underthebridge Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 Hello all, I am curious to hear which read alouds you have loved that isn't a usual suspect on other read aloud lists. Maybe they are out of print or popular in other countries. Mine is Fantastic Flying Journey by Gerald Durrell. It's out of print but you can find used copies. It is a chapter book about siblings that go on a round the world hot air balloon ride with their uncle. They have an unfortunate last name (Dollybutt) which caused no end of giggles over here. Since they travel around the world, the book tied in well with geography. Also, the book is picture book sized with color illustrations on every page so it is a great transition for children starting to graduate from picture books. What is your hidden gem? And why do you love it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 We've really enjoyed the Tumtum and Nutmeg books. I have no idea why they aren't more popular! It centers on a pair of mice living in an old house with a father and his two kids. The mice sort of adopt the people and the children believe it is a fairy helping do things for them. The stories are each one (mis)adventure focusing on the pair of mice and often their friend General Marchmouse. They're not educational, just very well written children's books. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 Well, it's not on any lists that I've seen, but my three boys loved Freckle Juice by Judy Blume. It was probably the first chapter book my middle DS would listen to, and even wanted it read again several times. We also loved The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (I think that one might be on a list or two.) Hmmm...I think I'm seeing a bit of a pattern with my boys liking mischief... ;) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 It's more for about 2-5th grades, but we love Momo by Michael Ende. For K-3, I like The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles and No Flying in the House. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underthebridge Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 Thank you, I have added Tumtum and Nutmeg and Whangdoodles to my cart. I am also adding The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson to this list. She has a series of gentle animal tales with occasional B&W illustrations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calihil Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 One of my girls' favorites is Jenny and the Cat Club by Esther Averill. It's about a shy little cat who joined a neighborhood cat club and her little adventures. It's really cute and also has a little picture on each page. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahjokim Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 My son loved Jenny and the Cat Club and Tumtum and Nutmeg as well - those were definitely favorites! Two others we've really enjoyed are Twig by Elizabeth Orton Jones and A Necklace of Raindrops by Joan Aiken. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 We've really enjoyed the Tumtum and Nutmeg books. I have no idea why they aren't more popular! It centers on a pair of mice living in an old house with a father and his two kids. The mice sort of adopt the people and the children believe it is a fairy helping do things for them. The stories are each one (mis)adventure focusing on the pair of mice and often their friend General Marchmouse. They're not educational, just very well written children's books. We loved these books for our early reader - safe, accesible chapter books for a preschooler to enjoy. I'm not sure if you can get them in your part of the world, but we have enjoyed several of Gaelyn Gordon's books for children. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I don't know how hidden it is, but I've never seen it on the big lists. Owls in the Family is hilarious. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Picture book: Mr Tuggle's Troubles It is hilarious, and no book is better for teaching kids why their room should be kept tidy. Chapter book: One Dog and His Boy Super sweet 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Chapter book: One Dog and His Boy Super sweet My sweet boy sobbed his heart out over this book. Then he read it again. And sobbed some more. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 The Jamie and Angus Stories, especially for the K-1 crowd. Anna Hibiscus. So, so sweet. Seconding all the Jenny and the Cat Club books, though ds read them independently in second grade, IIRC. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdrinca Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 My kids LOVE Jenny and the Cat Ckubt, even as we giggle at the thought of Pickles the fire cat. I'll have to check the Nutmeg books out. And thanks for the reminder about Joan Aiken - like Jenny, we discovered her in the "big white book" - the 20th century anthology of children's literature. I'm sure we'd love to read the rest of her stories. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Harley, by Star Livingstone. George and Martha stories. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Five Children and It Moomin series 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckens Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Ugly Fish -- story book with an indirect lesson about bullying and karma. The words karma and bullying are never used, but that's what it's about.Chapter books: Summer of the Monkeys: written by the author of Where the Red Fern Grows. There are monkeys, a grandpa everyone wished they had, a disabled sister, a boy's desire for a hunting gun, and wishes within a fairy circle. I'm tearing up thinking about it now. The Westing Game: I use this book to teach how to read a book with multiple characters and details. We start a list with character names and descriptions, and another list for clues.Dragon Slayer's Academy: series about a boy who goes to a knight's school. Hilarious. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Arabel & Mortimer books by Joan Aiken, illustrated by Quentin Blake. Girl and her weird pet raven have adventures. Kinda perfect. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 George and Martha stories. I'll second that! One of my daughter's favorites at that age was Barbara Helen Berger's Gwinna From Publishers Weekly "In Gwinna, Berger (Grandfather Twilight; The Donkey's Dream; When the Sun Rose) has written and illustrated a magnificent fairy tale of wonder, beauty and power. Gwinna, an enchanted child with wings growing from her back, is given as a fosterling to a childless human couple by the Mother of the Owls. As Gwinna grows, her foster parents try to hide her wings, then refuse to honor their promise to return her, but the Mother of the Owl's magic is too strong for them and Gwinna is summoned to her true home. There she learns to fly and sets off on a mystical quest across the sea to an ice-capped mountain, where she fulfills a lifelong dream by carving herself a harp and learning to play it. No brief recap of Gwinna's plot can do justice to all its subtleties or to its profound imagery. Berger tells her long tale in simple, direct prose that illuminates its allegorical aspects with impressive clarity while keeping the action and adventure flowing smoothly. This accomplishment is especially remarkable as Gwinna is Berger's longest text by far; in her earlier, shorter work, she has relied on her shimmering acrylic paintings to create the ethereal mood that is her trademark. Happily, Berger has not stinted on the pictures here either. Gwinna is graced with 18 full-page paintings, one two-page painting and many smaller in sets and decorations that capture the action's high points. In the realm of children's fantasies, Gwinna compares with George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin and C. S. Lew is's Chronicles of Narnia. With the publication of this story, Berger takes her place with the best talents in the field, past and present." Ages 6-up. Regards, Kareni 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underthebridge Posted May 31, 2015 Author Share Posted May 31, 2015 Arabel & Mortimer books by Joan Aiken, illustrated by Quentin Blake. Girl and her weird pet raven have adventures. Kinda perfect. I am a huge Joan Aiken fan too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doodle Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 I really enjoyed this: Junket: The Dog Who Liked Everything "Just So" (1955) by Anne H. White http://www.amazon.com/Junket-The-Liked-Everything-Just/dp/0590315358 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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