bfw0729 Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 (edited) I started reading Tom Sawyer as a read aloud and I stopped part way into the book. I think I would prefer to have the children read this book on their own, but I'm not sure. On a side note... I pick one book a year to do a lap book or unit study where we all read the book together and analyze it. I was thinking maybe I should have Huck Finn be that book instead of Tom Sawyer. We will be doing the Phantom Tollbooth this school year. Do you have your kids read the Mark Twain books or are they read alouds? My kids are 5th graders and a 4th grader. By the way, if I chose to not read the book aloud now, they would read the book around middle school. Edited June 21, 2017 by bfw0729 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeepa Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 What about listening to the audiobook together? My dd and I just did and it was fantastic with Nick Offerman narrating on Audible. It moved onto my list of favorite audiobooks :001_smile: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 I vote audiobooks too. For me, it simply brings so much more life to the story with the dialects and everything else. As an adult, I appreciated and noticed things on the audiobook I hadn't noticed reading myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 I think it depends on why you decided to stop reading it aloud. What was not working? Be sure to read Huck Finn yourself before doing so with your children. While Tom Sawyer is approachable for younger kids, Huck Finn contains some difficult language and social themes. I would save it for high school. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 I think it depends on why you decided to stop reading it aloud. What was not working? Be sure to read Huck Finn yourself before doing so with your children. While Tom Sawyer is approachable for younger kids, Huck Finn contains some difficult language and social themes. I would save it for high school. :iagree: I wouldn't do Huck Finn with elementary students. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5sons Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 My father used to read Tom Sawyer out loud to me and my siblings around the dinner table 30 years ago. I have fond memories of him reading a section and then heehawing out loud at the funny parts. I'll never forget his facial expressions while reading. Good times! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 What about listening to the audiobook together? My dd and I just did and it was fantastic with Nick Offerman narrating on Audible. It moved onto my list of favorite audiobooks :001_smile: Ditto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Licoricewhip Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 We just listened to Tom Sawyer on audiobook and my kids (10 & we) loved it. It wouldn't have been nearly as good if I had read it aloud. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xahm Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 Huck Finn has the same characters, but it is very much not a children's book. Save it for later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 (edited) Chiming in here in favor of the audiobook. My kids and I did it this past year, age 10. I would note that even though it's mostly age-appropriate, there are a couple of things in there you will want to talk about with your kids. For one thing, the "N-word" is in there two or three times. Edited June 22, 2017 by SKL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 What about listening to the audiobook together? My dd and I just did and it was fantastic with Nick Offerman narrating on Audible. It moved onto my list of favorite audiobooks :001_smile: Anything with any sort of accent in it has to be done on Audiobook for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 I'd have to do the audiobook. There's no way I could read that dialect. Actually, all of my kids have hated Tom Sawyer, mainly because the dialect and regional word choices are pretty painful for them. My oldest at least appreciated the story, but #3 cites it as the only book he really hates. He loved the Scarlet Letter, oddly enough, but wanted to throw Tom Sawyer out the window. :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 I started reading Tom Sawyer as a read aloud and I stopped part way into the book. I think I would prefer to have the children read this book on their own, but I'm not sure. On a side note... I pick one book a year to do a lap book or unit study where we all read the book together and analyze it. I was thinking maybe I should have Huck Finn be that book instead of Tom Sawyer. We will be doing the Phantom Tollbooth this school year. Do you have your kids read the Mark Twain books or are they read alouds? My kids are 5th graders and a 4th grader. By the way, if I chose to not read the book aloud now, they would read the book around middle school. I read Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn out loud to my kids when they were around that same age and we all loved both books. That is actually one of my favorite memories of reading out loud because we enjoyed those books so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfw0729 Posted June 23, 2017 Author Share Posted June 23, 2017 My kids were really into it when I was reading the book. I think I will go ahead and read it to them (I enjoy playing the different characters and voices) and hold off with Huck Finn until high school. Thanks for sharing your personal experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 What about listening to the audiobook together? My dd and I just did and it was fantastic with Nick Offerman narrating on Audible. It moved onto my list of favorite audiobooks :001_smile: Oh wow! I'll bet that is good! It depends on the kid. Of my big three (15, 12, and almost 9), two of them love audiobooks. The 12yo really doesn't like audiobooks at all. He much prefers to read something himself. So ymmv. DD read TS in 7th or 8th; DS1 is scheduled to read it next year in 7th. I recall reading parts of it aloud to myself when I read it at about that age. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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