by Amanda Forester
Today was the last day of school for my kids and as their thoughts
turned to how they would enjoy their summer, mine turned to how to keep their
little brains from atrophying over the summer break. I am determined to keep their skills sharp by
doing a little homeschooling over the summer. Shhhh, don't tell them yet. I'm trying to figure out a way to break it to
them that won't lead to something akin to the silent scream look.
One of the educational activities we all can agree on is reading. They enjoy hearing many different books and
request politely (translation: demand incessantly) that I read to them at least
a little bit before they go to bed. With
all the excitement of the end of school, I forgot that we had just finished White Fang by Jack London and we needed a
new book.
I try to read classic books to them that they wouldn't pick up for
themselves, things that are a bit above their reading level or that need some
explaining to make it understood. This is all well and good, but it takes a bit
of forethought, which I had neglected to do, so I quickly ransacked the house
looking for something to read. Now don't
get me wrong, we have lots of books in the house, but between my love of
historical romance and my husband's love of military history, most books are not
exactly kid-friendly.
I finally came across one of my favorites from my tween years - The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. You see I did find a historical romance after
all! After explaining that this was the
Scarlet Pimpernel, not the Scarlet Pimple, and giving a brief history
lesson of the French Revolution, we settled down to enjoy the adventure.
This has got me thinking about classic books every kid should read (or
have read to them) as they are growing up.
Here are my thoughts:
A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
Anne of Green Gables
by Lucy Maud
Bear Called Paddington
by Michael Bond
by E.B. White
The Hobbit
by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lion the Witch and the
Wardrobe
by C.S. Lewis
Little House in the Big Woods
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little Women
by Louisa May
Alcott
Peter Pan
by J.M. Barrie
Pippi Longstocking
by Astrid
Lindgren
Ramona the Pest
by Beverley
Cleary
Secret Garden
by Frances
Hodgson Burnett
The Three Musketeers
by
Alexandre Dumas
by
Harper Lee
Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
Treasure Island
Winnie the Pooh
by A.A. Milne
Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine
L'Engle
I'm sure there are many deserving books that should be included. What are some of your classic books every
kid should read?
What a great list. For older kids, I'd add The Diary of Anne Frank. For younger kids, many of the Dr. Seuss books--such as Cat and the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, Go Dog Go and Hop on Pop--should be on the list.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Those are great classics I'd enjoyed (albeit at different times).
DeleteI think you got them all. Maybe add a Hardy Boys book? But you aren't really going to read them The Scarlet Pimpernel or The Three Musketeers, are you? I mean, I love those stories, but they were boring for me at times, and I read them by choice in college. Princess Galen is just starting to be able to sit for longer stories, and I'm enjoying reading more developed plots. As long as there are pictures, she's happy. We also do a lot of audio books, and she listens and turns the pages when the signal sounds. Nice break from always hearing mom, though I must say I have a very dramatic reading voice.
ReplyDeleteI've found the kids will sit still and listen to me read to books they would never read themselves. It helps to read in funny accents! :)
DeleteDon't forget the science fiction books...the Andre Norton or Robert Heinlein ones written for kids started my love of the genre...and I moved on to Asimov, Silverberg, Zelazny, Clarke and the rest!
ReplyDelete