I am still reading out loud to my teens. I also read books out loud to my husband when we are travelling in the car. Those shared books create a common pool of knowledge within our family. My kids and I often refer back to characters or events in the books we have read. The longest book we've ever read (so far) was Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens (took several months!) and just the other day someone made reference to one of the villains in that book. Remembering how a character handled a situation can often give kids tools for how to handle things in their own life. And books with a moral lesson offer instruction that is often more easily digested than when mom and dad offer the same. We saw a reference to the book, The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins as an early example of the detective novel. We found a used copy and worked our way through that. There were parts that I wondered if the kids would want to skip (or perhaps abandon the book altogether) but all three of my teens really enjoyed it! When we were done, I felt like we'd run a literary marathon!
You may think a younger child will not be able to sit still to listen to a book. If you have littles with wiggles, then let them do something active like jog in place, or do sit-ups while you read. Or if they need to keep their hands moving, let them build with blocks, duplos, or magnets while they listen. If they enjoy coloring, grab some coloring books and let them color as the story is being read. (If your house is like ours, you probably have a dozen half-filled coloring books--now kids can finish some while being read to!).
Pick a story to read aloud that has been made into a movie. Being able to watch the movie when the book is done is a great motivator to finish the book. Most libraries offer digital services so you can borrow ebooks or audiobooks with your library card. Librivox is a great source for free audiobooks that are in the public domain (i.e. classics). You can find titles such as Jungle Book, Call of the Wild and Jane Eyre. One of my favorite authors is E. Nesbit and I just discovered one of her books called, The Wonderful Garden and it is just as charming as her other titles.
Audiobooks offer some great advantages:
- Children hear professional narrators reading with expression and clear diction
- Children can hear proper pronunciations of words they may misread on their own
- Helps train children's minds to focus
- Allows struggling readers to enjoy books
- Offers the ability to multi-task: listen to a book while putting together a puzzle, ironing, cooking, etc.
- Great tradition at bedtime to fall asleep to a great book
I've compiled a list of some of our favorite book and movie combinations we have enjoyed over the years. Many are older movies but such good stories! Enjoy making some great memories with your kids during summer break. See how many books you can complete before schools starts up again! Happy Reading!
{Note: Books include an affiliate link for Amazon which adds no cost to you, but provides a small donation back to me if you purchase}
Book
|
Movie
|
Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
|
|
BFG by
Roald Dahl
|
|
Anne of
Green Gables by L.M.
Montgomery
|
Another
version with Martin Sheen as Matthew:
|
The
Railway Children by E. Nesbit
|
Delightful
family movie available on Amazon Prime or YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3zO0zm5FTU&t=3s
|
The
Story of the Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit
|
|
Winnie
the Pooh by A.A.Milne
|
We
watched an older version but this looks good as well:
|
Hans
Brinker, or The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge
|
An
older movie but very good story:
|
Little
Women by Louisa May Alcott
(Book
is a MUST read!!)
|
More
than one option, may be fun to watch more than one:
|
The
Little Prince by Antoine de
Saint-Exupéry
|
1974 version: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071762/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2
|
A
Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnette
|
Lots of
versions. We like the 1995 version:
|
The
Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnette
|
|
Caddie
Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
|
1860’s
tomboy adventures:
|
Thief
Lord by Cornelia Funke (teens)
|
We own
the movie but still need to watch it:
|
Mary
Poppins by P.L. Travers
|
Mary Poppins Returns: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5028340/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4
|
Call of
the Wild by Jack London
|
|
Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang
by Ian
Fleming (book is very different from movie!) https://amzn.to/2WAFMSs
|
I hadn’t
realized that Roald Dahl did the screenplay for the 1968 movie with Dick Van
Dyke:
|
Ballet
Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
|
|
The Story
of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria A. Trapp
|
1965
version Sound of Music with Julie Andrews
|
Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll
|
Many
versions, I personally like 1999 version:
|
Old
Yeller by Fred Gipson
|
|
Summer
of Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
|
1998
movie:
|
Where
the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
|
|
Mr.
Popper’s Penguins by Richard & Florence Atwater
|
|
Black
Beauty by Anna Sewell
|
1994
movie:
|
Peter
Pan by J.M. Barrie
|
|
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri
|
|
Treasures
of the Snow
by
Patricia St. John
|
Oldie but
goodie:
|
Charlotte’s
Web by E.B. Stuart
|
|
The
Jungle Book
by
Rudyard Kipling
|
|
Nim’s
Island by Wendy Orr
|
|
Paddington
Bear by Michael Bond
|
Movie
does not follow book entirely but still delightful:
|
Pippi
Longstocking (Astrid Lindgren)
|
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