Kids > Reading and writing > Booklists > Books to Read Aloud
Books to Read Aloud
The books on this list are suggested for sharing aloud with many audiences, both in family settings with small numbers of children and with children in classrooms or other large groups. Since your personal values and children’s emotional maturity levels vary widely, we highly recommend that you read the books yourself before sharing them with your audience.
Younger Listeners
- Crews
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j398.8 N3976 2004Photographs of young children romping in an urban setting interpret well-known and less familiar Mother Goose rhymes.
- Charlip
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jE CHARLIPA string of good and bad luck almost keeps Ned from his surprise birthday party.
- Cleary
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j CLEARYRamona meets a lot of interesting people in kindergarten, including Davy, whom she wants to kiss, and Susan, whose springy curls beg to be pulled.
- DiCamillo
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j DICAMILLOWhen Despereaux, a small mouse of unusual talents, falls in love with a human princess, he is banished to the rat-filled dungeon.
- Elya
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S-jE ELYAWhere’s the nearest bathroom when you need one?
- Ehrlich
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j398.21 E33rThis collection includes 19 of the greatest fairy tales of all time.
- Forest
jE FORESTTwo hungry travelers use a stone as a soup starter and demonstrate the benefits of sharing.- Gannett
j GANNETTA compilation of tales that relates the fantastic adventures of Elmer Elevator and a baby flying dragon named Boris.- Hoban
jE HOBANAfter Frances is tricked out of buying a tea set she likes, she finds a way to teach her friend a lesson.- Hort
jE HORTIt’s going to be a wild trip when some very interesting passengers board the bus.- Horvath
j HORVATHThe Pepins are helpless when it comes to solving problems and they need you, the reader, to provide solutions!- Katz
jE KATZSing these funny poems to the tunes of well-known songs.- Kimmel
jE KIMMELAnansi the Spider steals Hyena’s magic stick so he won’t have to do the chores, but when the magic stick won’t stop, Anansi gets more than he bargained for.- Lear
jE LEARCreative collages and etchings illustrate Edward Lear’s famously silly verse.- Lobel
jE LOBELFunny, simply-told stories reflect Frog and Toad’s warm friendship.- Paul
jE PAULIn a Mexican-themed twist on the Little Red Hen story, Iguana can’t get any help with the fiesta she’s planning.- Paye
j398.2 P343m 2003A Liberian folktale describes how Mrs. Chicken cleverly convinces a hungry crocodile not to eat her.- Pinkney
j PINKNEYA courageous mongoose thwarts the evil plans of Nag and Nagaina, two big black cobras who live in the garden.- Seeger
jE SEEGERVillagers realize they need a troublemaking father and son to defeat a fierce monster that is threatening the village.- Shannon
jE SHANNONDuck starts a bike-riding trend on the farm.- Sierra
j398.2 S572t 1999In a retelling of a Japanese folktale, little Uriko saves the village babies from a gang of terrible giants whose favorite treat is baby belly buttons.- Stevens
jE STEVENSBear is too lazy to work during planting season so Hare develops a clever scheme to work Bear’s land and get the best of his crops.- Wilcox
jE WILCOXIn a takeoff on the fairy tale, Rapunzel’s hearing problem stymies the Prince when he asks her to let down her hair.- Willems
jE WILLEMSPlease help the bus driver keep the pigeon from driving his bus!Intermediate Listeners
- Babbitt
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j BABBIT, y BABBITTen-year-old Winnie Foster befriends a family that accidentally finds the secret to living forever. Winnie realizes she must protect their secret from an intrusive stranger.
- Cameron
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jE CAMERONMischief, imagination and humor abound in stories about 7-year-old Julian and his little brother.
- Clements
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j CLEMENTSIs it possible for a boy to make up a word out of thin air and convince the whole world to use it in conversation?
- Codell
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j CODELLSahara has struggled in school but gets a fresh start with a new and unique teacher who recognizes the individuality of all her students.
- Dahl
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j DAHLThe classic adventure story of a boy’s visit to a magical chocolate factory celebrates its 40th anniversary of publication.
- Fleischman
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j811.5 F596jA collection of poems about insects designed to be read aloud in duet.
- Funke
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j FUNKEA crew of homeless kids in Venice, Italy, is headed by a young man whose elusive identity as the Thief Lord isn’t exactly what people believe it is.
- Juster
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j JUSTERA journey through a land where Milo learns the importance of words and numbers provides a cure for his boredom.
- Kehret
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j616.835 K26sThe author describes her battle against polio when she was 13 and her efforts to overcome its debilitating effects.
- Lester
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j398 L64tMaster storyteller Julius Lester tells hair-raising and hilarious tales in a voice that is at once contemporary and timeless.
- Lowry
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j LOWRYWhen Nazi soldiers begin evacuating Jewish families from Copenhagen, 10-year-old Annemarie Johansen wonders how she can keep her best friend Ellen Rosen from being captured.
- Martin
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j MARTINAdventures abound when the 100-year-old Doll family meets the new and plastic Funcraft doll family.
