silver Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 We all know about Laura Ingalls, Narnia, the Wizard of Oz, etc. But what have been your favorite read alouds that aren't super well known? Here are some from our family: Freddy The Detective by Walter Brooks The Mad Scientists' Club by Bertrand Brinley No Flying in the House by Betty Brock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Hard to know which books are not considered well known. But I'll try. The Secret World of Og by Pierre Berton Bill Peet: An Autobiography by Bill Peet The Enchanted Forest series by Patricia C. Wrede Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl William Shakespeare's Star Wars by Ian Doescher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 A Wrinkle in Time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Chronicles of Prydain - lots of fun!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Do people who aren't me still read Albert Payson Terhune's dog stories? The anti-German sentiment of post WWI America is inappropriate for littles but he was prolific enough that we can be selective. He's free on Project Gutenburg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 I love Miss Hickory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 I love the stories in the old Junior Collier Classics collection. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=collier+junior+classicsStories like "When Molly was Six" "http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/When_Molly_was_six.html?id=WhYZAAAAYAAJNelly's Hospital" http://readbookonline.net/readOnLine/97/poems by Edward Lear http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/learwk.htmlGeorge MacDonlald's the Light Princess http://www.gutenberg.org/files/697/697-h/697-h.htmI could go on and on. Great read alouds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 The Children of Green Knowe/A Stranger at Green Knowe (the best books in the series) (Boston) Twig (Orton Jones) Four Dolls (Godden) King Arthur and a World of Other Stories (McCaughrean) The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Selznick) The Wind in the Willows (Grahame) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 We had a long drive today and spent most of it listening to "The Scarecrow and his Servant" by Philip Pullman. It's hilarious! It is a total Don Quixote story - very funny. My kids won't let me stop reading Joan Aiken's Wolves series - they adore Dido Twite! We're on Dido and Pa now. I think I only read the first three books as a kid - some of the others didn't even exist back then, i supposes. But we're on 7 of 12 right now . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twooakharborhicks Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 2nd on the Dido Twite books. My 2nd grade son can't get enough of them. I read them without stopping when I was a kid. We also like the Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews and I don't know if it's not well known or not, but the entire Indian in the Cupboard series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Little Britches Bambi The Princess and the Goblin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 The Cabin Faced West The Cricket in Times Square The Tale of Despereaux Anne of Green Gables (famous here, but maybe not everywhere) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Little Britches Bambi The Princess and the Goblin Little Britches :thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Here are a few that we love: Ordinary Princess by Mary Margaret Kaye The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie S. Carlson Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge Faerie Gold: Treasures From the Land of Enchantment by Hunsicker and Lindskoog Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Cinnabar, the One O'Clock Fox, by Marguerite Henry (famous for the Misty of Chincoteague books). It's a great read about a fictional fox on George Washington's property. He even hides out in Pohick Church! (Our church) I've heard of all the ones listed--it is hard to know what is well known and what isn't! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 This one was a hit in our home: Chuck and Danielle by Peter Dickinson From Booklist: "Gr. 3-6. This clever episodic story set in England introduces Danielle and her dog, Chuck. A well-bred, high-strung whippet, Chuck is not just nervous but downright terrified of everything from cats to pigeons to stuffed animals to paper bags. Each chapter involves Danielle and Chuck in a different set of circumstances (foiling a purse snatcher, setting loose a herd of cows, befriending an unpromising new neighbor), and each ends with a running joke about Danielle's desire to see Chuck save the universe. Woven into the story is the recurring theme of Danielle's curiosity about her father's identity. When her dad makes a cameo appearance near the end of the book, Danielle finally discovers answers to her questions and learns why he has never been part of her life. Although the book has its thoughtful moments, the tone never stays serious for long. The staccato writing is eminently readable, the depictions of Chuck's weird worldview are perceptive, and many of the scenes are laugh-out-loud funny. Absolutely entertaining both for kids reading alone or for parents and teachers reading aloud. Carolyn Phelan" Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivingHope Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 All books by Kate Seredy but especially The Chestry Oak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 I'm not sure what counts as "unknown" as I think of all these as well-known, but I'll throw out a few that we enjoyed I see mentioned less. * Chasing Vermeer (and the sequels) * The Penderwicks * The Melendy books * The Great Brain books * Arabel's Raven * The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg * Our Only May Amelia * A Long Way From Chicago * The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate * Finn Family Moomintroll * The Thirteen Clocks * The Ghost in the Tokkaido Inn We are up to the third of the Wolves books and I need to practice my Dido voice because we'll clearly need to get back to that before too long... We just finished Angel on the Square, which is about the Russian Revolution. I like the book and it was much enjoyed, but I don't just adore it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 So many! But off the top of my head: The Great Brain series (we all LOVE) Owls in the Family Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Another vote for The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye. It's not Disney at all, but it is what you'd call a fairy tale. So charming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewellsmommy Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 The Grand Escape The Healing of Texas Jake Carlotta's Kittens Polo's Mother by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and Alan Daniel These were dd's favorites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Element Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Ronia, the Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin were two favorites here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megbo Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 I'm a little fuzzy on what's considered a "read aloud", but we've recently enjoyed: Hickory - Palmer Brown The Magic Bed-Knob & Bonfires and Broomsticks - Mary Norton The Cat Club - Esther Averill (Ds5 is getting the next few in this series for Christmas) The Abandoned - Paul Gallico The Island of Horses - Eilis Dillon The Boy on the Porch - Sharon Creech When Zachary Beaver Came to Town - Kimberly Willis Holt Wild Boy: The Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron - Mary Losure The Fairy Ring: Or Elsie and Frances Fool the World - Mary Losure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy in Australia Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Enid Blyton books. I'm not sure how "well-known" these are in the US (they were very popular in the UK & Australia). We start with titles like "The Magic Faraway Tree" & "The Wishing Chair", and move on to "The Adventurous Four", "The Famous Five" and "The Secret Seven". My now-14 year old was slightly lazy when he was little in that he didn't want to read books for himself when his parents could do it for him. I got over that hurdle very quickly by leaving one of the The Wishing Chair stories at a very exciting cliff-hanger and telling him we'd finish tomorrow. He read the rest of the book in an hour :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews The Secret of Terror Castle by Robert Arthur The Curse of the Blue Figurine by John Bellairs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Stig of the Dump. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Enid Blyton books. I'm not sure how "well-known" these are in the US (they were very popular in the UK & Australia). We start with titles like "The Magic Faraway Tree" & "The Wishing Chair", and move on to "The Adventurous Four", "The Famous Five" and "The Secret Seven". My now-14 year old was slightly lazy when he was little in that he didn't want to read books for himself when his parents could do it for him. I got over that hurdle very quickly by leaving one of the The Wishing Chair stories at a very exciting cliff-hanger and telling him we'd finish tomorrow. He read the rest of the book in an hour :lol: I adored reading the Famous Five when I was living overseas. They didn't have them in the USA libraries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Oh, also Chancey and the Grand Rascal by Sid Fleishman--it's hilarious and not as well-known as his Great Horn Spoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 I'll put in another plug for the longer William Steig books: Amos and Boris, and Dominic. Enid Blyton too, and The Mad Scientist Club. We've also spent hours on the Andrew Lang color Fairy books-and any fairy tale collection. Watership Down-for the 12-13 yo in your life. All Creatures Great and Small-again for 12-13 yo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtoamiracle Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 I loved Watership Down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 I'm not sure what counts as "unknown" as I think of all these as well-known, but I'll throw out a few that we enjoyed I see mentioned less. * Chasing Vermeer (and the sequels) * The Penderwicks * The Melendy books * The Great Brain books * Arabel's Raven * The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg * Our Only May Amelia * A Long Way From Chicago * The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate * Finn Family Moomintroll * The Thirteen Clocks * The Ghost in the Tokkaido Inn We are up to the third of the Wolves books and I need to practice my Dido voice because we'll clearly need to get back to that before too long... We just finished Angel on the Square, which is about the Russian Revolution. I like the book and it was much enjoyed, but I don't just adore it. Oh, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is another all-time favorite here! I think one of the reason my kids like the Wolves books so much is that I do voices - which I don't normally do - not so much Dido, although they absolutely love her slang! But I pick one or two characters each book and "do" the voice. I did Yorka, and I'm doing King Dick, and I totally botch all the cockney or yorkshire-ish accents, but they don't know any better and it's fun! They still occasionally break into chants of "A Pict! A Pict! She rented a room to a Pict! And I think she ought to be kicked!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 My family loves all the Swallows and Amazons books - there are 12. Well, a couple are not so great and there are some politically-incorrect characterizations and words in a few but overall they are the best family readalouds ever. We also liked The Wolves of Willoughby Chase series until the last 2 or 3 books. They got a little odd for us. I didn't notice if anyone mentioned The Children of Green Knowe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Half Magic Ben and Me Number the Stars In Place of Katya The Diamond in the Window Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 The only one we've done that no one has mentioned is Treasures of the Snnow by Patricia St. John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Thank you so much for mentioning The Secret World of Og! I loved it as a child but couldn't remember the name! It's on the way to my house now :) Your welcome. I think the BBC made a radio drama version of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 I forgot Eva Ibbotson's The Star of Kazan! One of my daughter's favorites. We also enjoyed her Journey to the River Sea and The Dragonfly Pool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Others