From: Hilarie (hkane) <"Hilarie>
Date: Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:24:17 -0500

There are a lot of great picture books for reading aloud and of course,

poetry is meant to be, but the pleasure of reading a longer book to an

individual or a class over a period of time can not be denied. What do

good read alouds have in common?  Like adults children like their bo oks

to include a strong sense of story that includes adventure, humor, a nd

sympathetic characters. A well realized setting whether the book is

fantasy, historical fiction, or contemporary is important. Good wr iting

is the icing on the cake that keeps adult readers as engaged as their

child listeners.

At a Waldorf school where the curriculum from

early childhood through fifth grade is built around fairy tales,

legends, and myths, the children get used to listening at an early a ge.

The teachers here at Prairie Hill often begin to introduce the joy of

books to the children by reading aloud from favorite books during lunch

or to bring quiet after a boisterous activity. This practice continues

even into eighth grade. In the lower grades they often chose children' s

literature classics like The Secret Garden, Charlotte's Web, Farme r Boy, The Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables and Mr. Poppe r's

Penguins to their classes; not yet classic titles that have been well

received include The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, Poppy by Av i, and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, and of course, Harry Potte r

and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. Naturally Newbery winn ers

often make good reading aloud. Besides the aforementioned Despereaux,

favorites at Prairie Hill include A Wrinkle in Time, The Island of the

Blue Dolphins, Johnny Tremain, The Bridge to Terrabithia, The Whip ping

Boy, and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.  By eighth grade the choi ce might be a short story by an adult writer like Poe or O'Henry.

Other books that work well for reading aloud include The Mouse and the

Motorcycle and Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary, The Saturdays by

Elizabeth Enright, The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander, Dealing wit h

Dragons by Patricia Wrede, How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell,

Half Magic by Edward Eager, and the less well known, The Hollow Land by

Jane Gardham. These titles also work well being read to a group of

children that encompass a wide age range.

Most of the titles mentioned here are pretty "white".  Can anyon e suggest tried and true

titles about children from non-white neighborhoods and countries that

have really engaged child listeners of many colors?

This is stretching the topic a bit, but for your own listening pleasur e don't

miss the audiobooks of The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett and Wolf

Brother by Michelle Paver.  Stephen Briggs has just the right accent for each character in Pratchett's book which is layers deep, hysterical ,

and appeals to a wide age range.  As for Wolf Brother (grades 6-8), is

there a better reader or a reader with a more beautiful voice than Ian

McKellan?

Hilarie Morrow Kane

Prairie Hill Waldorf School
Received on Mon 04 Apr 2011 09:24:17 AM CDT