Alicia64 Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong If I told you what it's about you'd think: snooze-fest. But it's really good. It seems to be about one thing, but there is a much deeper context to the story: how to make change, how to make dreams come true, how to persevere, how to work as a group or team. My boys are 8 and I think it's best as a read aloud -- you wouldn't want to miss it. SUPER book. Now please share what you're reading and LOVE. We need a new one! Thanks, Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 (edited) I've seen complaints here about this book, but we loved it. Edited November 19, 2011 by nmoira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.W Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 My husband reads to the kids at night, but I pick the books for them. Last year I reluctantly gave him The Wheel on the School, thinking he would hate it (but I didn't have time for a trip to the library to find something different). Not only did the kids love it, but my husband loved it too -- it was one of their favorite books of the year. Which reminds me, I need to get them a new book again, so I'll be reading the suggestions too. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 We just finished The Phoenix and the Carpet (sequel to Five Children and It), and are about to start the next in the series, The Story of the Amulet. All are delightful read-allude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 I saw that one in 1000 Children's Books You Should Read Before You Grow up and thought it looked great. I'm putting that on our list. We are reading The Twenty-One Balloons. It was one of my favorites as a child and it's just as good as I remembered it being. DS6 is enthralled, and even DS3 is quite interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKidAcademy Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 We are currently reading Meindert DeJong's Along Came a Dog. While I don't find the writing style read-aloud-friendly, we are enjoying the story very much. I'll look at Wheel on the School too. Thanks for the rec! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy to monkeys Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 You're kidding?!:confused: We had that as a read aloud and (I hate to admit this) we couldn't make it past chapter 2! Sooooo boring. I couldn't get into it. . .and the kids were asking for something else instead. First read aloud EVER that we haven't finished. Oy. Maybe I'll have to check it out again sometime and read it for myself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeeBeaks Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 It took a while to get into, but we loved it here too. We are loving Cruise of the Arctic Star by O'Dell right now. We are doing California history, and his books are so perfect for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I have to say, I personally adore that book. It's so sweet. I have a fond memory of reading it when I was about 9 or 10. I thought it would make a great read aloud. But it totally and utterly bombed here. We made it halfway through, but it was so slow going and it was obvious the kids couldn't care less. We rarely bomb on read alouds, but this was a total fail. So... I'm sure it's right for some kids (I still love it!) but it was a rare nonstarter here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_midori Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 We are in the middle of Fablehaven right now, and my 7yo is very much enjoying it! eta - I am also enjoying it! I actually find myself flipping ahead pages at the end of the chapter to see what happens next "just real quick" so I'm ready! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petepie2 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 We enjoyed Wheel on the School, too! My husband's family is Dutch, so that made the book extra special. Another book that I simply adored was Understood Betsy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Reading 'Pinky Pye' aloud here by Eleanor Estes. We also read 'Ginger Pye' by the same author. Very fun books, take a little getting into but the characters are delightful. 'King of the Wind' by Marguerite Henry was another recent read aloud. Wonderful writing and a very good story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 (edited) The first time I tried to read Wheel on the School aloud, I almost fell asleep and the kids were just eh. I kept hearing what a great story it was so we tried again about a year later. We LOVED it that time!! It really is a sweet story. I loved how the entire village came together and really learned to care for one another. eta - We just finished the Bunnicula series -so funny! I am still trying to decide on our next one. Maybe we'll start up something Christmas-y. Edited November 20, 2011 by Mothersweets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 We read it earlier this year and really enjoyed it. There were some slow parts, but we stuck with it and were very glad we did. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raceNzanesmom Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 We're reading The Cricket in Times Square. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Okay, if we're recommending, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland, which we just finished, was completely amazing. The voice was so good. The language was amazing. Love, loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swainsonshawk Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 You should check out Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook. Along with recommending LOTS of books for read alouds, he discusses why some read alouds fail. Mostly, read alouds need to have action and not be dialogue focused. It is very hard to understand who is talking in a group of people if you can't see the paragraphing yourself. The Wheel on the school bombed for us as a read aloud because it was too slow moving. That said, I think it is a great book for an individual to read, or for experienced, patient listeners to listen to. My kids were too wiggly at the time I tried to read it and it didn't grab their attention. I bet they could listen to it now. We should try it again. Becky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 ooooh, and it's about _Dutch_ children: I'll get total bonus points when Button tells my Dutch mother-in-law about it :) quick ??: did you originally find it through Chinaberry? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 adding this to the running list of current faves Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum. Didn't think Button would like it, but when I showed him a copy we're giving to a friend on her birthday he got fascinated. I do paraphrase a bit, to the point of hustling the "action" in the early section ;) but now that we've hit the toy-making part we're loving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrspoch Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 adding this to the running list of current favesLife and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum. Didn't think Button would like it, but when I showed him a copy we're giving to a friend on her birthday he got fascinated. I do paraphrase a bit, to the point of hustling the "action" in the early section ;) but now that we've hit the toy-making part we're loving it. Thanks for recommending this! I just requested it from our library, and it will be our next read-aloud after Thanksgiving. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 Okay, if we're recommending, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland, which we just finished, was completely amazing. The voice was so good. The language was amazing. Love, loved it. I'm ordering this immediately. Have you read Night Fairy? Super good too. I agree with everyone that Wheel on the School was slow getting into -- and not super action-y although at some points it is. But once really into it my boys would get mad when I put it down. Well . . . my throat hurt. Thanks for this book recommendation -- I've noticed you have really great taste. Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 When I first started reading The Wheel on the School, I thought it was a ridiculous story. I kept saying "Is this whole book really about a bunch of kids looking for a wheel?" until I saw how each of the characters were revealed and the village came together. We finished the book and ended up loving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekmom Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 We are all loving our current read aloud The Candy Shop War. It's great for all ages! http://www.amazon.com/Candy-Shop-War-Brandon-Mull/dp/1590389700/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321819696&sr=1-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessReplanted Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 We are really enjoying The City of Ember, and before that we loved Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekster519 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 We are really enjoying The City of Ember, and before that we loved Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. We loved City of Ember too! I couldn't help myself and read ahead. One chapter each night wasn't fast enough. We are enjoying the next book, The People of Sparks, now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malenki Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 LOVED the book as a read-aloud just recently! It's one of our top five, ever. We just ercently finished "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" recently which of course is fairly standard. We're more than halfway done with "Mountain Born" and it's just a really sweet story so far. Also read "Understood Betsy" a few weeks ago and that was a huge favorite; my husband especially loved it! (Go figure!) I need something new... we'll be done by Thanksgiving! Ack! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 One of my favorite read-alouds has been Kildee House. I read it to the kids a couple of years ago, but I've found myself thinking about it a lot lately. It was a fun story about a man who decided to build a house with a redwood tree for one wall, and ends up having a bunch of critters come to live with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle My Bell Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Just finished My Side of the Mountain and we loved it! A must read for nature lovers. I was really disappointed in the movie version however. It made me want to remake the movie myself! LOL:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessReplanted Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 We loved City of Ember too! I couldn't help myself and read ahead. One chapter each night wasn't fast enough. We are enjoying the next book, The People of Sparks, now. I've been reading ahead too!! I think I'm going to make it a read aloud & a quiet time reading book so we can get through it faster. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 One of my all-time favorites. "It was so impossibly impossible, it had to be." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchie Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Mine also sounds like a snooze-fest, but is my all-time favorite: The Catalog by Jasper Tomkins (I have younger dc). DH gave it to me as a good-luck gift during our dating days in college, and my sons always ask me to read the note he included inside. :001_smile: The book has a sweet message. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolamum Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 LOVED this book. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Aloud, I'm reading Watership Down to my 10 yo. It's not for younger kids-he's probably barely old enough, because of the vocabulary, but also it's just conceptually a more adult book. I RA it to his older brother when he was twelve and that was the perfect age. I can't recommend this highly enough. Next RA likely to be My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. Considering Modoc next (this boy is an animal lover). All of these are older kid RAs though. For younger kids, I second everything that's been mentioned so far. I'd add: Dominic by William Steig. All time fave here. Anything Roald Dahl. Big fans here. If you can get the audiobook of Revolting Rhymes, do it. It's rhymed retellings of fairy tales, and they are truly hilarious, in an irreverent way. My teenager still quotes: "Mum!! Behold the prickles in my bum!!" All the Lang Fairy books. For the 5-9 set, the Enid Blyton books The Wishing Chair and The Faraway Tree. Not as easy to come by here in the USA but I ordered them from amazon in the hardcover compilations and after two complete RAs, he's read them by himself several times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 adding this to the running list of current favesLife and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum. Didn't think Button would like it, but when I showed him a copy we're giving to a friend on her birthday he got fascinated. I do paraphrase a bit, to the point of hustling the "action" in the early section ;) but now that we've hit the toy-making part we're loving it. Thank you! We just started The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, but when I saw this, I immediately placed it on hold at the library. I think it'll make a great December read aloud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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