- Robinson
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j HOLIDAY ROBINSONTo everyone’s dismay, the worst-behaved kids in town take over all the main roles of the church Christmas pageant.
- Rodda
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j RODDAYoung Rowan, neither brave nor strong, finds he must be a key member of a search party to find out why the village’s mountain stream has stopped flowing.
- Selden
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j SELDENA cricket’s uniquely melodious chirp gains him fame beyond anyone’s dreams.
- Silverstein
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j811.5 S587w 2004A zesty collection of humorous light verse that delights listeners and readers.
- Steig
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j STEIGA castaway on an uninhabited island, Abel (a very civilized mouse) finds his resourcefulness and endurance tested to the limit as he struggles to survive and return to his home.
- Winthrop
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j WINTHROPA gift of a toy castle, complete with silver knight, sets William on an adventure involving magic and a personal quest.
- Yep
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j398.2 Y47rEarly Chinese-Americans shared stories for entertainment. These retellings include stories about tricksters, fools, virtues and vices, Chinese America and love.
Older Listeners
- Avi
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y AVIA ninth-grader’s suspension for singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” during homeroom becomes a national news story.
- Blumberg
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j952.025 B658s 2001Rescued by an American whaler after a terrible shipwreck leaves him and his four companions castaways on a remote island, 14-year-old Manjiro learns new laws and customs as he becomes the first Japanese person to set foot in the United States.
- Choldenko
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j CHOLDENKOWhen his father takes a job at the Alcatraz Island prison in 1935, 12-year-old Moose has to contend with an extraordinary new environment in addition to the challenges of life with an autistic sister.
- Creech
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j CREECHAfter her mother leaves home suddenly, 13-year-old Sal and her grandparents take a car trip retracing her mother’s route. Along the way, Sal recounts the story of her friend Phoebe, whose mother also left.
- Curtis
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j CURTISThe ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.
- Fletcher
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j FLETCHER, y FLETCHERIn late 19th-century California, when Chinese immigrants are being driven out or even killed for fear they will take jobs from whites, 15-year-old Eliza Jane McCully defies the townspeople and her lighthouse-keeper father to help a Chinese boy who has been kind to her.
- Freedman
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j782.1 A548f 2004Despite Marian Anderson’s acceptance in Europe as an extraordinary vocalist, she struggled against racial discrimination to share her gift with her fellow Americans.
- Giff
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j GIFF, y GIFFWhen a terrible blight attacks Ireland’s potato crop in 1845, 12-year-old Nory Ryan’s courage and ingenuity help her family and neighbors survive. Gilbreth
- Gilbreth
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y920 G466c 2003Set in the early 20th century, this classic family comedy follows the efforts of a husband and wife as they try to maintain control in a home with 12 children.
- Hiaasen
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j HIAASENRoy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy’s attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site.
- Holt
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y398.2 H758s 1999These modern-day folktales with a twist are funny, scary and down right weird.
- Konigsburg
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j KONIGSBURFour students develop a special bond and attract the attention of their teacher, a paraplegic, who chooses them to represent their sixth grade class in the Academic Bowl competition.
- Korman
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j KORMANEighth-grader Wallace Wallace becomes locked in a terrible struggle with his English teacher and his football team when he gives his honest opinion in a book report.
- Levine
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j940.5318 L6656h 2003This is the true account of two brave children caught in the Holocaust and a young Japanese woman’s determination to tell their story.
- Namioka
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y NAMIOKAAilin’s life takes a different turn when she defies the traditions of upper class Chinese society by refusing to have her feet bound.
- Paulsen
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yB-Pa285h 2003Author Gary Paulsen relates tales from his youth in a northwestern Minnesota small town during the late 1940s and early1950s, such as skiing behind a souped-up car and imitating daredevil Evel Knievel.
- Rawls
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j RAWLS, y RAWLSIn the late 1800s, a 12-year-old boy spends a summer trying to capture four runaway circus monkeys.
- Ryan
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j RYANWhen Naomi’s alcoholic mother resurfaces to claim her and collect the welfare check, Naomi runs away to Mexico with her great-grandmother and younger brother in search of her father.
- Sachar
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y SACHARAs further evidence of his family’s bad fortune, which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a horrendous correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure and a new sense of himself.
- San Souci
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j SANSOUCIChoose from ghost stories, supernatural thrillers, science fiction and dark fantasy to read under the blankets at sleepovers, around the campfire or under an ominous moon.
- Shannon
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j398.2 S528tIn each of 18 short tales, the reader is asked to explain how the folk character lied and told the truth at the same time.
- Spinelli
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y SPINELLIIn a story about the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity, and the thrill of first love, an eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever.
- Tolkien
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j TOLKIEN, y TOLKIENBilbo Baggins, a respectable, well-to-do hobbit, lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole until the day the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to share in an adventure from which he may never return.
- Wolff
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y WOLFFSixteen-year-old Nick finds joy in life despite his learning disability, the taunting of other kids and the death of his sister.
- Yates
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jB-F745yAn 18th-century African prince, Amos was captured by slave traders and brought to Massachusetts, where he lived as a slave until buying his freedom at age 60.