I will list the books according to age appropriateness. Of course, this list is not exhaustive there are many other wonderful books out there. This is a list of my favorite books to read aloud with our children. There are so many books in print now with excellent book lists. I would particularly recommend the first episode, “ Reading Aloud to Older Kids, a Conversation with Andrew Pudewa.” The Enchanted Hour by Megan Cox Gurdon makes a compelling argument for why reading out loud is good for everyone. The podcast Read Aloud Revival is an excellent resource. Many people have done outstanding work on the topic of reading aloud to children.

The words are an important part of reading, AS words! The importance of words cannot escape us when we consider that the Second Person of the Trinity chooses to identify himself as “the Word,” not “the concept.” Maybe that’s actually because for us voracious readers, we actually bypass the words and just translate the text immediately to concepts.

So many different textures and details stand out to me that I never notice when the words are bounced around in my head. My experience is that when I hear a book out loud, it’s almost like I am reading it for the first time. Reading out loud has given those children the opportunity to be formed and enriched by beautiful language, compelling stories and the rich, imaginative life that wonderful books spark even though they might not have read the books themselves.Īdditionally, you may suppose that voracious readers, aka bookworms, don’t need to be read aloud to. But other of my children, some due to physical challenges, have not been inclined to read books. I have always been a voracious reader and some of my children are too. Part of the magic of reading aloud is that you (the parent) have to stop what you are doing and collect your children in a common space (on the couch with as many children tucked under your wings as possible is usually what everyone loves best!) and everyone gets to experience the same thing all together, across all age groups. As a matter of fact, we are discovering that our adult children love read aloud times! Even reading simply hilarious books out loud, that don’t have much deeper meaning, makes a shared experience of laughter and fun. This was very much the case when everyone was little, but it stayed the case through the teen years and our experience corroborates recent studies showing that children benefit dramatically from being read to even into their teen years. It has been one of the most rewarding ways for us to create a shared, loving, intimate experience with them and among them. Reading out loud to our children has been one of the singular delights of parenting for John and myself.

Winter Cottage by Carol Ryrie Brink