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Best Read-Aloud Chapter Books for Kindergarten (or other read-alouds)


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I have searched the forums and haven't been able to find a good list of read-aloud books by age, although I see many other people would like to find one as well. So I'm hoping to get help making a list for my DS for next year (age 4-5), and I would like to start focusing on chapter books. Since we live abroad, I will be buying all these books and I want to make sure it's a good list! So far he has listened to the complete set of Winnie the Pooh and much of Uncle Wiggily's Story Book. Can anyone help me with my list?

 

So far my list comes from "The Read-Aloud Handbook" and also some recommended by friends. However, I'm not sure if all of them are age appropriate. So if I need to remove one that would be helpful to know too. (Don't mind the numbering/layout, I just listed them as I found them on Amazon)

 

 

1. Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, Trumpet of the Swan box set
2. My Father's Dragon Trilogy
3. The Chocolate Touch
4. The Magic Treehouse series box sets 1-12
5. The Magic Treehouse series box sets 5-8
6. The Magic Treehouse series box sets 9-12
7. Stories from Oz
8. The Boxcar Children set 1-12
9. Toys Come Home books 1-3
10. Owls in the Family
11. Little House in the Big Woods
12. Shiloh
13. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
14. Peter Pan
15. Frog and Toad Storybook Treasury
16. Pippi Longstocking
17. You Are Not Small
~~~the following come from "The Read-Aloud Handbook" and are listed as good novels for Kindergarten~~~
18. Two Times the Fun
19. The Chalk Box Kid
20. Chocolate Fever
21. The Reluctant Dragon
22. The Stories Julian Tells
23. The Water Horse
24. Wolf Story
25. James and the Giant Peach
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We are reading the Narnia books to my kindergartener, and he loves them. Some depends on your child. Beatrix Potter is good for many, but my kids were less enthusiastic over it. I would add The Velveteen Rabbit. I don't really care for The Magic Treehouse books, especially for a read aloud. They strike me as more of an independent reader at grade level reading.

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My kindergarteners loved (some were probably before Kindergarten; I'm sure Charlotte's Web and a few others happened over a year ago):

*Little House on the Prairie - all of them

*Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

*My Side of the Mountain

Magic Treehouse series - I only read a few because they can read them alone soon

Fantastic Mr Fox

Anything Beverly Cleary - Ramona and Henry Huggins in particular (Two times the Fun (you have above) was good but a little young - more for 3-4 age?  Yes, my twins were 4 when they enjoyed it because the twins in the book are also 4)

*Charlotte's Web

*Boxcar Children

Wizard of Oz

The Penderwicks

*The Wheel on the School (good story.  LONG chapters!)

James and the Giant Peach

Dr Dolittle - jury is still out on this one

Anything about Pocahontas or Squanto

 

* Favorites.  I know the books are a hit when they act out scenes when playing together - Little House and My Side of the Mountain.  Usually outside in the fort/sandbox.  Lots of Little House play around here.

 

My kids didn't care for:

My Father's Dragon

the Borrowers

Stuart Little

the Hundred Dresses

Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop - one said it was ok on audio book, one refused to listen to any more after the first part

 

That has been our year.  It's hard to please two kindergarteners at the same time.  Most were read by me.  Some were on audiobooks.  They have quiet time a few days per week.  They tend to want to re-listen to their favorites - Charlotte's Web, Beverly Cleary books, etc.  If I had Little House books on audio, they'd listen over and over!  Read aloud up next:  Billy and Blaze

 

ETA - they also didn't like Mr. Popper's Penguins or Mrs. Pigglewiggle. 

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Have you peeked at these recommendations?

 

Charlotte Mason Help - Kindergarten

Simply Charlotte Mason - Literature

 

Personally, my favorite read alouds for younger children from your list are:

 

Little House in the Big Woods

Frog and Toad

My Father's Dragon

Trumpet of the Swan

Charlotte's Web (my children like this one, but I could pass)

 

My favorites that aren't on your list are:

 

Among the _____ People (Pierson)

Thornton Burgess titles

Kindergarten Gems (Yesterday's Classics)

Beatrix Potter titles

Just So Stories

 

I didn't care for the Toys series, nor Magic Treehouse.  My kids have read The Boxcar Children on their own, as well as a few other of your titles.  Owls in the Family we read aloud when my oldest was about 6 and it was good, but I think he would have enjoyed it more a bit later.

 

Picture books reign supreme during K at my house.

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My son loves the Magic Treehouse books, we have read the first 20 so far.  Also just started Winnie the Pooh with him and little brother (4).  We started Little House, but he wasn't quite in to it yet, so maybe next year.  "Honey for the Child's Heart" by Gladys Hunt has been a great resource for us recently for finding great books. 

