Our Read Aloud List | Part One

In January of 2018, I made a resolution to read 50 chapter books aloud to my children in a year.

FIFTY. What was I thinking?

I'll tell you what I was thinking. I was thinking of ALL the amazing stores my children would hear about in those 52 weeks. I was thinking of the adventures we would have, the places we would "go" and the words we would add to our ever-growing vocabulary. I was thinking of how much my children love our story times. I was thinking of how amazing it would be to read almost a book a week to my Minis.

Now, let me tell you what I was NOT thinking.

I was NOT thinking about the fact that 50 books is a LOT. I was NOT thinking that, with a goal that high, we would end up rushing through some of the tales JUST to get to our goal number. I was NOT taking sickness, holidays, family visits or vacations into consideration. I really just wasn't thinking.

Sometimes, I have to learn things the hard way.

Fifty books is a lot of books. Thirty-eight books is also a lot of books. And 38 out of 50 is pretty stinking good! We read 38 books last year. Some long, some very short. But that's 38 new adventures added to our minds. (This is not including the countless picture books we read as bedtime stories every evening. This post is about chapter books.)

THIS year, I have no goal. This year we are reading every single day, but without a set number of chapters or books per month. We are taking it slow, enjoying the stories and actually retaining the information. THIS year I'm actually thinking! =)

I thought it would be fun to keep a running list of all of the books we have read, and have my children write (or dictate) mini reviews on the stories they enjoyed most.

This is Part One. I plan to "review" 5-10 books per post, so stay tuned for the others in this series! If you would just like to see the ever-growing list of the titles we read (without the reviews) you can check that out too (coming soon). But, I warn you, it's literally JUST a list. Kinda boring.

Welcome to the

Mini Marshall Read Aloud List!

My hope is that this list will inspire you to read with your children, as well as give you some insight on what books they may enjoy! So, here we go!

1. Charlotte's Web

My 6-year old LOVED this book. He still lists it in his top five favorites. What's not to love about a talking pig and a clever spider trying to save his life? What I personally love about this book is the hook in the opening line. Seriously, that's good writing! Had my kids on the edge of their seats before I even finished the paragraph. One of the best opening lines ever in my opinion.

2. Because of Winn Dixie

The kids all enjoyed this one. My 6-year-old (at the time) especially liked it. All of my kids love any stories featuring animals as the main character.

I'm a big fan of DiCamillo's writing style and enjoyed reading this. Not as good as some of her other works (in my opinion) but still good =)

3. The Velveteen Rabbit

Super short. Super sweet. A classic. I read this one during our 20 minute lunch break one afternoon. When I finished, the kids asked for another chapter. They were very disappointed to here that we had completed the book and asked why good books were so short and boring books took forever to read!

4. The Call of the Wild

My husband read this one to our oldest, not the younger three. They began with the original, unabridged version and made it about halfway through. Then he decided to switch the the children's illustrated version for the remainder of the book.

She still talks about this book like the characters are her friends. =)

5. The B.F.G

I'm not sure I can count this one as a true read aloud on my part. I started it, then got so tongue-tied I had to stop. If you have made it through this one out loud, I salute you! You are my hero.

My kids just couldn't stop laughing at my pathetic attempts at this story and the giant's language. So, we went to the library and got the audio book. Once we made that switch they actually enjoyed the tale! Ha!

That's it for Post One! Stay tuned for the next one in this series!

Have you read any of these out aloud to your kiddos? What did they think of these stories? I'd love to hear their reviews in the comments!