tammyw Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 We just seem to adore the old fashioned read-alouds! I would love to get some more ideas. Some recent favorites: - The Moffats (we will read the rest - we've only read the first in this series) - The Saturdays (read the entire series) - The Great Brain (read the entire series -- LOVE!) - Gone Away Lake books 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoorsy Type Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Swallows and Amazons 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomeontheprairie Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Doctor dolittle. Loved book one. I have serious hesitations about book two. Views on other people groups have changed drastically since then. Still good-but I would suggest prereading, AND discussing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Emily of New Moon Anne of Green Gables The Secret Garden A Little Princess The Marvellous Land of Snergs The Moorchild Thimble Summer (anything by Elizabeth Enright, really) Laddie: A True Blue Story (I thought it was a little tedious. DD loved it.) Seven Little Australians Understood Betsy All-of-a-Kind Family The Light Princess At the Back of the North Wind Heidi The Waterbabies Captains Courageous The Prince and the Pauper Tuck Everlasting Little Women Five Little Peppers and How They Grew Puck of Pook's Hill Robinson Crusoe 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Do you mean they have to literally have been published before a certain date, or they simply have to be in the style of those classics you mentioned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 Do you mean they have to literally have been published before a certain date, or they simply have to be in the style of those classics you mentioned? Either! Thanks a bunch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 (edited) Okay then :) From your list, it looks like what your family likes the most right now are family oriented books, that is, books about families instead of classmates or wizards or whatever. Now, not to knock the old classics - because I've read 'em and loved 'em! - but they do tend to lack a certain diversity. So I'm going to give a list of family type books that have been published more recently, and I'll italicize the ones that feature characters who are minorities. And then I may give another list later if I think it over a bit. Many of these books are series, and I won't note that down individually. Edit: I got a little carried away, and included some older books. Whoops. Yang the Third and Her Impossible Family Strawberry Hill (main character is Jewish, there's some kid-level anti-semitism from the local brat) The Mighty Miss Malone (and the companion novel, Bud, Not Buddy) A Year Down Yonder, and other books by Peck A Jar of Dreams The Penderwicks The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher - I love this book right now, I will note that it's a family headed by a same-sex couple The Exiles The Boys Start the War One Crazy Summer - hits upon some more heavy issues than most of the books you listed Year of the Dog Clementine How Tia Lola Came to Stay - shorter than many kids books being newly published today The Lemonade War The Birchbark House - there is a smallpox epidemic, so it will probably make you cry Amy and Laura The Grand Plan to Fix Everything Skating Shoes and really, anything else by Streatfeild Autumn Term - go ahead and get it used, you won't regret it. You will regret that the rest of the series is so pricey! Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer - this book is adorable and everybody MUST read it Ramona the Pest Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson I will also second some of the earlier recommendations - All-of-a-Kind Family, Understood Betsy, Swallows and Amazons. Edited January 19, 2016 by Tanaqui 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 Are the rest of All of a kind Family as good as the first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 (edited) Honestly? I think they're a bit better. (Also, I edited that list a couple of times.) Are you also interested in more or less old-fashioned read alouds that are NOT family stories? Edited January 19, 2016 by Tanaqui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 The rescuers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Understood Betsy is one of our all-time favorites. Also love the All-of-a-kind series. Just finished Ginger Pye and Pinkie Pye; they're excellent, too! My kids adore this type of story (simple, old-fashioned family facing challenges that are different than anything in our lives). Since I have (roughly) two different 'groups' of kids, age-wise, I get to enjoy all these books at least twice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basketcase Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 To add a few I didn't see: Half Magic Homer Price Happy Hollisters Alexander McCall Smith's children's books have the same feeling. My kids especially love The Perfect Hamburger. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 To add a few I didn't see: Half Magic Homer Price Happy Hollisters Alexander McCall Smith's children's books have the same feeling. My kids especially love The Perfect Hamburger. I think we've found the letter of the day, guys :) Hey, did anybody mention The Borrowers? I should've mentioned that. Sorry. And of course, there's always Paddington. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 Love these lists! Lots of books we've read and loved and some great new suggestions we haven't! Time to do some ordering!! Thank you :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Five Children and It Children of the Green Knowe Ginger Pye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Seconding lots of these, but especially A Long Way From Chicago and A Year Down Yonder if you haven't done them. Also, chipping in with the Prydain books if you want to do some fantasy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 The Good Master, The Singing Tree by Kate Serendy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Bethlehem Books has 40% off printed books right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Almost anything by Edith Nesbit, but especially Five Children and It, The Enchanted Castle George Mac Donald's The Princess and the Goblin we also really loved The Rescuers, but didn't read all the books 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Following Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoundAbout Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Two old-fashioned books we enjoyed recently that I don't often see on lists: Baby Island - Two plucky shipwrecked girls get stranded on a desert island with a group of babies to take care of. Not sure what era, but definitely not set in modern times. Lots of humor. From the author of Caddie Woodlawn. Summer of the Monkeys - Set in late 1800s. Pioneer boy tried to capture a troop of monkeys that escaped from a traveling circus with the help of his grandfather. Funny and heart warming. From the author of Where the Red Ferns Grow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 Seconding lots of these, but especially A Long Way From Chicago and A Year Down Yonder if you haven't done them. Also, chipping in with the Prydain books if you want to do some fantasy. We just finished those two books and LOVED them! Even my husband was laughing throughout them! I was wondering about the third book in that series and if any other Peck books were worth checking into? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 We just finished those two books and LOVED them! Even my husband was laughing throughout them! I was wondering about the third book in that series and if any other Peck books were worth checking into? Season of Gifts - yes, it's good. But I have to admit that I don't think I've read anything else by him. I'd be curious too if there's anything else of his that's top notch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 ALL books by Peck are worth checking into, though they aren't all in that same style. This nostalgic style book seems to be new for him - when I was a kid, he was writing ghost stories! Voices After Midnight is still a pretty enjoyable read for me. And before that he wrote a couple of weird ones like Secrets of the Shopping Mall - which seems to stick in people's heads, as it's frequently requested on "Help me find that book!" sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 You know what else I'll bet you'd like... All the Jennifer Holm historical books. They're all based on her family. Our Only May Amelia and the sequel are sort of dark in places - poor May Amelia had a hard life. But Turtle in Paradise is very sweet. And Penny from Heaven is lovely... but watch out and prepare yourself - Penny from Heaven has a terribly gruesome accident about 2/3rds through the book. It was very jarring for us. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 (edited) Farrar, if you like that nostalgic style of book, I have to say, I don't think anybody's doing it better than Peck right now. Edit: And I quite agree on Holm's work! Edited January 22, 2016 by Tanaqui 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 ALL books by Peck are worth checking into, though they aren't all in that same style. This nostalgic style book seems to be new for him - when I was a kid, he was writing ghost stories! Voices After Midnight is still a pretty enjoyable read for me. And before that he wrote a couple of weird ones like Secrets of the Shopping Mall - which seems to stick in people's heads, as it's frequently requested on "Help me find that book!" sites. Oh my gosh! I read that shopping mall book as a kid. How bizarre! But I remember it. Yeah, not exactly the same style... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Oh my gosh! I read that shopping mall book as a kid. How bizarre! But I remember it. Yeah, not exactly the same style... I think a lot of people read it as a kid! And yeah, it's definitely memorable. After everything by Sleator*, I think this may very well be the most requested "What was the name of that?" book on those aforementioned sites. (The trick to racking up an imaginarily high score in the imaginary game I play in my head is to know what books are frequently requested. If you're really good, you can get the right book even if the poster gets every single detail wrong.) And do you know what? It still holds up, even 30-odd years later. Not all those books do. I was really disappointed, for example, when I re-read "This Place Has No Atmosphere" as an adult. There's a book that hasn't aged well. * In order, people seem to request The Boxes, House of Stairs, Beasties, The Boy Who Reversed Himself, and Singularity. Nobody requests Interstellar Pig, which always surprises me. Tammyw, none of these books are the sort you requested at all, but they're good reads. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Oh, you know what? I was just talking about Sleator, and his books are NOT what you requested, as I said, but his autobiography just might be - and it's available for free online! Several months ago I read an "article" on why legos are so painful to step on, and they quoted Tycho Sleator, physics professor, and I just about fell out of my chair. "OMG! That's William Sleator's youngest brother! He's real! He does exist!" This is perhaps not the usual response to that article, but it was MY response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Half Magic and the other books by Edward Eager Mary Poppins The Golden Goblet Circus Shoes and the rest of the Shoes books (by Noel Streatfield IIRC) In Place of Katya (one of my favorite old-timey books) Ben and Me Amos Fortune, Free Man The Diamond In The Window (best book I ever read until running across LOTR in seventh grade) Little Women Robinson Crusoe Treasure Island 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Are the rest of All of a kind Family as good as the first?Yes We LOVED the book Understood Betsy (which was listed above). The first time we read it, my 7 year old boy sighed and said,"That was a great book." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Interesting fact about Understood Betsy, the author wrote it to sort of promote Montessori-style education in the US. And yes, it's a good book :) (Also in the public domain, so free!) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 Yes We LOVED the book Understood Betsy (which was listed above). The first time we read it, my 7 year old boy sighed and said,"That was a great book." I love understood Betsy!! And definitely plan to read aloud because my son hasnt read yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Wonderful thread - I've added several to my cart! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 I think a lot of people read it as a kid! And yeah, it's definitely memorable. After everything by Sleator*, I think this may very well be the most requested "What was the name of that?" book on those aforementioned sites. (The trick to racking up an imaginarily high score in the imaginary game I play in my head is to know what books are frequently requested. If you're really good, you can get the right book even if the poster gets every single detail wrong.) And do you know what? It still holds up, even 30-odd years later. Not all those books do. I was really disappointed, for example, when I re-read "This Place Has No Atmosphere" as an adult. There's a book that hasn't aged well. * In order, people seem to request The Boxes, House of Stairs, Beasties, The Boy Who Reversed Himself, and Singularity. Nobody requests Interstellar Pig, which always surprises me. Tammyw, none of these books are the sort you requested at all, but they're good reads. We're definitely way off Tammy's request, but oh my gosh... I loved This Place Has No Atmosphere, but it's definitely one of those books I know wouldn't be good later... Sort of like Tomorrow's Magic, which I haven't seen since I was a kid, but I'm sure somehow doesn't hold up (despite the excellentness of being post-apocalyptic and Arthurian). I sort of remember all those Sleator books too, though I know I only read a few of them - Interstellar Pig was among them though. And... do I remember right that you could actually play that as a card game or there was a card game version or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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