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New Reading List for students ages 10-12 is under construction.
STORIES TO READ ALOUD TO CHILDREN
It was a common practice before the advent of radio and
television for adults and children of all ages to gather together
after the evening meal to hear a story before bedtime. Sometimes the
story might be told from a book, or perhaps from the storyteller's
imagination or memory. Reading a bedtime story continues to be an
important tradition upheld by many families. It is a time when the
pace of the evening quiets down for everyone and the day's
activities
come to a close. Although any book can be read aloud, the following
books are expecially suited for this activity.
(Most of these were originally compiled by the Marin Waldorf
School,1991. There are also some books suggested by Eric
Fairman.)
Thornton Burgess: NATURE STORIES
Barbara H.Berger: GWINNA (and others)
Elsa Beskow: AROUND THE YEAR (and others)
Paul Fennimore Cooper: THE ADVENTURES OF TAL
Marguerite De Angeli: COPPER-TOED BOOTS
SKIPPACK SCHOOL
PETITE SUZANNE (and others)
Walter De La Mare: TOM TIDDLER'S GROUND
(and other poetry collections)
Tomie De Paola: CLOWN OF GOD (and many others)
BIG ANTHONY
STREGNA NONA
OLIER BUTTO IS A SISSY
(Great story for sensitive boys!)
Kenneth Grahame: WIND IN THE WILLOWS
Grimm,ed.by Colum: THE COMPLETE GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES
Rudyard Kipling: THE JUNGLE BOOKS
Selma Lagerlof: THE CHANGLING
Andrew Lang: THE 'COLOR' FAIRY TALE BOOKS
Arnold Lobel: FROG AND TOAD TOGETHER (and others)
George MacDonald: THE LIGHT PRINCESS
THE PRINCESS AND THE BOGLIN
THE PRINCESS AND THE CURDIE
Gerald McDermott: ZOMO THE RABBIT
A.A.Milne: WINNIE THE POOH(and other prose and poetry)
Oxfam Chilren's Stories: SOUTH EAST NORTH WEST
Beatrix Potter: The entire set of tiny books
Arthur Ransome: OLD PETER'S RUSSIAN TALES
Robert Louis Stevenson: A CHILDREN'S GARDEN OF VERSES
Isabel Wyatt: SEVEN YEAR OLD WONDER BOOK
laura Ingalls Wilder: (One teacher suggests starting with
Farmer Boy and then continuing on with the
first of the series.)
(Note to Class Parents: I will be presenting the book:'King
of
Ireland's Son'later in the Fall Term. Please see me if you
were planning on introducing this book as a 'read aloud'.
Thank You! Mr.Chin )
Note: The following reading list is provided by Donna Simmons, a
consultant in the Waldorf homeschooling movement. Please
excuse any duplications from the previous list.)
Great Family Read-Alouds
for Grade School Age Children
The following list is of books that we think are well-written,
intelligent, and enjoyed by parents and children. We have read most
of these aloud to our sons - they helped compile this list and a few
of their comments are included, in addition to ours.
Age range? Well, that's a bit hard to say. Generally, if a parent is
reading the book aloud, it can be read to children younger than the
age recommended for children reading to themselves. And, there's a
difference between, on the one hand, reading something which a child
might not understand but is worthy of their listening and, on the
other hand, books which have content which may not be suitable. In
the former category I would place, for example, the Bible, Pilgrim's
Progress, and some books by R.L. Stevenson, Charles Dickens, G.A.
Henty, or Rudyard Kipling. In the latter category I would think of
Little Britches, the Harry Potter books, and Lord of the Rings.
None of the books listed are really suitable for children under 6
or
7 except for those marked with an asterisk (*).
There are so many more good books for children, but we hope that
this
partial list will be helpful to you. May you and your family find
much enjoyment in reading together! The books are in no particular
order.
