I am excited to participate in the Top Ten Tuesday linkup at Many Blessings.
I asked the girls to help me compile a list of our top ten favorite read-alouds.
1. Just in Case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado. This book has got to be my number one! I buy this book for all of my friends when they have their first child. It is my favorite children's book EVER and I STILL read it to my girls from time to time...it is about being there for your children and helping them to understand that God is always there for them, too. It is AWESOME! If you have never read it, do yourself and your kids a favor and at the very least take it out of the library (and if you are anything like me, have a tissue handy when you read it!)
2. Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists series by Mike Venezia. Every week this spring, the girls and I picked a book from this series, read about the artist aloud, looked for videos or articles or websites on the internet about the artist and then either looked for an exercise that would help us understand the artist's technique better or try to replicate one of the artist's works. We all thoroughly enjoyed the books we read from this series, they are informative, descriptive, humorous and helped us add many art terms to our vocabulary. The girls and I agreed that the best part of this series is that we are nowhere near done and have a lot more to read and learn about!
3. Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer. My girls asked to put this down since I often read it to them. Although it is a 'curriculum' it is written like a story and I really can't see why we couldn't include it! I am proud to say that my girls LOVE these books and Allie has re-read Volume I to herself.
4. Children's Stories from the Bible. I was encouraged by homeschool bloggers to read my children Bible stories. I took it for granted that I knew these classic stories from my own childhood and a little embarrassed to realize that my children did not know these stories.
5. The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds. Beowulf by Gareth Hinds. Graphic Novels based on full-length classic stories. I find that the mix of graphics and words helps my children and I to better understand these classic stories. It also holds our interest better. I am sure that when my girls get to high school, they will read the full-length novels, but for now I feel these are a great introduction. I only wish we had found them sooner.
6. No Fear Shakespeare Graphic Novels by Neil Babra and William Shakespeare. I did not understand Shakespeare, try as I might, until I saw it acted out. These graphic novels are no replacement for Shakespearean Theatre, BUT they are a great way to introduce the story to children prior to seeing the perfomance. We have read and seen several this way and my girls always understand it better than I did in high school! I am so happy to have the freedom to introduce them to Shakespeare this way!
7. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. Allie read this in school and suggested that we all read it when an episode of The Waltons featured a family who had survived the Holocaust. This book is an emotional book and a great way to introduce kids to the idea of the Holocaust. It is so well-written that you can not put it down.
8. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. My girls ADORE this book. They relate very well to the characters. Allie has read it more than once. Do you know how you know if a book is good? If it stays with you. This book definitely has stayed with us, because sometimes out of nowhere my girls will start talking about how said it was that Beth died and they like to ponder what may have happened had she not died. They can still get upset that Laurie didn't marry Jo and when someone is annoying them (their sister perhaps?) they will say she is acting like Amy. For a brief period there was a saying in our house: You are such an Amy! Or, the compliment: You are just like Jo when you do that!
10. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. We read this for our Mother-Daughter Book Club and we all really enjoyed it. It was a wonderful launchpad for powerful discussions. Would you drink from the Fountain of Youth? Would that be a good thing?
10. It's Not What You've Got by Dr. Wayne Dyer. I love all of Dr. Wayne Dyer's books and I have read all of his children's books to my own children, kids in the library and my Sunday school classes. These are powerful value-driven books.
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