Sunshine Mama Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Ok, I think I have FINALLY finished my 1st grade read aloud list. I'm quite sure we won't read everything on our list this year but this is what I'll let my ds (6) choose from. So.....I would like your opinions on these books. Specifically are they appropriate for a 6 year old. I don't want anything so above his head that he won't be able to understand it. IF you think I should wait a year or two for a specific book please tell me. Also, nothing too scary, too violent, etc. Let me know anything you did not like about the books below. And finally, is there anything else I must add? Thanks in advance! Little House in the Big Woods*** Stuart Little Mr Popper's Penguins Encylcopedia Brown*** The Littles*** Just So Stories My Father's Dragon Aesop for Children The Indian in the Cupboard*** Thornton Burgess Animal Stories*** Flat Stanley*** Mrs. Piggle Wiggle** Nate the Great*** Detectives in Togas James and the Giant Peach Poppy*** Ragweed*** The Cricket in Times Square Fantastic Mr. Fox Clementine*** Trumpet and the Swan The Velveteen Rabbit Funny Frank The Original Winnie the Pooh books Wizard of Oz*** Beatrix Potter Tales Blue Fairy Book (Andrew Lang)*** Fifty Famous Stories Retold James Herriot book of animal stories Billy and Blaze*** Grandma's Attic books*** Babe A Mouse Called Wolf Burgess Bird Book for Children Milly Molly Mandy Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass Raggedy Ann Raddedy Andy Dominic by W. steig Sophie's Snail The Storm (Lighthouse Series) Rylant *** Catwings 4 Book Box Set Gooney Bird Green The Water Horse The Twenty One Balloons Swallows and Amazons*** The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles The Great Brain*** Finn Family Moomintroll*** The Phantom Tollbooth The Borrowers*** Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH*** Oh and I put asteriks by the books that are part of a series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Looks like a great list to me! (Ahem...do you mind if I steal it?) :001_unsure: :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Mama Posted May 22, 2008 Author Share Posted May 22, 2008 (Ahem...do you mind if I steal it?) :001_unsure: :D Of course not! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Is it my imagination, or is this the third place I've seen this list (or a variation of it)? If so, we much hang out at all the same places. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 That's a great list! The only suggestion I'd make is to present a shorter list (maybe 5 books) to your child to pick the next read-aloud. This list is so long it might be overwhelming to pick from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trivium Academy Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Little House in the Big Woods*** Stuart Little Mr Popper's Penguins Encylcopedia Brown*** The Littles*** Just So Stories My Father's Dragon Aesop for Children The Indian in the Cupboard*** Thornton Burgess Animal Stories*** Flat Stanley*** Mrs. Piggle Wiggle** Nate the Great*** Detectives in Togas James and the Giant Peach Poppy*** Ragweed*** The Cricket in Times Square Fantastic Mr. Fox and all Roald Dahl titles Clementine*** Trumpet and the Swan The Velveteen Rabbit Funny Frank The Original Winnie the Pooh books Wizard of Oz*** Beatrix Potter Tales Blue Fairy Book (Andrew Lang)*** Fifty Famous Stories Retold James Herriot book of animal stories Billy and Blaze*** Grandma's Attic books*** Babe A Mouse Called Wolf Burgess Bird Book for Children Milly Molly Mandy Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass Raggedy Ann Raddedy Andy Dominic by W. steig Sophie's Snail The Storm (Lighthouse Series) Rylant *** Catwings 4 Book Box Set Gooney Bird Green The Water Horse The Twenty One Balloons Swallows and Amazons*** The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles The Great Brain*** Finn Family Moomintroll*** The Phantom Tollbooth The Borrowers*** Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH*** Books to wait until older Books to save as independent reads Some of these titles I don't recognize like Finn Family Moomintroll. Other Thornton Burgess titles are wonderful as well, like Mother West Wind's Children. I would separate your history or science linked titles from the literature titles if you ever need to decrease the list for any reason. In first grade we read (from titles on your list): Milly Molly Mandy The Original Winnie the Pooh books My Father's Dragon Mr Popper's Penguins (tried but my dd wasn't interested, we'll need to retry this one) You have titles listed that we've read in 2nd, will in 3rd as well as through 4th so you could consider this list for a couple of years instead of just first grade. Anyways, I hope my input helps, great list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Mama Posted May 22, 2008 Author Share Posted May 22, 2008 Is it my imagination, or is this the third place I've seen this list (or a variation of it)? If so, we much hang out at all the same places. :) LOL :D Actually this is a list I compiled after hours of reading book lists (Sonlight, Veritas Press, ambleside), reviews at Amazon and many threads here at WTM. So yes, we've probably have been hanging out in the same places. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Mama Posted May 22, 2008 Author Share Posted May 22, 2008 That's a great list! The only suggestion I'd make is to present a shorter list (maybe 5 books) to your child to pick the next read-aloud. This list is so long it might be overwhelming to pick from. Very true! Actually I'm planning to purchase the books on my list and just leave them on a bookshelf for him to pick from. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Mama Posted May 22, 2008 Author Share Posted May 22, 2008 Little House in the Big Woods***Stuart Little Mr Popper's Penguins Encylcopedia Brown*** The Littles*** Just So Stories My Father's Dragon Aesop for Children The Indian in the Cupboard*** Thornton Burgess Animal Stories*** Flat Stanley*** Mrs. Piggle Wiggle** Nate the Great*** Detectives in Togas James and the Giant Peach Poppy*** Ragweed*** The Cricket in Times Square Fantastic Mr. Fox and all Roald Dahl titles Clementine*** Trumpet and the Swan The Velveteen Rabbit Funny Frank The Original Winnie the Pooh books Wizard of Oz*** Beatrix Potter Tales Blue Fairy Book (Andrew Lang)*** Fifty Famous Stories Retold James Herriot book of animal stories Billy and Blaze*** Grandma's Attic books*** Babe A Mouse Called Wolf Burgess Bird Book for Children Milly Molly Mandy Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass Raggedy Ann Raddedy Andy Dominic by W. steig Sophie's Snail The Storm (Lighthouse Series) Rylant *** Catwings 4 Book Box Set Gooney Bird Green The Water Horse The Twenty One Balloons Swallows and Amazons*** The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles The Great Brain*** Finn Family Moomintroll*** The Phantom Tollbooth The Borrowers*** Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH*** Books to wait until older Books to save as independent reads Some of these titles I don't recognize like Finn Family Moomintroll. Other Thornton Burgess titles are wonderful as well, like Mother West Wind's Children. I would separate your history or science linked titles from the literature titles if you ever need to decrease the list for any reason. In first grade we read (from titles on your list): Milly Molly Mandy The Original Winnie the Pooh books My Father's Dragon Mr Popper's Penguins (tried but my dd wasn't interested, we'll need to retry this one) You have titles listed that we've read in 2nd, will in 3rd as well as through 4th so you could consider this list for a couple of years instead of just first grade. Anyways, I hope my input helps, great list! This is exactly the advice I'm looking for. I've already made the changes. THanks! :D And yeah, I'm VERY sure we won't even read half of what's on our list this year, but that's ok, we'll just roll it over into next year (and the following year). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Blue Fairy Book (Andrew Lang)*** Preread. Some tales are not suitable for sensitive children. Sophie's Snail There are, I think, 6 books in this series with one overarching story, though each book has a discrete story in its own right. They should be read in order. A seventh was recently published, Sophie's Further Adventures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Some of these titles I don't recognize like Finn Family Moomintroll.There are love-'em-or-hate-'em gems from Finnish author/illustrator Tove Jansson, and they're especially good for advanced young readers. We have the books, the comics, and DVD's of a Polish puppet TV adaptation of the books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neesek Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 There are two more books after My Father's Dragon. We read all three of these in K, and they were some of his favorites. The titles are Elmer and the Dragon and The Dragons of Blueland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhesa Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 I have a 5 & 7 yo, and we enjoyed many of these read alouds this past year. I highlighted my favorites: Little House in the Big Woods*** Stuart Little (tried this, couldn't get into it) Mr Popper's Penguins Encylcopedia Brown*** The Littles*** Just So Stories My Father's Dragon Aesop for Children The Indian in the Cupboard*** Thornton Burgess Animal Stories*** Flat Stanley*** Mrs. Piggle Wiggle** Nate the Great*** (Son read these on his own) Detectives in Togas James and the Giant Peach Poppy*** Ragweed*** The