Both my husband and I love to read to our kids. There’s just nothing sweeter than having the kids all huddled around, listening to the words and leaning in to see the pictures. We’re always looking for more titles to add to our list of books to read, but we think this is a pretty good master list.
Doug used to read to the kids on Sunday evenings, but we finally had to start reading almost every night because there are so many good books we wanted to read before they grew up and left home! We didn’t get through all of them, but most of what we didn’t read aloud, our kids caught hold of and read for themselves as they got older. And isn’t that the goal in the first place? To instill in your kids the desire to go off and read these incredible books on their own?
So have the kids gather ’round, get comfy on the couch, maybe pop some popcorn, and read, read, READ!
A Guide To Using This List
I know you got all settled in a ready to read, sorry for the interruption! I just wanted to give you a few tips on how to best use this list to fit your kids’ needs and explain a little bit where I’m coming from. If you think you’re good to go, then skip right along and don’t mind me!
The First Rule Of Reading Is Enjoyment
Along with a short description of each book, I’ve also included an age range for each title. This is the youngest age I think most kids will begin to be interested in the book, based on what I experienced with my own kids.
Now of course, please pay close attention to how your own kid responds to each book as they might be interested later—or sometimes earlier!—than this age. The last thing you want to do is to read a book too advanced for them and bore your kids to death. This runs the risk of leading them to believe they don’t enjoy reading at all. Yikes!
If ever you find them getting extremely restless after a couple of pages, switch to a book you know they love or move on to a different activity entirely. The point is to have as much fun reading with them as you can. So if you have to read or do something else to do that, so be it! Don’t worry, after a couple of months or years, you’ll be able to pull the book back out and try again, with much more success.
You’re Never Too Old For A Book
You’ll notice I didn’t put a cap on the age ranges, simply the age+. This is because you’re never too old for any book! No matter how many times I’ve read a book, I can always pull something new out of it. Especially while reading to little ones, who tend to notice things that my eyes have missed the first 473 times.
Reading Alone Vs. Reading Aloud
We found a sneaky way to get kids to read above their typical reading level. Read aloud to them! When Doug or I am there to add inflection or character voices, stop and explain a concept, or help define or look up unfamiliar words, the kids can understand a whole lot more than they could on their own. This isn’t to say that your kids can’t read these books on their own at all. By all means, that’s the end goal! But we’ve found that our kids really enjoyed having us read aloud to them. And what better way to pass on your love of literature to your kids?
When using this list, keep in mind that the ages are based on when I think a kid will be ready to hear the story read aloud to them. They are welcome to read the book on their own of course. But they may need to be just a bit older before they’re ready to chew through it solo.
Benefit In The Masses
Another great tip when reading aloud to your kids is to read together. We have found that if you have a 9-year-old listening to a book—and loving it—then your 5-year-old might sit for it as well. Even if the book is WAY above their reading level. There is strength in numbers my friends! There’s nothing better than cuddling together on the couch with a good book, sharing in the journey together.
Our Master List Of Books
So, here are all the books Doug and I have read to our kids over the years. Many of them more than once!
1. Fanny’s Dream (Picture Puffins) by Caralyn Buehner
Ages 4+
A fun story about Fanny who has a dream to become a princess. Her fairy godmother is late, and Fanny finds a man who will make her feel like a princess. She finds that her real dreams can be achieved through hard work, love, and kindness. Fanny is a great role model for others who realize that waving a wand to find happiness only happens in the movies and fairy tales. We also learn that a happily-ever-after ending is still possible for ordinary people.
2. Farmer Boy (Little House) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Ages 5+
Farmer Boy tells about Laura’s future husband, Almanzo Wilder. Nearly everything that they eat, use, or wear is produced on the farm. The vivid details of each of the tasks of milking, planting, weaving, washing, candle-making, and building help the reader really live the story. This hardworking family teaches us some wonderful long-lasting principles.
3. Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers by Ralph Moody
Ages 8+
This has got to be one of the greatest books to read to your kids. Ralph Moody tells true stories of his childhood and intersperses them with many great nuggets of wisdom, honor, integrity, and excitement. His story about taking boards off of his “character house” is very profound. I also enjoyed Ralph telling about one particular Christmas where they were so poor they could only afford oranges as gifts. Ralph noticed that everyone had an orange except his Dad. They all took a few sections from their oranges and shared them with him. Ralph mentioned that even though they didn’t have a lot of money, the family was together, they read books together, and he remembers it very fondly. Ralph Moody has written 8 of these books, this is only the first!
4. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
Ages 6+
Wilbur is Some Pig! This is a fun story for kids and packed with some great lessons. Charlotte, a spider, helps Fern save Wilbur’s life. As the runt of the litter, nobody wanted him, yet eventually, people came from miles around to see him. This is a story about friendship, life, and death.
5. Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
Ages 8+
A great story about a young boy working hard to earn some money by trapping some lost circus monkeys. The adventures are funny and charming. Wilson Rawls is a great storyteller.
6. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Ages 8+
Sharon Creech writes a great story about a young girl coping with the reasons why her mother will never return. Her friend in school has a mother that recently left mysteriously and they commiserate together. The story wonderfully portrays the wisdom, “Don’t judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins.”
7. Holes by Louis Sachar
Ages 8+
Holes is a great story about Stanley Yelnats, how he learns to cope at a reform camp for boys, how he clears his name and also makes a life-long friend.
8. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Ages 8+
A wonderfully exciting and funny book with a profoundly sad and touching ending. This book is truly a classic and has some great things that can be learned by anyone who reads it. The story is about Billy and his heroic and loyal hunting dogs. Their devotion to Billy and their devotion to each other is wonderful. Wilson Rawls describes the action in this book in a way that makes you feel like you’re right beside Old Dan and Little Ann throughout the stories.
9. Incident at Hawk’s Hill by Allan W. Eckert
Ages 8+
Little Ben is more like an animal than a human. He mimics animals, walking like them and imitating their sounds. He is accidentally lost, and befriends a badger and goes through quite an adventure. This book has some sad parts, but also some fun and exciting parts. My kids really enjoyed it.
10. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Ages 8+
Sara Crewe is clever, kind, and generous. She grows up quite wealthy and is given just about anything she asks for. However, she loses her fortune at eleven and isn’t always an angel, yet still shows love and compassion. It is a great riches-to-rags story that teaches wonderful insights into integrity.
11. Classic Starts: Little Lord Fauntleroy (Classic Starts Series) by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Ages 8+
A story very similar to A Little Princess, but your boys might like it better. Little Lord Fauntleroy is a great example of selfless love and compassion for everyone.
12. Lost in the Barrens by Farley Mowat
Ages 8+
Jamie and Awasin are great friends, but their friendship is made even closer when they are forced to spend the winter together lost in the barren wastelands of Northern Canada.
13. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Ages 8+
A bored young boy named Milo is transported into the Kingdom of Wisdom through the Phantom Tollbooth. While there he learns some valuable lessons with his friend Tock (the dog) and others that he meets along the way. A fun book with some plays on words and good lessons.
14. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Ages 8+
One of Mark Twain’s many classic books. The language is a little difficult for some kids to understand, I had to stop and explain a few things along the way, but everyone enjoyed it. There are many great lessons to be learned, and fun adventures to experience.
In this book, Mark Twain uses the word “nigger” to accurately illustrate the time, place, and society he’s writing about. You may choose to use a different word when reading to your kids, or use it as written. Either way, it is a good idea to take the opportunity to talk about this and other words that may be hurtful to certain groups of people. Why did Mark Twain, the characters in his book, and the people who lived during this time period use this word? What historical events were happening during this time? Discuss the power of words and name-calling, and the importance of being sensitive to others’ backgrounds and life experiences.
15. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Puffin Classics) by Mark Twain
Ages 8+
My kids didn’t like this as much as Tom Sawyer, but still enjoyed it. Huck sets off on many adventures down the river on a raft with Jim. There are many new adventures and excitement.
(See #14 for how to delicately handle Mark Twain’s usage of the “n” word in this book)
16. The Chronicles of Narnia Box Set 1-7 by C.S. Lewis
Ages 8+
My father read these to me when I was a kid, and now I’ve read them to my kids. We enjoyed them all, but The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was one of my favorites, as well as The Dawn Treader. C.S. Lewis fills the books with amazing symbolism and wisdom.
17. Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
Ages 8+
What a fun book! I have enjoyed this since I was very young, and now my kids enjoy it as well. The stories are funny, and fun to read, especially the Sheriff when he gets his mords wixed up… er, I mean his words mixed up. The kids laugh right out loud at many of the funny parts. Also, try More Adventures of Homer Price, it’s just as good.
18. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
Ages 8+
A great story about Wanda Petronski, a poor and friendless little girl. The story is told through the eyes of Maddie, her classmate. Maddie has second thoughts about being mean to Wanda but does it anyway to divert attention from herself for being poor. Wanda claims to own 100 dresses, and her classmates tease her about the obvious lie since she always wears the same faded dress to school. One day there is a dress designing contest, and although Wanda has suddenly moved away, she surprises them all with her contest entries and the children determine to be better to others and stand up for those who need their help.
19. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Ages 9+
We read this book together in just a few days over a vacation period once. The kids wouldn’t let me put it down! The classic Tolkien tale of Bilbo Baggins the Hobbit who sets off on an adventure with 13 dwarves and the wizard Gandalf. Tolkien is a great storyteller, I have loved this book since I first read it when I was 9.
20. Laddie, A True Blue Story by Gene Stratton Porter
Ages 9+
Honestly, Laddie took me a while to get into. The first 4-5 chapters seemed to drag on endlessly. Once Little Sister was done describing all the flowers, trees and animals around her, I enjoyed the book much more! It really is a wonderful book, and my kids loved it. One of my daughters even named our rooster Bobby and taught him to crow on demand. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it. She says, “Crow Bobby, Crow!” and then he’d crow, just like Little Sister’s pet rooster with the same name. There are many lasting principles to be learned from this book, and it was worth every minute to read it.
21. The Cay by Theodore Taylor
Ages 10+
This is a wonderful tale of a young boy who survived a shipwreck but was marooned on a remote island with a simple-minded but very gentle and loving black crewman from the same ship. The young boy was blinded from the accident, and this wonderful man taught him how to survive on the island, devoting his remaining life and love to this little boy he had never met before.
22. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Ages 10+
“Dat Buck, Heem got two devils!” This is one of our favorite quotes from the book as the french trapper described the dog, Buck. Jack London is a great author, and this book is full of great wisdom and action. The kids loved it, and I enjoyed reading it to them.
23. Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
Ages 10+
This is a great book based on true life stories about Nathaniel Bowditch. Nat learned that you can do anything as long as you’re willing to “sail by ash breeze” and he proved this to be true over and over in his own life. A wonderfully inspiring story for people of any age.
24. Esperanza Rising (Scholastic Gold) by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Ages 10+
A very thought-provoking riches-to-rags story. Inspired by true stories from Pam Munoz Ryan’s grandmother, Esperanza Rising tells the story of a rich young girl in Mexico who loses everything and must learn to work as a migrant farmworker in California.
25. Under the Same Sky by Cynthia DeFelice
Ages 10+
This is a story of Joe, a young teenager who is interested only in himself and earning money to buy a new motorcycle. His best friend gets whatever he wants for his birthday, but Joe’s father decides to let him work on the farm over the summer to earn his own. Joe learns so much more about the lives of the migrant Mexican workers that live on his father’s farm and finds that there is much more to life than thinking about yourself.
26. The Gift of the Magi and Other Short Stories by O. Henry
Ages 10+
I love O. Henry’s short stories! I have enjoyed reading many of them to my kids from the few O. Henry books that I have. In particular, The Gift of the Magi and The Last Leaf are my favorites and probably a couple of his most famous stories. I have also enjoyed The Green Door, Schools and Schools, and The Third Ingredient which are found in other books.
27. American History Stories You Never Read in School but Should Have Vol.1 by Mara L. Pratt
Ages 10+
This is a really great book. The stories are short and compiled in chronological order, so they flow together nicely. Mara Pratt has a great way of telling these classic stories that should never be forgotten. This is a reproduction of the original 1890 storybook.
28. My Side of the Mountain (Puffin Modern Classics) by Jean Craighead George
Ages 10+
It has been a long time since I read this book, but I enjoyed it very much. Sam runs away from home and learns to live on his own in the mountains. Sam’s best friend and helper is a falcon that he calls Frightful. Sam learns many things in order to survive, and the adventures he has are interesting to read.
29. Island of the Blue Dolphins
Ages 10+
I read this story, realizing that it was like a Robinson Crusoe story told about a young girl. However, when I finished it, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was based on a true story. This story is written from what little facts are known about the Lone Woman of San Nicholas Island. Karana’s people were evacuated from their island, but she swam back to shore when she discovered that her younger brother was not on the ship. Tragically, he dies shortly afterward, and Karana lives for 18 more years alone on the island until she is rescued.
30. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Ages 10+
I have always loved this book. I first read it in french, but have enjoyed it in English as well. There are some great lessons to be learned from this little prince.
31. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Ages 12+
If I were to be marooned on a desert island and could only take 5 books, this would be one of them. Corrie Ten Boom tells an amazing true story of herself and her family as they try to save a few special Jews from the Holocaust. Her sister Betsy is a tremendous example of pure love and forgiveness. As they struggle together to thank God for everything—even the fleas—Corrie learns some life lessons that she wisely passes on to the rest of us to learn and live.
What Are Your Favorite Books?
What do you think of our list of books to read aloud? Which ones are your favorite? Are there any classics you think we’ve missed? Share with us in the comments!