lorisuewho Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 About three years ago I realized I absolutely could not read aloud Winnie the Pooh stories. I LOVE to read aloud. I love to do voices. But I could NOT do the Pooh stories. We now own them on CD. This year I found my second book I cannot manage to read aloud: The Borrowers. What in the world? I don't know why I find this book so challenging, but I cannot read it fluently. I should have bought it on CD also. Are there books you have found particularly difficult to read aloud? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Winnie the Pooh was a big one for us, too. We did finish it, but it was challenging for me. One we didn't finish, and I don't know if it was the readability or just lack of interest, was Edith Nesbit's The Railway Children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Any books that have many characters and lots of dialog give me trouble. I like to do different voices for the people, and when there are too many, I forget which voice goes with whom, or else just run out of ideas for voices, lol. Had to stop the Anne books aloud for that reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petepie2 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I remember Mountain Born being difficult to read. It seemed that I had to look at a whole sentence before I could read it aloud correctly...if that makes any sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsDarcy Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I'm reading "Black Beauty" aloud, unabridged. Honestly, it's a total bore to read out loud, but I remember really enjoying it as a kid. ETA: my son just told me he is enjoying it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonia Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Any book with too many characters. I like to change my voice for different characters as well and if there are a lot it's so hard to keep them all straight. LOVE Pooh on audio. Can't remember which we listened to but the narrator was just perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Anything by Brian Jacques but we love his books and love listening to him. We're just sorry that there won't be anymore new ones published. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 The Magic Tree House books. This is one series I choose not to read out loud, and wait for the kids to read on their own. The sentences are too choppy and awkward to read in order for me to get a good reading rhythm going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indian summer Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I started a thread a few months back about having a hard time with Wind in the Willows. We got through it and I'm glad we did. I find there is a rhythm to some of these books that I eventually get into. I also found LOTR tricky to RA. We bought an audio version. It seems older British books are hard-ish for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 The Lorax. The word Thneeds just went up into my nose every time. We just bought Winnie the Poo today. I hope I manage to get through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Swallow and Amazons. Absolutely could not stick with it! Mary Poppins Those are the only two books in 7 years of reading aloud that I just could not do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalLynn Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 The Secret Garden was so hard to read out loud. I don't do accents, and the voice of the character of Dicken is so important! But we got through it and it was one of my daughter's favorites, as I'd hoped it would be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I didn't have trouble reading it exactly, but I found The Hobbit to be SO BORING. I thought I'd like it. I thought the kids would like it. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz You have to read about ten chapters to get into this book. :o) It takes a long, long, long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I can't stand to read Dr. Seuss books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Kidnapped. Winnie-the-Pooh cannot be beat on audio. I do try on occasion, but Peter Dennis I am not. It isn't that I can't read these. It's that I'm NOT Pooh or Piglet or Owl or Eeyore...just not quite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courtney_Ostaff Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 All of them. I hate reading books aloud. Audiobooks from the library and Gutenberg are my friend. My dearly beloved husband takes on the task of doing the extensive daily bedtime reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 All of them. I hate reading books aloud. Audiobooks from the library and Gutenberg are my friend. My dearly beloved husband takes on the task of doing the extensive daily bedtime reading. Husbands are good for that sort of thing. I hand him whatever I cannot read to him, and he obliges. He did put his foot down on Magic Tree House (when DD was very young) and Freddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I had no trouble reading Winnie the Pooh aloud, so don't worry about it whoever said she is worrying about it. The one I couldn't make heads nor tails of was Brer Rabbit. I gave up before finishing the first chapter, but later I found an audio version written and recorded by Julius Lester. It was one of the best audio books we ever listened to in the car, worth a repeat. However, I'll say it did nothing for our R&S English program. Ha ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strange_girl Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Redwall (and it's many sequels). I love the books, but I can't read them aloud. Boys and Girls of Colonial Days. Wow. We loved some of the other CLP early Am. History books (like American Pioneers and Patriots, and Stories of the Pilgrims), but Boys and Girls was just...bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SierraNevada Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 We read all the Oz books aloud, but once the series switched over to a different author (Thompson) my rhythm broke. She had a different pace and more awkward dialogs that need to been seen more to make sense. I never new if my audience would know who was talking without following along. Even though I liked her story better I struggled out loud with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDL Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 I read aloud a lot, but I am not so good at voices. I usually forget of mix them up!