BJU Press Blog

read-alouds

Tips for Finding Great Read-Aloud Books (Printable)

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Libraries are big places—the choices of books can almost be overwhelming. But not all books are worth reading. And if you truly want to experience the benefits of read-alouds that I discussed in a previous post, you need to choose your read-aloud books wisely. Here are some tips as well as downloadable reading lists for creating a good diet of books for your children.

1. Choose from a variety of different genres.

My daughters love a good mystery, but I don’t read mysteries to them every day, just like I don’t feed them the same foods for every meal. In order to become healthy, well-educated readers, they need variety in their reading diet. Below are some favorite books for several different genres. You can also download our reading lists for more suggestions.

  • Mystery. Mysteries are usually plot-driven, exciting for all ages, and can help develop thinking skills. My daughters enjoy books from the Boxcar Children series as well as The Mystery of the Dognapped Cat.
  • Biography. Reading biographies has helped my children gain an appreciation for people in the past who have had an impact on our world today. We especially enjoy reading biographies about people who have advanced God’s kingdom. Some of our favorites include These Are My People and George Mueller: A Father to the Fatherless.
  • Historical fiction. My oldest daughter’s love for historical fiction has fueled her love for history. She particularly enjoys the American Adventure series (unfortunately out-of-print) and stand-alone books such as A Father’s Promise and False Coin, True Coin.
  • Fantasy. A good fantasy will teach truth in a way that a realistic story often cannot. We have learned much from the classic Chronicles of Narnia series as well as a relatively-new fantasy series, The Green Ember. We have also enjoyed reading Brill of Exitorn, The Lost Prince, and The Princess and the Goblin.
  • Realistic fiction. Realistic fiction helps my children learn about places, cultures, and situations they have never experienced. Within this genre, we have enjoyed the Grandma’s Attic series as well as The Railway Children.
  • Poetry. I recenly wrote a post about the benefits of studying poetry. Although you probably don’t want to read an extensive book of sonnets during storytime, you may occasionally want to include some poems in your read-aloud diet. The poetry anthology Where the Sidewalk Ends is an excellent source for finding kid-friendly poems to introduce your children to the genre.
  • Nonfiction. Much of your children’s education will come from reading nonfiction books, so it’s good to include them occasionally in your read-aloud time as well. Choose some on topics that interest your child.

2. Choose a book that is the right level for your child.

Because of the differences in their ages, abilities, and even personalities, my daughters need different types of books to motivate and engage them. My toddler will pay attention to a story as long as it contains a lot of pictures and simple, easy-to-follow text. She prefers books that have a rhythmic, rhyming text with repeated phrases. Some of her favorites include The Cow Loves Cookies, Farmer Dillo Counts His Chickens, and We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.

My older daughters (first and third grade) can handle listening to books without illustrations, but the vocabulary needs to be mostly familiar and the sentence structures need to be fairly simple. I also try to choose books with short chapters because I know that they can only comprehend so much at one sitting.

3. Be prepared to deal with objectionable elements.

Very few books are completely free from objectionable elements, so you might want to consider using the GEM approach to help you evaluate the books that you bring into your home. But be ready to talk about any objectionable elements that surface in your reading. It can be a great teaching opportunity.

BJU Press and I have put together suggested reading lists filled with some of our favorite books and are offering them as free downloads. Of course, these lists aren’t perfect, so please use discretion when you choose what books to expose your children to. If you have any books to add to our lists, please let us know in a comment below.

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Getting Together with Books (Part 1)

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When I go out in public with my four young children, people make a lot of comments ranging from “Are they all yours?” to “Wow! You have your hands full.” But last week, while making a quick stop at a local grocery store, I heard a comment that I hadn’t heard before. An elderly gentleman stopped me and said, “I hope you read to these little ones every day. It’s the best thing you could do for them.”

Although, as a follower of Christ, I believe that teaching my children the gospel is the “best thing” that I can do for them, I know that reading to them is a very important part of their development. My husband and I do read to our children almost every day. We do it because we love books, but we also do it because reading aloud to our children benefits them in several ways. Here are a few of them.

1. Reading Aloud Opens Up Communication Channels

I’ve found that real teaching requires a relationship. A relationship, of course, is built on mutual trust, but it also requires mutual knowledge and shared experiences. I’ve discovered that sharing books with my children opens up doors for conversation. We can talk about a story’s characters, its underlying message, its plot, or the interesting setting. These interactions have provided wonderful opportunities to develop my children’s biblical worldview.

2. Reading Aloud Strengthens Verbal Skills

Poets and authors are linguistic artists; they create beauty with language. Through books, my children have been exposed to complex sentence structures and literary devices that they likely wouldn’t have heard in everyday conversations. I’ve also noticed that hearing stories read aloud has helped develop the vocabulary of all of my children.

3. Reading Aloud Prepares Your Child for Independent Reading

Two of my children know how to read. My rising third grader is an excellent, avid reader, and the one who just finished kindergarten is off to a good start. Story time is beneficial to them, but it’s beneficial in a special way to my three-year-old and infant. When my two younger ones sit on my lap for story time, they’re developing skills that will help them later when they learn to read. They’re getting the idea that print has a message by seeing how my eyes and attention move from the front of the book to the back, from the top of the page to the bottom, and from left to right on a line. My three-year-old is also beginning to develop comprehension skills as I ask her a few simple questions about what I read.

4. Reading Aloud Whets Your Child’s Appetite for Reading

Most of us who love books developed that love very early in life. I can trace my love for books back to when my parents used to read to me several times a day to keep me still while I received treatment for an ongoing health issue. Another BJU Press blog writer mentions a few of his favorite read-alouds in the post “The Benefits of Reading Aloud to Your Children” as he recounts how those books also helped him develop a love of reading from an early age.

Reading time at our house is one of my favorite parts of the day. My kids are usually in constant motion, so I love it when they snuggle up quietly for a few precious minutes while we experience a story together. In an upcoming post, I’ll share some tips for choosing a good read-aloud as well as a list of some of my favorites.

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