Our most exciting discovery in a year of great reading was the novels of Dianna Wynne Jones, author of Howl's Moving Castle and the Chrestomanci series (starting with Charmed Life).
I had spent the months from April through to August reading the entire Harry Potter series aloud to my then-nearly-six year-old daughter, which was a fabulous experience for both of us but left us somewhat bereft when the story was over.
Diana Wynne Jones has proved to be more than adequate sustenance for us both; her novels are so good that I when I start reading aloud, I will always skip ahead and finish the whole book after my daughter is in bed!
All of her novels are free audiobooks on YouTube and my daughter, now six, is still re-listening to her favourites (The House of Many Ways and The Pinhoe Egg have become a perennial favourites).
You’re preaching to the choir here! My husband devoured many DWJ books this year. The children love watching Howl’s Moving Castle with him and they are just itching to be able to read the books themselves. I suspect it won’t take long! Great tip that they’re on YouTube, thank you!
I grabbed a few of these today at the library, today. Some good titles and series that I haven’t heard of before. Always thankful for suggestion posts. It’s a lot of work to sift through books for kids to find quality.
They had Magic Treehouse graphic novels - first time I have ever seen those but perfect for my struggling reader. And I will also check out Greeking Out for that kid too.
I have recently be diving back into all the classic picture books for my youngest who I realized I had never read them with - Barbara Cooney, Karma Wilson, Robert McCloskey, Mem Fox, Cynthia Rylant etc etc.
My big kids enjoy books by Jonathan Auxier (Sweep, Peter Nimble and his fantastic eyes, etc) and anything by Sarah Pennypacker, Kate DeCamillo (novels and the Mercy Watson stories), Enid Blyton, Phantom Tollbooth, Roald Dahl and many others.
It is a lot of work, isn’t it? I spend ages in bookshops and online browsing for just the right thing. I do think a big part of raising readers is giving them the right books at the right time, and giving them plenty of choice. I’ve learnt that my predictions of what they will or won’t like aren’t very reliable and the best approach is just to give them LOTS, and let them find what’s right for them. I hope your children enjoy some of the new library books!
Impressive and very helpful list, thank you Catherine! Because you mentioned Astrid Lindgren, who was probably my most read author as a kid, may I just suggest Pippi Longstocking as a must-read? It's incredibly funny and original, and a book that just stays with you in the best way possible. Also, Emil of Loneberga is quite the character, with funny stories all around, so worth checking out. I think your kids might love them. Happy reading and have a wonderful Christmas!
Thank you I’m glad you found it helpful! We have Emil waiting to be read, and I suggested Pippi in a bookshop but my daughter turned it down. Sometimes a book sits around waiting for just the right moment and then suddenly the children discover’ it and it’s the best book ever. It’s always the ones I’m desperate for them to read that they take the longest to come around to!
"I’m continually astounded by things that astounded me six weeks ago. "- haha, I know that feeling sometimes:) Fun to read through your kids books and reminisce when we still brought home bags full from the library each week. My primary school teacher read us Ronja, and we all loved it. Astrid Lindgren was one of our favorites. Mo Willems (who writes the Pigeon series) also wrote the Knuffle Bunny books which were brilliant picture books. It's great to experience the stories along with the kids as they discover longer reads and I miss that vicarious fun (mine were really into the Magic Tree House series and I even made a board game for them based on the stories).
Bleak House was one of my favorite Dickens novels - hang in there, it is worth the time. Once you have finished you should check out the mini series (either BBC or Masterpiece made one).
Merry Christmas!
Our most exciting discovery in a year of great reading was the novels of Dianna Wynne Jones, author of Howl's Moving Castle and the Chrestomanci series (starting with Charmed Life).
I had spent the months from April through to August reading the entire Harry Potter series aloud to my then-nearly-six year-old daughter, which was a fabulous experience for both of us but left us somewhat bereft when the story was over.
Diana Wynne Jones has proved to be more than adequate sustenance for us both; her novels are so good that I when I start reading aloud, I will always skip ahead and finish the whole book after my daughter is in bed!
All of her novels are free audiobooks on YouTube and my daughter, now six, is still re-listening to her favourites (The House of Many Ways and The Pinhoe Egg have become a perennial favourites).
You’re preaching to the choir here! My husband devoured many DWJ books this year. The children love watching Howl’s Moving Castle with him and they are just itching to be able to read the books themselves. I suspect it won’t take long! Great tip that they’re on YouTube, thank you!
DWJ is my favourite children's author, I'm so glad you're enjoying her books! I still reread them as an adult.
I grabbed a few of these today at the library, today. Some good titles and series that I haven’t heard of before. Always thankful for suggestion posts. It’s a lot of work to sift through books for kids to find quality.
They had Magic Treehouse graphic novels - first time I have ever seen those but perfect for my struggling reader. And I will also check out Greeking Out for that kid too.
I have recently be diving back into all the classic picture books for my youngest who I realized I had never read them with - Barbara Cooney, Karma Wilson, Robert McCloskey, Mem Fox, Cynthia Rylant etc etc.
My big kids enjoy books by Jonathan Auxier (Sweep, Peter Nimble and his fantastic eyes, etc) and anything by Sarah Pennypacker, Kate DeCamillo (novels and the Mercy Watson stories), Enid Blyton, Phantom Tollbooth, Roald Dahl and many others.
It is a lot of work, isn’t it? I spend ages in bookshops and online browsing for just the right thing. I do think a big part of raising readers is giving them the right books at the right time, and giving them plenty of choice. I’ve learnt that my predictions of what they will or won’t like aren’t very reliable and the best approach is just to give them LOTS, and let them find what’s right for them. I hope your children enjoy some of the new library books!
Impressive and very helpful list, thank you Catherine! Because you mentioned Astrid Lindgren, who was probably my most read author as a kid, may I just suggest Pippi Longstocking as a must-read? It's incredibly funny and original, and a book that just stays with you in the best way possible. Also, Emil of Loneberga is quite the character, with funny stories all around, so worth checking out. I think your kids might love them. Happy reading and have a wonderful Christmas!
Update: today I found a lovely big illustrated Pippi Longstocking in a charity shop and my daughter is already half-way through!
Awesoome! Not surprised in the least that she couldn't put it down, Pippi is a very colorful character. Thanks for letting me know!
Thank you I’m glad you found it helpful! We have Emil waiting to be read, and I suggested Pippi in a bookshop but my daughter turned it down. Sometimes a book sits around waiting for just the right moment and then suddenly the children discover’ it and it’s the best book ever. It’s always the ones I’m desperate for them to read that they take the longest to come around to!
Seven Myths about Education is phenomenal.
"I’m continually astounded by things that astounded me six weeks ago. "- haha, I know that feeling sometimes:) Fun to read through your kids books and reminisce when we still brought home bags full from the library each week. My primary school teacher read us Ronja, and we all loved it. Astrid Lindgren was one of our favorites. Mo Willems (who writes the Pigeon series) also wrote the Knuffle Bunny books which were brilliant picture books. It's great to experience the stories along with the kids as they discover longer reads and I miss that vicarious fun (mine were really into the Magic Tree House series and I even made a board game for them based on the stories).
Bleak House was one of my favorite Dickens novels - hang in there, it is worth the time. Once you have finished you should check out the mini series (either BBC or Masterpiece made one).
Thanks again and have a wonderful Christmas!