Reading books aloud to your children is a beautiful way to bring closer as you snuggle up on the couch but it also increases their vocabulary, perspectives, writing skills, creativity and language. Below are some of the best read aloud books for children of all ages and grades. These books are well written, captivating and will have your children begging for “just one more chapter, please!”
Kindergarten
At this age children are still in love with good picture books but you can start to move on to chapter books if you feel like your child is ready. This list will include a combination of both picture books and chapter books.
- The Most Magnificent Thing: An adorable picture books which shows a little girl not giving in to failure and persevering despite the set back in creating her “most magnificent thing”. This book is also included in our list of growth mindset books for kids.
- Stuck by Oliver Jeffers: This is a hilarious book about a boy who happens to get his kite stuck in a tree. He tries all sorts of tactics to get it down the next more hilarious than the first.
- It Might be an Apple, by Shinsuke Yoshitake: This is my children’s all time favourite book. It has them in fits of laughter every time. It follows a boy who sees an apple on the table and comes up with all sorts of different scenarios in which it may not be an actual apple.
- All The Dr Seuss books: These books are exceptional for this age group because of the use of rhyme which is an essential skill to master when learning to read. I love how captivating these books are. Let the children practice their rhyming by finishing some of the sentences for you.
- The Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pop Osborne: These were by children’s introduction to chapter books and they were so perfect. They are exciting and just the right length for them to be able to sit and be attentive. I would recommend purchasing the whole set of these it will save you a lot money in the long run, I speak from experience!
- The Wishing Chair Collection by Enid Blyton: Books written by Enid Blyton are classics and never get old. We particularly loved this series for it’s fast paced adventures. The books are short so they story line gets going quickly which is important for young children. This series follows a brother and sister duo and their friend a pixie on adventures to magical kingdoms on their magical wishing chair they found at and antique store.
First Grade
At this age children are ready to really start to get into chapter books. Their attention span is longer and they can imagine how stories look without having to have pictures.
- Charlottes Web by E. B White: A classic novel, Charlottes Web is just as entertaining for adults as well as children. It is probably not the best choice for particularly sensitive children as one of the main characters dies. My sensitive 6 year old would be crying herself to sleep for weeks if I read it to her. Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider are sure to leave a mark on you though and definitely a must read at some point in childhood.
- Pippi Long Stockings by, Astrid Lindgrind: I loved this movie as a child but as usual the book is even better. Pippi is an eccentric little girl with crazy red pig tails. She drags her two rather straight laced neighbours on many exciting adventures around town.
- Mr Poppers Penguins by Florence and Richard Atwater: This story of penguins is a classic read aloud that has had generations of children giggling big belly laughs at hilarious penguin antics.
- Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder: I never read these as a child but have loved reading them aloud to my daughter. She becomes absolutely engrossed the life Laura and Ma and Pa. I love that she is learning of a simpler time and can see how her mind is expanded and she realises that there is so much more to life that the here and now in our living room. This is a fantastic series for children and you can build upon it in so many other areas of homeschooling.
- The Box Car Children by, Gertrude Chander: These classic books are full of adventure and hope. I love how the relationships between the siblings are depicted in these books. They are loving, kind and caring which is something more modern books are lacking these days. I noticed a huge difference in my children’s attitude towards each other after reading these books. Your children too will fall in love with these four orphaned children who make their new home in an abandoned rail box car.
- Clementine by, Sara Pennypacker: Clementine will have your children giggling non-stop with her funny antics. A great book for keeping things light and easy.
- The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by, C.S. Lewis: How can you go wrong with C.S Lewis? This tale is an all time favourite for many families and the perfect read aloud. Once you have read the book then you can watch the movie together and decide which you loved more!
- Holes by, Louis Sachar: This will be without a doubt a huge hit for your kids. I love the mystery and suspense in this books. You will be being begged to keep reading so maybe just maybe they can figure out why all these kids have to dig holes out in the desert all day long!
Read Aloud Books On Youtube
Did you know there are some really amazing readers who have YouTube channels dedicated to reading aloud to kids?! It is ingenious! Here is a list of some of the best YouTube read aloud channels
- StoryTime with Ms Becky: What I love about Ms Becky is how varied her selection of books is. There really is something there for every child.
- Miss Yumi: Miss Yumi does a superb job of making the books come alive and really captivating the audience in her story telling. Children will easily be able to listen to her story telling over and over.
- Storyline Online I really enjoyed these readers. They are varied and the books they read become animated which is something a bit different.
- StoryTime with Ryan and Craig: These guys are hilarious. They don’t just read the story but they add in lots of funny voices and then add in their own little jokes and commentary with really adds to the experience in such a positive way.
Read Aloud Online Books
There are other ways other than youtube to listen to read aloud books. For older children who have moved on from picture books the Audible app is going to be your go to audiobook resource. There are many other ways to listen to audiobooks but I just continue to come back to Audible. It is subscription based but with that subscription you receive a free book each month! Who doesn’t love free stuff? The app is easy to use, reliable and the library is the most extensive there is, I really can’t fault it.
If you have younger children I have recently come across an app called Epic! which reads picture books to kids. I love that the kids can read along and follow what is being read too. This is a great alternative to audiobooks for the younger crowd. Their library is also extensive and has so many varied titles to choose from you really can’t go wrong. If my kids really fall in love with a book we will buy it for our home library too. I like the try before you buy idea. This saves me a lot of money because I am terrible at returning library books! Currently owing over $100…not including the four books I can’t find.
Reading aloud to child is one of the precursors to success. It is one of the best things you can do for your children, and has so many benefit for them. When you give your children and love of language and books you set them up to be lovers of learning and that just propels them on to great things. It widens their minds and broadens their horizons. Children in these early grades are just like sponges and so receptive to anything we tell them and teach them. Use this time to fill their minds with good literature and complex language so that they can become great writers and thinkers in the future.