I forgot before: Holes (Sachar) Hurry Home, Candy (DeJong) At the Back of the North Wind (MacDonald) We haven't gotten to these yet, but I think they will be good: I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade (Wilson) - I've heard it like a more exciting Mulan-type story, with more horse focus. DD adores horses. When the Siren Wailed (Streatfeild) - We read and loved Ballet Shoes by the same author (it was one of my favorite books as a child). She wrote lots of other books, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Some of our favorite "not-well-known" titles, with approximate "age of opportunity" for most enjoyability. :) All Ages - Letters from Father Christmas (Tolkien) - Christmas Every Day (Howells) - The Ordinary Princess (Kaye) - The Book of Dragons (Nesbit) - The Reluctant Dragon (Grahame) - The Magic Fishbone (Dickens) - The Light Princess (MacDonald) - The Golden Key (MacDonald) - One Hundred and One Dalmatians (Smith) - Edward Eager magic series (Half Magic, Magic By the Lake, etc.) -- okay, this one IS well-known ;) Pre-K to Gr. 2-ish - Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet; Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet (Cameron) - The Rescuers series by Marjorie Sharp (The Rescuers, Miss Bianca, The Turret, Miss Bianca in the Salt Mines, Miss Bianca in the Orient) - The Whipping Boy (Fleischman) - Understood Betsy (Fisher) Gr. 1 to Gr. 3-ish - The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Robinson) - Ben and Me; Mr. Revere and I (Lawson) - Robert Fulton, Boy Craftsman (Henry) Gr. 2 to Gr. 5-ish - The Great Wheel (Lawson) - The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Aiken) - The Secret of Platform 13 (Ibbotson) - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Fleming) - The Never Ending Story (Ende) - The Twenty-One Balloons (DuBois) - The Toothpaste Millionaire (Merrill) - The Pushcart War (Merrill) - In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (Lord) Gr. 5 or 6+ - Farmer Giles of Ham (Tolkien) - Smith of Wooten Major (Tolkien) - Leaf by Niggle (Tolkien) Gr. 8/high school + - The Day They Arrested the Book (Hentoff) - Watership Down (Adams) - Earthsea Trilogy: Wizard of Earthsea; The Tombs of Atuan; The Farthest Shore (Le Guin) - Wodehouse on Crime (PG Wodehouse) -- or other by Wodehouse - Dirk Gently: Holistic Detective Agency (Adams) -- just for fun - CS Lewis space trilogy Sleepers (unexpectedly REALLY enjoyed by DSs when they were gr. 1-3 -- the last 2 books when gr. 4-5) - The Year of Miss Agnes (Hill) - Little Pear (Lattimore) - White Stallions of Lippiza (Henry) - Red Sails For Capri (Weil) - Kildee House (Montgomery) - Chucaro: Wild Pony of the Pampa (Kalney) - Land I Lost (Nhuong) - The Master Puppeteer (Paterson) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeteranMom Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Someone else already said "The Great Brain" series- definitely a family favorite- Me and My Little Brain, especially, had us all laughing. We've liked A Wrinkle in Time and The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. Also, Rascal by Sterling North is a good book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Right now we are reading The Cricket in Times Square. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 We listened to these as audiobooks (via Audible), and the narrations are terrific. All done by wonderful (British) voice actors. Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier (only $3.58 for the paperback on Amazon right now!) Young Sherlock Holmes series by Andrew Lane (there are 6 in print, 4 as audiobooks so far) Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimmo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austen Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Some of our favorites that haven't already been mentioned: The Mysterious Benedict Society trilogy Carry on, Mr. Bowditch Pippi Longstocking Mrs. Piggle Wiggle Mr. Popper's Penguins David Copperfield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Another vote for 13 Clocks. I read it as an adult for the first time and it is DELICIOUS. The language would make it ideal for reading-aloud, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 The Jungle Doctor books by Paul White Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 The Shiloh series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Elliot Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Enid Blyton books. I'm not sure how "well-known" these are in the US (they were very popular in the UK & Australia). We start with titles like "The Magic Faraway Tree" & "The Wishing Chair", and move on to "The Adventurous Four", "The Famous Five" and "The Secret Seven". My now-14 year old was slightly lazy when he was little in that he didn't want to read books for himself when his parents could do it for him. I got over that hurdle very quickly by leaving one of the The Wishing Chair stories at a very exciting cliff-hanger and telling him we'd finish tomorrow. He read the rest of the book in an hour :lol: Yes, good suggestion! Oh, the beautiful memories we have of dark winter evenings reading aloud Enid Blyton books! We rented a house in England for a semester while dh attended a graduate school there. Our oldest was 11 at the time, the twins were 9, and so on down to the baby. In the house, there was a bookshelf loaded with Enid Blyton books, and we read and read and read. Interestingly, the owner of the house told us that schools in England had tossed Blyton's books because they considered the gender roles too defined in them. I second MacDonald's Light Princess and the Little Britches series. Currently we're loving Dangerous Journey, the story of Pilgrim's Progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 I second MacDonald's Light Princess For those unfamiliar with MacDonald (I absolutely love his works), this essay gives excellent insight into his writings. As a matter of fact, after re-reading it, I think I am going to have my high school kids do an analysis of some of his writings. http://www.george-macdonald.com/resources/light_princess_trexler.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Reported Spam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_JWM Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Anything by E. Nesbit - we're reading House of Arden right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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