Literature Read-Aloud- Opinions Please

[menedob]

I'm reading aloud to my three grammar-stage students.  I'm curious on others' preferences regarding reading unabridged versions aloud, but getting through fewer books in a year, or reading abridged (i.e. Classic Starts) versions in order to expose children to a variety of stories.  Our literature list contains books such as Little Women, The Jungle Book, The Time Machine, Peter Pan, The Wind in the Willows, The Secret Garden, Heidi, A Little Princess, The Little House on the Prairie, The Adventures of Pinocchio, etc.  

[ktgrok]

As an author I say unabridged. 

[regentrude]

Unabridged.

 

They can still be exposed to plenty of stories. But I vote for quality over quantity. Often, abridged versions are not just abridged, but also edited to simplify language.

Edited March 6, 2018 by regentrude

[Zoo Keeper]

 Unabridged.  Fewer books a year are fine.  You (and your children) have all your life to enjoy books.

[menedob]

Thank you for your responses.  This is exactly what I was feeling, but was letting the pressure of long book lists cause me to doubt.  I've read a couple of abridged books to them this year, but they were definitely not as rich in language and vocabulary.  

[SilverMoon]

Unabridged!

[librarymama]

I agree with the others. My kids read the abridged versions of stories, but I read aloud the original. 

Edited March 6, 2018 by librarymama

[Lori D.]

I'm reading aloud to my three grammar-stage students.  I'm curious on others' preferences regarding reading unabridged versions aloud, but getting through fewer books in a year, or reading abridged (i.e. Classic Starts) versions in order to expose children to a variety of stories.  Our literature list contains books such as Little Women, The Jungle Book, The Time Machine, Peter Pan, The Wind in the Willows, The Secret Garden, Heidi, A Little Princess, The Little House on the Prairie, The Adventures of Pinocchio, etc.  

 

Since you have grammar stage students, you can also WAIT on some of the books that are especially going to require a lot of explanations or are really going to be beyond DC's interest level at this stage -- like The Time Machine.

 

That will help you reduce the list a little bit. :) And don't forget, if you don't get to *everything*, eventually your children will be reading a lot of the classics on their own in middle/high school grades.  And all through their adult lives. There are way too many classics out there to try and "read them all" before graduating high school. ;)

 

Just pick the books that are important to you to cover during the school years. Or works that you want to build special read-aloud memories around.

 

Enjoy your journeys with wonderful literature with your family! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

[ktgrok]

Yes, better late than early with a lot of books. 

[fralala]

If they can't enjoy it unabridged, I'd rather wait a few years. The advantage of reading aloud is being able to provide quick, on the spot explanations for difficult passages and vocabulary. And being able to abridge according to how one's listeners are doing or because one winces at "product of one's time" prejudices that distract (and would detract, if attended to) from the overall content of the book.

[Mommyof1]

Unabridged

 

With my 5DD we use a lot of audiobooks. Lately it has been "Alice in Wonderland".

[MerryAtHope]

Unabridged and mix in some easier reads and some picture books--this age still really loves picture books (really, who doesn't?!). 

[vaquitita]

Unabridged for reading aloud to them. One of my kids liked reading abridged versions in his own spare time and that's fine.

This

[Hobbes]

Unabridged - read your top picks aloud and then choose some to get on audiobook. I'm always amazed by what my kids are willing to listen to while they play Playmobil or Lego or whatever and it's amazing how much they grasp as well.

[Bluegoat]

Yup, unabridged.  For something that seemed too long I'd look at waiting, possibly reading it in part only (depending on how the book was structured) or I might see it as a candidate for an audiobook if the issue was really more my ability to read it. 

[Ellie]

Always unabridged. Always.

[KAM]

I would stick with unabridged also. But I will say that my dd9 loves the Classic Starts books to read to herself. She checks them out of the library and more than a couple times has wanted to read the original afterwards because she already knew the story and felt like she could tackle it. So, I like those too!