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My dd5 has loved just about all those listed with the exception of Shiloh...imvho hat is NOT a book for under 2nd/3rd grade. For so many reasons...language, violence of Judd against the dog, even the poor, 'country' grammar I think will be better grasped when the child is a bit older...and I have a pretty precocious kid.

 

In addition to books above, She also loved:

Mrs. Pigglewiggle

Mary Poppins

Babe the a Gallant Pig

Anything Beverly Cleary, but the Fudge books especially

The BFG

James and the Giant Peach

Mr Popper's Penguins

The Littles books

The Cricket in Times square

 

 

You might consider saving the Magic Tree House books for when he starts reading himself as they are pretty good for starting chapter books...

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This year we've read the first several Little House books, Winnie the Pooh (and The House at Pooh Corner), My Father's Dragon (and Elmer and the Dragon--though I thought the first one was better), Charlotte's Web, and Mr. Popper's Penguins.  The kids have loved them all.  DD enjoyed all the Frog and Toad stories and read them herself; DS thought they were boring and never went beyond the first chapter of whatever one he started.  Both kids read and loved The Littles.

 

I would agree with waiting on Shiloh and just reading a few of the Magic Tree House to leave the rest for when you child can read them himself.  I've been told that The Stories Julian Tells is hilarious, but I don't have it so we haven't read that yet.

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I leave Magic Tree House and Frog and Toad until they can read themselves. Stories Julian Tells was funny, but not a priority for a read-aloud.

 

We have loved Winnie-the-Pooh; Thornton Burgess; Tumtum and Nutmeg; Pippi Longstocking; Chronicles of Narnia; Sarah, Plain and Tall; Paddington; Dr Dolittle; Wizard of Oz; Milly-Molly-Mandy; and the Plant That Ate Dirty Socks this year.

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I would not read the Magic Treehouse books aloud. I let DD read them when she got to that level, though.

 

We had:

Aesop's Fables

Andersen's fairy tales

Grimm's fairy tales

Milly-Molly-Mandy

Beezus and Ramona, Ramona the Pest

Little House in the Big Woods

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

Raggedy Ann Stories

The Tale of Desperaux

Just So Stories

50 Famous Stories Retold

 

 

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My son LOVES the Magic Tree House books. Yes, it's true he'll be able to read them on his own soon, so I see the logic in waiting on them. But my son loves history and science, and these books cover topics that fascinate him -- everything from the Ice Age to the moon.

 

My Father's Dragon was also a hit, but only the first book -- he didn't find the other two as compelling.

 

Right now, he's really into the Usborne Classics for Boys stories, which are retellings of classics such as Robinson Crusoe. We've got a book of English fairy tales that never disappoints. Also, for non-fiction, he loves the Seymour Simon science books and the Let's Read and Find Out science books, as well as the Usborne Beginners series (science and history).

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I wouldn't recommend Peter Pan. It's rather violent (at least the original story) and Peter has a quality about himself that I wouldn't want to see my son possess. He treats Wendy poorly and has little care about harm to others. That's just MHO.

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I wouldn't recommend Peter Pan. It's rather violent (at least the original story) and Peter has a quality about himself that I wouldn't want to see my son possess. He treats Wendy poorly and has little care about harm to others. That's just MHO.

 

Agree with the non-recommendation of Peter Pan. This was a hard read for all of us here. We had an illustrated version, but it was a slog, even for a seasoned group of read-aloud-ers.

 

For us, The Reluctant Dragon would probably have been better at an older age. It wasn't a great one here either.

 

Erica in OR

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These are great "first" chapter books, so I probably wouldn't use them up as read alouds. I found it hard to pick out good books for my daughter to read alone when she first started to read chapter books.

2. My Father's Dragon Trilogy

4. The Magic Treehouse series box sets 1-12

5. The Magic Treehouse series box sets 5-8

6. The Magic Treehouse series box sets 9-12

15. Frog and Toad Storybook Treasury

I like that they don't take place mainly  in traditional school (so many early chapter books do) so my daughter, who has only experienced a Montessori preK-K so far, can actually understand them.

 

My 5 year old and I recently did these as team reading but they could also be read-alouds:

Stuart Little

Charlotte's Web

Mr. Poppers Penguins

Babe

The Mouse & the Motorcycle

 

Two other ones that she really liked — and that I thought were better as read-alouds than as independent reading or even team reading — were:

Stone Fox (she just doesn't understand taxes without me stopping to explain... read this one yourself, first, though -- the end might be tough on a sensitive child)