Cricket in Times Square (couldn't get into this one, either) Fantastic Mr. Fox Clementine*** Trumpet and the Swan (or this one!!) The Velveteen Rabbit Funny Frank The Original Winnie the Pooh books Wizard of Oz*** Beatrix Potter Tales Blue Fairy Book (Andrew Lang)*** Fifty Famous Stories Retold James Herriot book of animal stories Billy and Blaze*** (son read these on his own time) Grandma's Attic books*** Babe A Mouse Called Wolf Burgess Bird Book for Children Milly Molly Mandy Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass Raggedy Ann Raddedy Andy Dominic by W. steig Sophie's Snail The Storm (Lighthouse Series) Rylant *** Catwings 4 Book Box Set Gooney Bird Green The Water Horse The Twenty One Balloons Swallows and Amazons*** The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles The Great Brain*** Finn Family Moomintroll*** The Phantom Tollbooth The Borrowers*** Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH*** Oh and I put asteriks by the books that are part of a series. We are also just now finishing the Tale of Desperaux. Both of mine are really enjoying it, and begging, "Just one more chapter, mom..." Always a good sign around here! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhesa Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 Oh, I also forgot the Beverly Cleary books. Both enjoyed Henry Huggins and Henry and Ribsy. You have great chapter books, but don't give up on picture books yet! :) There are so many good ones out there. I have to remind myself that reading literature isn't a race. And there are lots of picture books that are great reads. You've got a fun year ahead of you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 There are, I think, 6 books in this series with one overarching story, though each book has a discrete story in its own right. They should be read in order. A seventh was recently published, Sophie's Further Adventures. My now 17 year old loved the Sophie books by Dick King-Smith when she was a first grader. It's nice to know that the series is still growing! I just introduced a young boy to the first book; he enjoyed it too. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 I would wait on (these make great literature books for older readers: Twenty One Balloons The Phantom Tollbooth I think the don't-miss books for first grade on your list would be: Just-So Stories My Father's Dragon Aesop for Children Thornton Burgess Velveteen Rabbit Winnie-the-Pooh Beatrix Potter Alice in Wonderland Little House in the Big Woods Mr. Popper's Penguins Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle James Herriot Fifty Famous Stories I think these make better early readers, and I would save them: Nate the Great Flat Stanley Billy and Blaze The Littles The Borrowers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Your list looks good. I have a 2nd grader so we just got done reading some of those books. Some of them on your list my 4th grader read last year so you could shorten your list and save a few of those for the following year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennay Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 I would add in some of the picture books from Five in a Row. I agree with some of the pp that some of those books (Nate the Great, Littles, etc.) would be best to save until they can be read independently. Both my DH and I found Winnie the Pooh incredibly hard to read aloud. So we got it from the library on CD. Much better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoftwinboys Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 I'm a new homeschooler so excuse my ignorance if this sounds that way. These are family read alouds..right? Meaning I read them to my children, right? Are their book lists out their for books my boys should be reading during independant reading time? I haven't seen any of those yet. Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Little House in the Big Woods*** My Father's Dragon Aesop for Children (Just a note that different fables are recommended for Writing Tales, if you plan to use it) Mrs. Piggle Wiggle** Nate the Great*** Detectives in Togas (Just a note that there are "mystical" happenings that some christians such as myself might find unacceptable) Roald Dahl titles Trumpet and the Swan The Velveteen Rabbit The Original Winnie the Pooh books Fifty Famous Stories Retold (don't miss this one!) Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass Books to wait until older Books to save as independent reads Books we loved Books DD could not get into and we quit on them "You have titles listed that we've read in 2nd, will in 3rd as well as through 4th so you could consider this list for a couple of years instead of just first grade." I have to agree with this and add that this is way too many books for one school year IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Mama Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 You have great chapter books, but don't give up on picture books yet! :) There are so many good ones out there. I have to remind myself that reading literature isn't a race. And there are lots of picture books that are great reads. I have a seperate list for picture books (I just didn't list it here), mostly from FIAR. Any other good lists for picture books? TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Mama Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 I'm a new homeschooler so excuse my ignorance if this sounds that way.These are family read alouds..right? Meaning I read them to my children, right? Are their book lists out their for books my boys should be reading during independant reading time? I haven't seen any of those yet. Thanks for sharing! I'm no expert but I'll tell you what my ds (6) has been reading independently this year (although I think he's reading at 2nd or 3rd grade level). All of the Magic Treehouse Books All the Frog & Toad books Amelia Bedelia Berenstain Bears (okay, not quality literature but he loves them!) And he's currently going thru all the A to Z mysteries by Ron Roy (there's a book for every letter of the alphabet). After getting my hands on Nate the Great and The Littles, I agree with many of pp that these could (and should) be used as independent reads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Mama Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 "You have titles listed that we've read in 2nd, will in 3rd as well as through 4th so you could consider this list for a couple of years instead of just first grade." I have to agree with this and add that this is way too many books for one school year IMO. I probably should have clarified this in my original post. I don't think for even a minute that we will read all of these books this year. I just wanted to search out quality literature that I wouldn't be *surprised* with while reading. Plus, I plan to purchase these books and just leave them sitting on the shelf since this seems to be the best way to entice ds to read them (as opposed to getting them from the library and then nagging him to read them before their due back :D) So, don't worry this list will probably last us many years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhesa Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Both my DH and I found Winnie the Pooh incredibly hard to read aloud. So we got it from the library on CD. Much better! I'm in agreement here. I tried reading Pooh several times, and my kids just seemed bored with it. No amount of vocal gymnastics on my part could bring it to life. Then we got Jim Broadbent's version from the library- bang! Now the kids "get" it! They even laugh at appropriate parts! (Instead of yawning while I read...:D) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhesa Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 I have a seperate list for picture books (I just didn't list it here), mostly from FIAR. Any other good lists for picture books? TIA! I read "Honey for a Child's Heart", and found some winners there. I'll list a few: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel/Little House/Katy and the Big Snow (Burton) old classics, kids have returned to them over & over Little Tim Books- Edward Ardizzone (OOP, I think. STories of a little boy who lives by the English seashore, and his adventures there.) Dr DeSoto (Steig) We enjoy this one the best of all the Steig books Stellaluna/Verdi (Cannon) Saint George and the Dragon (Hodges) Anansi stories (Kimmel) folk tales from Africa The Gifts of Wali Dad (Shepard) found at our library, we love the humor in this tale!! I think it's an Indian folk tale. Five Chinese Brothers (Bishop) The Red Lion (Wolkstein) King Midas and the Golden Touch (Craft) amazing illustrations The Firebird (Spirin) It Could Always Be Worse (Zemach) Hope these help!! They've been some that we've enjoyed this year. Can you tell that my kids are sleeping late???:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narnian Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Great list! We've enjoyed many books on this list. My 1st grader enjoyed My Father's Dragon (and the sequels) very much. Perfect age for those. Roald Dahl's books are also a hit at our house, but I would caution that they sometimes have objectionable content (depending, of course, on what your family considers to be objectionable). For instance, James in the Giant Peach contained mild swearing. I read this one aloud to my son, so it was easy for me to change the wording on the fly -- but if your 1st grader starts reading any of these independently, you may want to read them first yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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