREE on teachers.net
A great read aloud for girls would be The Doll People by Ann M. Martin. Two families of dolls have adventures meeting each other in the night when humans are asleep. One family is modern and plastic, and one is about 100 years old and antique. This book offers many conversation topics. The antique doll family has never seen some of the things the plastic dolls have in their doll house, for instance. This book gives children a chance to learn about the “olden days” by comparing the doll families.And, other great read-aloud books for parents, grandparents, and adults reading to children include Elmer and the Dragon, My Father’s Dragon, and the Dragons of Blueland by Ruth Stiles Gannett. Written in the 1950′s the fictional adventures delight children because the time period is different, and they are great stories.
I recommend reading these books to children ready to listen to chapter books. Adults doing the reading will enjoy them, too. There are enough illustrations to help maintain the interest of kindergarten and first graders. If you can only read one, My Father’s Dragon is the one!
Reading to children is worthwhile for the reader and the child.
TpT has thousands of free lessons including many of my lessons. Shopping is not required for site use, just a login and password.
Carolyn