Fortunately the Milk (just better with my funny voices)

 

She didn't really "get" the Hundred Dresses-- not even with explanation, because she's never heard a racial/ethnic slur yet (at least, I don't think she has).

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My son is 5 and these books were great first chapter books for us:

 

http://www.wellreadkid.com/top-10-first-chapter-books-for-preschoolers/

 

These are the books we read and enjoyed last year and so far this year.

http://pinterest.com/sarahjokim/books-read-to-kiddo-in-2015/

http://pinterest.com/sarahjokim/books-read-to-kiddo-in-2014/

 

We just finished Peter Pan (illustrated by Robert Ingpen) and my son loved it. I agree with waiting though or re-reading when much older - it was somewhat difficult to read aloud (the language is beautiful but not easy) and there's a lot that I'm sure my son missed. I wasn't worried about Peter's attitude though - my son clearly understood he was obnoxious. The other day someone asked him who Peter Pan was and he said, "Oh, he's the boy who doesn't really know anything." Lol

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I would add either one of Beverly Cleary's Ramona books or one of Judy Blume's Fudge books. Both are great as audiobooks. Stockard Channing does Ramona and Judy Blume does her Fudge series. Both are so funny and just a great time.

 

I'd so leave Frog and Toad for the child to read. I might read the first in the Magic Tree house series then let the child read the rest. They are not fun to read aloud.

I read the first Boxcar Children book and my kids loved it. None have wanted to read any of the following books though.

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We seem to be particularly fond of British authors, here. These are a few of our favourite read alouds. My DS is five-and-a-bit, and halfway through K. Please excuse my creative formatting - posting from a tablet.

 

*Enid Blyton*

The Adventures of Pip

The Enchanted Wood

The Magic Faraway Tree

The Folk of the Faraway Tree

 

*Roald Dahl*

The BFG (So boring to RA. I read it twice then bought the audiobook.)

Fantastic Mr Fox

The Magic Finger

The Enormous Crocodile

 

*Beatrix Potter*

Peter Rabbit

Benjamin Bunny

The Roly Poly Pudding

The Flopsy Bunnies

Mr Tod

(We've read others, but these are definitely favourites. DS has practically memorised them.)

 

*JRR Tolkien*

The Hobbit

 

*George MacDonald*

The Princess and the Goblin

 

Fairy tales and myths and legends from various authors/editors/publishers, including the Grimms brothers, HC Andersen, and Charles Perrault.

 

I have a longer list somewhere, drawn up largely from suggestions I've seen here on the forum. For now, we seem to have found ourselves meandering through Middle Earth. :)

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I have searched the forums and haven't been able to find a good list of read-aloud books by age, although I see many other people would like to find one as well. So I'm hoping to get help making a list for my DS for next year (age 4-5), and I would like to start focusing on chapter books.

Sarah Mackenzie JUST put out a podcast on this EXACT topic. http://amongstlovelythings.com/24/

 

I've tried Winnie the Pooh and Charlotte's Web with DS5. He enjoys being read to, but we haven't finished either of those books. I think I'm going to take a step back and find some books that have more independent chapters. I know Pooh does this, but I think the stream of consciousness was a little much for him...

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I have searched the forums and haven't been able to find a good list of read-aloud books by age, although I see many other people would like to find one as well. So I'm hoping to get help making a list for my DS for next year (age 4-5), and I would like to start focusing on chapter books. Since we live abroad, I will be buying all these books and I want to make sure it's a good list! So far he has listened to the complete set of Winnie the Pooh and much of Uncle Wiggily's Story Book. Can anyone help me with my list?

 

So far my list comes from "The Read-Aloud Handbook" and also some recommended by friends. However, I'm not sure if all of them are age appropriate. So if I need to remove one that would be helpful to know too. (Don't mind the numbering/layout, I just listed them as I found them on Amazon)

 

 

1. Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, Trumpet of the Swan box set

2. My Father's Dragon Trilogy

3. The Chocolate Touch

4. The Magic Treehouse series box sets 1-12

5. The Magic Treehouse series box sets 5-8
6. The Magic Treehouse series box sets 9-12

7. Stories from Oz

8. The Boxcar Children set 1-12

9. Toys Come Home books 1-3

10. Owls in the Family

11. Little House in the Big Woods

12. Shiloh

13. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

14. Peter Pan

15. Frog and Toad Storybook Treasury
16. Pippi Longstocking
17. You Are Not Small
~~~the following come from "The Read-Aloud Handbook" and are listed as good novels for Kindergarten~~~[if it has chapters, it's a novel, unless it's an anthology of short stories. :-) ]
18. Two Times the Fun
19. The Chalk Box Kid
20. Chocolate Fever
21. The Reluctant Dragon
22. The Stories Julian Tells
23. The Water Horse
24. Wolf Story
25. James and the Giant Peach