😀 I loved reading Winnie the Pooh, but the audio book was more fun with the voices. We just finished The Princess and the Goblin (9+ weeks!) and that was a real struggle for me. I also dislike when the characters names are too unfamiliar or challenging to pronounce. We just started Watership Down, and there is proving to be many challenges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mnemosyne Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Fox in Socks. Sooo difficult, I'm constantly tripping over words. That Dr. Suess... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifesadream83 Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Ginger pye & strawberry girl...I endedip getting the audiobooks for them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 The Wind in The Willows It makes me sad because I really WANT to love it, but I don't..... We just gave up and put it back on the shelf half finished the last time I tried. He liked the movie, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korrale Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 People have mentioned the ones I can't read aloud. Winnie the Pooh was the first that popped into my mind. Followed by The Magic Treehouse. I can't read Dr Seuss either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Peter Pan was really hard for me. Pooh, no problem. Maybe b/c I have lots of it memorized! ;) As others have said, anything with lots of dialogue or characters with distinctive accents. I didn't even try the Secret Garden for that reason. The Hobbit we've only done on audiobook. Rob Inglis is excellent! My kids have asked for TLOTR this summer and I think I'm going to splurge for the audiobook on that too! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tranquility7 Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Charlotte's Web, but only because I start crying on the very first page and can't stop myself. :crying: :crying: :crying: I think DS is going to have to read that one to DD... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ. Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Little House in the Big Woods Weird, because I loved all of the Little House books when I was a girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomeontheprairie Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 I remember Mountain Born being difficult to read. It seemed that I had to look at a whole sentence before I could read it aloud correctly...if that makes any sense. I completely agree. This is one of the few books we had to stop. I just couldn't do it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellieK Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 I could not read Just So Stories nor the Jungle Book. I gave up on both and got the audio version. I loved reading many of the others mentioned though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upward Journey Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Mountain Born, Ginger Pye, The Wheel on the School, The Family Under the Bridge, & The Twenty-one Balloons. I have a whole list ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plateau Mama Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 I'm so glad to hear the Pooh was not a hit with many of you. I just couldn't read it. It was excruciating. I downloaded the audiobook from the library and my son begged to listen to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 We LOVED The Hobbit - have read it multiple times. Winnie the Pooh I couldn't even try after the Peter Denning audiobook, he was too good. I found Michael York's Lion, witch, Wardrobe too good for me to follow up. There are a few others where the audiobook was so well done (and dodos much better with heavy language) that I didnt even bother (Sword in the Stone by White, Robin Hood by Pyle, 20,000 Leagues)... I could have read them, but not with as great of effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Another who can't read Just So Stories- too many made-up words, and the audio version is great! Couldn't read D'Aulaire's Greek Myths, either. Stumbled over the names too much. Audible to the rescue! The only book we've stopped in the middle of so far was We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea, and that's because it just seemed loooooong. I'm going to get DS to read that one to himself when he's a bit older instead. :-) Little House in the Big Woods and the rest I was able to get through, but I was crying by the end of practically every chapter. LOL. My son was like :confused1: . How to explain to a 6 year old how emotionally wrenching it is when Mr. Edwards fords the flooded river to bring the girls a Christmas present? lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilaclady Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Fox in Socks. Sooo difficult, I'm constantly tripping over words. That Dr. Suess... My dd made me read that a lot. I kind of enjoyed it but have to take it slow.m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 The Wind in the Willows. We love it, but oh my goodness, it's difficult to read. The sentences are incredibly long and convoluted. Dd13 reads well and can mostly pull it off, but it definitely works better when I read it, and we give dh a pass on this one, his fascination with the English language being less than ours! (We do a family read aloud after dinner - I read while the slow coaches finish dinner, then dd or dh takes over while I clean the kitchen.) Dh comes into his own when ds7 brings out Pippi Longstocking, though. I really struggle to read that because the incidents all seem so ludicrous that I lose track of what I'm reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiMi 4under3 Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Smoky the Cowhorse by Will James Too many run-on sentences and improper grammar... it's written as a cowboy would actually speak... you just have to read it silently and hear it in your head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 I picked up and put down Tom Sawyer a dozen times because it seemed too hard to read aloud. Then I had the brilliant idea of asking my husband the Southerner to read it. He had the perfect speech rhythms and making the dialect sound smooth and natural was no struggle for him. I loved listening in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMOm Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 About three years ago I realized I