Donna Simmons
________________________________________
� Recommended books for children 9 and under:
o Trumpet of the Swan, E.B. White (neither of my boys liked
Charlotte's Web; one liked Stuart Little, though)
o The Little House books, Laura Ingalls Wilder: A must! The
first three, Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on
the Prairie and Farmer Boy are for this age range. Other
books in this series are really for older children.
o All the books by Marguerite Henry: Especially if you have a
horse lover in the family.
o Minn of the Mississippi, Paddle to the Sea, Seabird, and Tree
by the Trail, by Holling C. Holling: A great way to learn US
geography.
o The Boy who Saved the Town, Brenda Seabrooke: Based on a true
story during the War of 1812.
o The Arabian Nights: See if you can find a good edition of
these magical tales, which include the original Sinbad, Ali
Baba and the Forty Thieves, and Aladdin (before Disney got
its hands on him...!).
o All the Homer Price books by Robert McCloskey: My boys loved
these stories of what boys got up to in small town 1940s
America.
o * The Borrowers series, Mary Norton: Our younger son loved
these. The books are about a tiny family which lives under
the floorboards in a house, who are discovered by the "human
beans".
o * Anything by George MacDonald: Beautiful, soul-enriching
stories. Titles include At the Back of the North Wind, The
Princess and Curdie, and The Princess and the Goblin. His
writing inspired both C.S. Lewis and Tolkein.
o Swallows and Amazons and its numerous follow-ups, all by
Arthur Ransome: Good, clean fun with boats and no parents in
Britain between the Wars. Highly recommended.
o Caddie Woodlawn, Carol Ryrie Brink: The adventures of a
pioneer girl in Wisconsin. My boys rate it highly.
o Jungle Book (not the Disney versions!), and Just So Stories,
Rudyard Kipling: Just So Stories are a wonderful and very
funny collection of animal tales such as How the Camel got
his Hump and is perhaps for younger children (older ones will
probably secretly enjoy it too).
o Astrid Lindgren is the author of the Pippi Longstocking
books, a highly recommended series about an eccentric girl
who was certainly a hero in my household. Another, less known
work by Lindgren is Ronia, the Robbers Daughter, a firm
favorite of my boys. It is for slightly older children.
o The Cricket in Times Square and follow-ups, George Seldon:
Who can resist sophisticated Harry the Cat, nervous New
Yorker Tucker Mouse, and gentle Chester Cricket? Wonderful -
especially if you can give Tucker a good Noo Yoick accent
when you read it!
o The Family under the Bridge, Natalie Savage Carlson: A tender
story of compassion and friendship.
o The Chronicles of Narnia series, C.S. Lewis: These make
wonderful read-alouds with a thoughtful message. Some of the
volumes were more popular than others in our family. * The
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is fine for slightly younger
children, the rest are a bit more mature.
o The Wheel on the School, Meindert DeJong: The children of a
Dutch village are determined to help the storks return to
their nesting site a-top the school building. Interesting,
exciting, and quirky.
o Tree Girl, T.A. Barron: One of his few books for younger
children.
o The Wizard in the Tree and The Cat Who Wanted to be a Man,
Lloyd Alexander: Funny fantasy stories by a master
storyteller.
o The Bat Poet, Randall Jarrell: Remember this classic from
when you were a child? A poignant and moving story.
o The Book of Virtues, William J. Bennett: However one might
feel about William Bennett, this is a wonderful addition to
any family library. The stories could simply be read to the
children or perhaps spark some interesting conversations
around the dinner table.
o Owls in the Family, Farley Moffat: A hilarious story of a boy
and his pets.
o Honk the Moose, Phil Strong: Charming story of a 1930s
Finnish village in northern Minnesota that gets a resident
moose one particularly cold winter.
o American Tall Tales, Mary Pope Osborne: Exuberant tales of
Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan and others who shaped our expansive
culture!
The Birchbark House, Louise Erdrich: A bit heavy at times -
including a sad part where smallpox sweeps through the
country. Beautifully written with fascinating detail of
everyday life amongst a group of Ojibwe Indians
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