 

 

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Have you peeked at these recommendations?

 

Charlotte Mason Help - Kindergarten

Simply Charlotte Mason - Literature

 

Personally, my favorite read alouds for younger children from your list are:

 

Little House in the Big Woods

Frog and Toad

My Father's Dragon

Trumpet of the Swan

Charlotte's Web (my children like this one, but I could pass)

 

My favorites that aren't on your list are:

 

Among the _____ People (Pierson)

Thornton Burgess titles

Kindergarten Gems (Yesterday's Classics)

Beatrix Potter titles

Just So Stories

 

I didn't care for the Toys series, nor Magic Treehouse.  My kids have read The Boxcar Children on their own, as well as a few other of your titles.  Owls in the Family we read aloud when my oldest was about 6 and it was good, but I think he would have enjoyed it more a bit later.

 

Picture books reign supreme during K at my house.

I haven't seen those lists yet. Thanks for sharing!

 

 

My dd5 has loved just about all those listed with the exception of Shiloh...imvho hat is NOT a book for under 2nd/3rd grade. For so many reasons...language, violence of Judd against the dog, even the poor, 'country' grammar I think will be better grasped when the child is a bit older...and I have a pretty precocious kid.

 

In addition to books above, She also loved:

Mrs. Pigglewiggle

Mary Poppins

Babe the a Gallant Pig

Anything Beverly Cleary, but the Fudge books especially

The BFG

James and the Giant Peach

Mr Popper's Penguins

The Littles books

The Cricket in Times square

 

 

You might consider saving the Magic Tree House books for when he starts reading himself as they are pretty good for starting chapter books...

I removed Shiloh per a few recommendations. Thanks! Also, I think I'll save Magic Tree House for him to read on his own. He'll be there soon enough! Thanks!

 

 

I was not a fan of, "Toys Come Home". One of the characters, Bobby-Dot a character just dies, totally out of the blue - and no one is really sad or concerned.

 

Other then that we thought that series was okay.

 

I read almost all the books on your list to my boys. Since you are buying the books I recommend you get this Pippi book:

http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Pippi-Longstocking-Astrid-Lindgren/dp/0670876127/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1429746861&sr=8-4&keywords=Pippi+Long+Stocking

 

It has all three of the stories. It is a wonderfully colorful illustrated version.

Thanks for the Pippi book link! It's in my shopping cart now.

 

 

I wouldn't recommend Peter Pan. It's rather violent (at least the original story) and Peter has a quality about himself that I wouldn't want to see my son possess. He treats Wendy poorly and has little care about harm to others. That's just MHO.

OK we will wait on Peter Pan. Thanks again! I have never read it.

 

 

Sarah Mackenzie JUST put out a podcast on this EXACT topic. http://amongstlovelythings.com/24/

 

I've tried Winnie the Pooh and Charlotte's Web with DS5. He enjoys being read to, but we haven't finished either of those books. I think I'm going to take a step back and find some books that have more independent chapters. I know Pooh does this, but I think the stream of consciousness was a little much for him...

Oh wow I want to listen to all these pod casts now! Thank you so much!

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If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't abandon picture books too early.  All of these books mentioned are just as good or better at a bit older ages.  

 

 

I like pictures books. I would check out tons and spend hours a week reading them at kindergarten age. We still get them, and revisit favorites at my kids ages.  

 

But I find if you are buying them, novels are usually more bang for your buck. So if I'm limited in some way (As in lack or library, money, space, living overseas and having to buy as in the case of the OP) I would usually pick novels over picture books, and just get a few picture book collections.

 

 

We definitely won't give up picture books! Just want to open our world to also include chapter books.

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My (almost) 5yo recently listened to How to Eat Fried Worms and loved it as much as his 7yo brother. I had to explain a few of the references to them both, but they regularly quote it now.

 

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books are always a hit here as well.

 

I read the first Boxcar Children book with my first K'er and he has read the rest himself. I think they are still his favorite series.

 

We get the Magic Tree House audio books at our library and the kids really enjoy listening to them that way.