absolutely could not read aloud Winnie the Pooh stories. I LOVE to read aloud. I love to do voices. But I could NOT do the Pooh stories. We now own them on CD. This year I found my second book I cannot manage to read aloud: The Borrowers. What in the world? I don't know why I find this book so challenging, but I cannot read it fluently. I should have bought it on CD also. Are there books you have found particularly difficult to read aloud? We felt the same about both of those books- they are 2 that we didn't finish, which is unusual for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lollie010 Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 I have problems with Heidi. Can't do it. I've tried many times. I must be doing something wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanikit Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Winnie the Pooh was hard for me initially - though I found it easier as my eldest DD got older and my younger one liked it. I found some of Enid Blyton's books exceptionally slow - if my DD had not been begging me to get on with it, I would have stopped. Some of the Roald Dahl books I find difficult. Heidi I have not even tried as I know from when I was a child that I couldn't go there. The Horse and his boy - for some reason this one is the hardest of all the Narnia series for me to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixpence1978 Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 I'm going to have to agree with Peter Pan. We did finally manage to make it through, but were this close to giving up on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Most of the difficult ones seem to be British. Do you think it's partly a different rhythm of speech/writing than you are used to speaking? FWIW, Winnie the Pooh was a lot of fun for me to read aloud. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Pooh. I love it, but there's something about the sentence structure that makes it a hard one for me. We own the CD versions with Jim Broadbent, and they are so much better than I could ever do. We've listened to them so many times that we wore out our set, and when I do try to read them aloud, I find myself imitating Broadbent. I'm not a bad readalouder, I guess, but as with so much, my DH is really gifted at it. He makes the voices all different and exciting. Gandalf and Long John Silver sound really good when DH is reading them. However, I can do Dr. Seuss like nobody's business. Even (and especially) Fox in Socks. I know what the Fox says -- he says, "through three cheese trees, three free fleas flew." I can do tongue twisters very well, but regular dialogue? Forget it. That gets my tongue all tangled up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 The Secret Garden was so hard to read out loud. I don't do accents, and the voice of the character of Dicken is so important! But we got through it and it was one of my daughter's favorites, as I'd hoped it would be. We just finished this one. I attempted to do the broad Yorkshire. Sometimes it sounded good, and sometimes I sounded like an idiot. Ok, more often the latter. :lol: The Horse and his boy - for some reason this one is the hardest of all the Narnia series for me to read. Is this the one where they introduce the Calormen and talk so much about them being "dark" and their clothing and custom descriptions are clearly Middle Eastern? I had a hard time with that one also. It just completely bothered me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korrale Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 The Wind in the Willows. We love it, but oh my goodness, it's difficult to read. The sentences are incredibly long and convoluted. Dd13 reads well and can mostly pull it off, but it definitely works better when I read it, and we give dh a pass on this one, his fascination with the English language being less than ours! (We do a family read aloud after dinner - I read while the slow coaches finish dinner, then dd or dh takes over while I clean the kitchen.) Dh comes into his own when ds7 brings out Pippi Longstocking, though. I really struggle to read that because the incidents all seem so ludicrous that I lose track of what I'm reading. Talking about husbands pulling if off, mine struggles with Beatrix potter. He isn't much of a reader. I just laugh when my 4 year old son is correcting him and explaining what soporific and superfluous mean. I am also Australian and have a more natural understanding of British books than my husband. Thankfully I have passed that onto my son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korrale Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Most of the difficult ones seem to be British. Do you think it's partly a different rhythm of speech/writing than you are used to speaking? FWIW, Winnie the Pooh was a lot of fun for me to read aloud. L As an Aussie I am fine with British, it is what I grew up with, my American raised son is also as I explain a lot of my heritage words to him. My American husband on the other hand doesn't do so well. He tries. My issue with Winnie the Pooh was the back and forth into conversational tone. I struggled with having the right inflection and knowing when to apply that until the end of the sentences. So my reading was becoming quite stilted. And my son even noticed. I would have been fine if the author would stop addressing Christopher Robin and just tell the story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsmith Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 I avoid pretty much anything with things I can't pronounce well, like books about Greek mythology, Egyptian mythology, etc... Also, I dislike reading books with realllllly loooong sentences. I always check Audible before we start a new read-aloud. Treasure Island and The Hobbit are favorite choices from Audible at the moment. If I do have to struggle through pronunciations I have the howjsay app ready on my iPad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrittanyM Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Lord of the Rings, DH and I have tried reading it to one another aloud and it is so difficult. The poetry and other languages don't come across the same! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 I'm going to have to agree with Peter Pan. We did finally manage to make it through, but were this close to giving up on it. I don't do Peter Pan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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