Every day after lunch I read aloud to all my children, as my mother did to all 6 of hers, and as her father did to all 14 of his (but he divided them into three age groups).
I’ve listed the ages of the children involved in brackets, but older and younger people can also enjoy and learn from these books. I enjoy every single one of our read alouds (I pick them after all!) and I’m well past 40.
Here is a list of our 2011 read alouds. Numbered ones are completed.
1.First of all, and over and over: the Bible.
2.A Pioneer Story: The Daily Life of a Canadian Family in 1840by Barbara Greenwood and Heather Collins (8-10) Completed Jan 11.
3.The Illustrated Family Bible(8-18) Completed Jan 7.
Famous Canadian Stories by George E. Tait (8-18)
4.Taffy and Melissa Molasses by Carolyn Haywood (8-10). Most books by this author are worth reading out loud for their humor and happiness. Completed Jan 11.
5.Augustine Came to Kent by Barbara Willard (8-18) This is a very moving story of missionaries sent from Rome to England in 597 AD. I have now read it aloud twice to my children. Each time I found it difficult not to cry, but the younger children noticed no sadness. I suppose everyone experiences what he or she is ready for. Completed Jan 13.
6.Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome (8-18) So much fun and excitement! We had a blissful holiday, camping on an island, and enjoying sailboats, pirates, parrots, treasure, and wild imaginations. Completed sometime in February.
8.Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott. (8-10)
9.Along Came Galileo by Jeanne Bendick (8-10).
Silver Ley by Adrian Bell, an account of a beginning farmer in early 20th century Britain. (8-45, read by my husband to the entire family).
10.We Never Meant to Go to Sea by Arthur Ransome (8-18). Exciting, believeable, unbelievable, and thoroughly enthralling. I read half of the book out loud one afternoon and evening. We had a wonderful time. Completed sometime in February.
11.The Adventures of Reddy Fox by Thornton W. Burgess (8-18). A delightful blend of fun, excitement, humor, and wisdom. Reddy Fox is so foolish and so familiar! I’ve enjoyed Burgess’s books since I was a little girl. Completed February 22.
12.Old Mother West Wind by Thornton W. Burgess (8-15). Completed mid-March.
13.The Little Duke or Richard the Fearless by Charlotte Yonge. (8-15) This is our second time reading it and it is superb. Caution: This true story does contain violence, but its overarching message is one of forgiveness. Completed March 10
14.The Lone Muskrat by Glenn Rounds. (8-15) Full of fascinating observations, woven into story form. It’s neat to read this in tandem with the Thornton W. Burgess books. Completed late March.
15.The Life of Charlemage by Einhart. (8-15) Written more than a millenium ago. Much too difficult for Miss 8, but interesting for the rest of us.
…I think I’ve forgotten a few titles.
Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling–we did not finish this, because the dialect was too difficult for me to read and the young children to understand.
16.Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (8-18).
17.What Katie Did at School by Susan Coolidge (8-18).
18.Robinson Crusoe, (unabridged) by Daniel Defoe (8-16).
19.Peter Duck by Arthur Ransome (8-16).
20. Salt in His Blood: The Life of Michael De Ruyter (9-16)
21.Jan en Janneke in Canada by K. Norel (a Dutch book) (9-11)
22.Saint Patrick by McHugh
23.Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (9-11)
24.Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (9-11)
25.Secret Water by Arthur Ransome (9-16)
26.Rozemarijntje by W.G van der Hulst (Dutch) (9-11)
27.The Escape: The Adventures of Three Hugenot Children Fleeing Persecutionby A. van der Jagt (9-16)
28.On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder (9-11)
O Canada by Karla Akins (9-16)
Rozemarijntje Naar School by W.G. van der Hulst (Dutch) (9-14)
The Secret Mission by A. van der Jagt (9-16)