 

The A.A. Milne Winnie the Pooh collection is my 5yo's current favorite. Not quite a chapter book, but longer than a typical picture book.

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Flat Stanley was a hit here too, didn't see it mentioned.  There are many others to the series.  My son wanted to read the whole book straight but we ended reading 1/2 of the book at a time.  ha!  He is 3 1/2 so it might be better for the younger crowd but my older boys loved it and read it on their own in early elementary.  

 

Other books my 3 yr. old listened to and liked was:  Wizard of Oz,  Mr. Popper's Penguins, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Mouse and the Motorcycle, and The Chocolate Touch (that is all we have tried so far on chapter books)  in case anyone has any younger kids in the mix.  :)

 

Great list!

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We read the My Father's Dragon Triology and Little Pear to our K'er this year too.  I was unaware that Little Pear was a trilogy.

 

 

Little Pear (When he's 5)

Little Pear and His Friends  (he's 6 )

More About Little Pear  (7)

 

They all have the fun adventure per chapter. 

 

My son also liked Milly Molly Mandy. We read it twice. Our copy has a map of the village in the cover, so we followed her adventures after each story.

 

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Little Pear (When he's 5)

Little Pear and His Friends  (he's 6 )

More About Little Pear  (7)

 

They all have the fun adventure per chapter. 

 

My son also liked Milly Molly Mandy. We read it twice. Our copy has a map of the village in the cover, so we followed her adventures after each story.

 

I also found a 1956 title Little Pear and the Rabbits.

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I added Little Pear and His Friends, Five True Dog Stories, and Owls in the Family to our amazon cart.  We had recently ordered The Reluctant Dragon, but my husband wouldn't finish it because it mentioned St. George and not in the tradition our church teaches.  I told him to audio edit it and call him Knight George or Knight Robby, but he didn't feel comfortable.

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My son's favorite kindergarten books were all things Seuss(The Lorax, If I ran a zoo, etc. ) and he loved The Remarkable Farkle McBride, Wacky Wednesday, and Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton Trent (we STILL love Hubert in 3rd grade!...mom dons her best British accent for good ole Hubert).

 

 

Go to   www.veritaspress.com   and you can print their recommended reading list by grade level.   good stuff also!

 

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Some of these books, like Stuart Little, are so sentimental that while a K'er might understand the plot, they'll miss the beauty of the story. It's worth saving for a few years.

 

Not a chapter book, but for read-alouds my little ones loved James Herriot. Also not a chapter book, but my 4.5 y.o. is loving the Jenny Linsky and the Cat Club books to pieces.

 

The Magic Treehouse books are just dreadful read alouds. They're saved for independent readers.

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In our house, My Fathers Dragon is our gateway to chapter books. But I second the person who said all of the mentioned books could easily be saved for a year in favor of good picture books such as the FIAR lists. Family read aloud so that appeal to my Ker also include the Paddington Bear books (somewhere between picture book and chapter book), Winnie the Pooh, and Beatrix Potter. We are listening to By the Great Horn Spoon as a family right now and my Ker enjoys it but it's better suited to my 2nd grader.

 

Oh we are using 50 Fairy Tales every child should know as part of our DIY writing curriculum and DD is doing well with those. A little more concise than Lang.

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In our house, My Fathers Dragon is our gateway to chapter books. But I second the person who said all of the mentioned books could easily be saved for a year in favor of good picture books such as the FIAR lists. Family read aloud so that appeal to my Ker also include the Paddington Bear books (somewhere between picture book and chapter book), Winnie the Pooh, and Beatrix Potter. We are listening to By the Great Horn Spoon as a family right now and my Ker enjoys it but it's better suited to my 2nd grader.

 

Oh we are using 50 Fairy Tales every child should know as part of our DIY writing curriculum and DD is doing well with those. A little more concise than Lang.

 

Could you link me to the 50 Fairy Tales every child should know?  I have been google searching and see the vintage text by a similar name, but it only includes 24 tales.

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Could you link me to the 50 Fairy Tales every child should know? I have been google searching and see the vintage text by a similar name, but it only includes 24 tales.

This is the one I have: http://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Tales-Every-Child-Should-ebook/dp/B0083ZL5EY/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1430260510&sr=1-1

 

It's free for kindle. :-)

 

ETA you are right, there are only 24! My bad!

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Oh, seconding Wheel on the School and Fantastic Mr. Fox.  Little House on the Prairie and Farmer Boy too.

 

I've had this book on the shelf for a long time, but never thought it was a K level read aloud.  My husband started it last night and I have high hopes.

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