Our reading life is always evolving, but I find that as my children get older — they are now 11 and 9, and to put this in perspective, when I started writing this newsletter, they were 5 and 3 — it’s actually harder than it used to be.
My kids have just started their literacy journey so most of our reading right now are various decodable book series, about which I have become strangely opinionated. Julia Donaldson's Songbirds: a skippable disappointment. Decodable Readers Australia: the cream of the crop, both charming and creative.
I still try to read to them regularly. I heard a teacher on a podcast say "when you read, it is a test; when I read, it is a gift" and keep that in mind to mix some gifts in with the tests.
Sensational Sharks and Maps For Penguins were both fun browsing coffee table kind of books.
Pooems is collection of poems all about poo. As an adult I didn't think many of the poems were especially great but I'm also not the target audience and I liked the author trying to take poetry in a very kid centric direction. (By contrast Enid Blyton's book of poetry Poems for Every Season was far too earnest to be good poetry for children, IMHO)
We've also tried a few books in the Willa & Woof and Ella & Olivia chapter books series which have gone over pretty well, though my kids still don't really have the attention span for a story told over multiple evenings.
My daughter just turned five and she has become obsessed with the Magic Treehouse books. We read through them at night until one of us is on the verge of sleeping. I have really slowed down in reading this Feb and March because of the mental load, but I’m still working through “Little Brother” by Cory Doctorow. It’s very 1984 in theme but with a post 9/11 setting. Eerie considering the current state of DHS we have in our reality right now.
My senior in high school is back to reading! After years of not reading (beyond memorizing lines for plays, which I know is a special talent), in recent months she will sit with me (sometimes for more than 10 minutes!) and read books she herself has checked out during her own visit to the library. She told me she wants to read all of Toni Morrison's books, and shares astute observations about why she might not finish a book. I say this to anyone who saw their children love, then stop, reading (and to the me of even a few months ago): it comes back!
Current read aloud is The Mystery of the Locked Rooms! I was nervous because I thought Scritch Scratch by same author was a bit scary, but the girls like the "cliffhangers" each chapter!
Reading the Little House Series to my 5.5 year old (first chapter book she’s liked after many attempts) and reading Prairie Fires myself for some context around the books.
My 3 year old son cannot get enough of Little Bear, especially at bedtime. He's also been loving Grasshopper On the Road. We also just got a Brambly Hedge collection from the Library, which has gone into heavy rotation. I really enjoy bedtime reads, because I usually insist we take a pause on vehicle encyclopedias and read stories - it's a relief for me!
I love Crenshaw and can't wait for my kids to be old enough to read them. My son is currently obsessed with farm animals, so we've been reading board books full of cows and chickens, which is adorable. My daughter is in her ballerina phase, and we're loving Becoming a Ballerina: The Story of Michaela Mabinty DePrince by Laura Obuobi.
I gave the 10 year old the 16th Wings of Fire and then immediately had to check 1-15 out for her because even though it's a new arc she wanted to do a reread. I made it through arc 1 three years ago when she first read them and not sure I can manage any more of it; not exactly my favorite genre. But the 8 year old is now reading them for the first time so at least they can nerd out about it together. And Science Comics are a long-standing favorite so we're looking forward to the Prehistoric Mammals one that comes out next month! The kids have also been taking a close reading of comics class this year and so very well loved copies of Calvin and Hobbes, Cul de Sac, Wallace the Brave, and Nancy go with us everywhere. Trying to track down copies of the other Cul de Sac books now because they're surprisingly good but also out of print. Partner and I are reading the Children of Time series now and looking forward to sharing it with the kids in a few years.
Love this! I love reading to my 6 year old at night. We both recently loved the Wild Robot series which has been really hard to top. We’re now reading Boxcar Children books and enjoying those, although sometimes the “old” way of talking is a bit tricky! They’re super comforting cozy books though.
Aw, love this. It is cute and slightly accompanied by grief when children want to do things alone, but still want us to be there and present. My babysitting babies and I love rereading Harold and The Purple Crayon and the Rainbow Fish stories over and over. I'm loving Amor Towles books💗
We’re reading “One Naked Baby” over and over (thanks to your review)! We wore out one copy and are on our second board book. My son runs around yelling “one naked baby! One naked baby!!” to ask for the book or just express joy generally.
I always love it when you share peeks and snippets of your reading life! I hope you recover quickly.
We’re currently loving Beatrice and the Nightingale by Patricia Newman.
My kids have just started their literacy journey so most of our reading right now are various decodable book series, about which I have become strangely opinionated. Julia Donaldson's Songbirds: a skippable disappointment. Decodable Readers Australia: the cream of the crop, both charming and creative.
I still try to read to them regularly. I heard a teacher on a podcast say "when you read, it is a test; when I read, it is a gift" and keep that in mind to mix some gifts in with the tests.
Sensational Sharks and Maps For Penguins were both fun browsing coffee table kind of books.
Pooems is collection of poems all about poo. As an adult I didn't think many of the poems were especially great but I'm also not the target audience and I liked the author trying to take poetry in a very kid centric direction. (By contrast Enid Blyton's book of poetry Poems for Every Season was far too earnest to be good poetry for children, IMHO)
We've also tried a few books in the Willa & Woof and Ella & Olivia chapter books series which have gone over pretty well, though my kids still don't really have the attention span for a story told over multiple evenings.
Wish you all the best in your lovely journey of reading to your kids.
Your kids are very lucky, I must say, to get to hear such a wide genre of children's fiction.
God bless,
Roy
My daughter just turned five and she has become obsessed with the Magic Treehouse books. We read through them at night until one of us is on the verge of sleeping. I have really slowed down in reading this Feb and March because of the mental load, but I’m still working through “Little Brother” by Cory Doctorow. It’s very 1984 in theme but with a post 9/11 setting. Eerie considering the current state of DHS we have in our reality right now.
Wow!
Great reading taste!
Reading is a habit that, once acquired, pays lifelong dividends.
So, your daughter is lucky to cultivate such a marvellous habit at the age of five itself.
God bless,
Roy
My 2nd grader is into the "I Survived" series. Right now, we are reading the graphic novel about Pompeii!
Dear Parent,
Greetings.
God bless you and your little ones with all the happiness in this world.
You may like to go through the gentle stories I’ve crafted so lovingly for them. These tales are sure to bring a ray of sunshine to everyone.
With best wishes,
Roy
Thanks again for sending in your Caldecott superlative!
My senior in high school is back to reading! After years of not reading (beyond memorizing lines for plays, which I know is a special talent), in recent months she will sit with me (sometimes for more than 10 minutes!) and read books she herself has checked out during her own visit to the library. She told me she wants to read all of Toni Morrison's books, and shares astute observations about why she might not finish a book. I say this to anyone who saw their children love, then stop, reading (and to the me of even a few months ago): it comes back!
Current read aloud is The Mystery of the Locked Rooms! I was nervous because I thought Scritch Scratch by same author was a bit scary, but the girls like the "cliffhangers" each chapter!
Reading the Little House Series to my 5.5 year old (first chapter book she’s liked after many attempts) and reading Prairie Fires myself for some context around the books.
My 3 year old son cannot get enough of Little Bear, especially at bedtime. He's also been loving Grasshopper On the Road. We also just got a Brambly Hedge collection from the Library, which has gone into heavy rotation. I really enjoy bedtime reads, because I usually insist we take a pause on vehicle encyclopedias and read stories - it's a relief for me!
I love Crenshaw and can't wait for my kids to be old enough to read them. My son is currently obsessed with farm animals, so we've been reading board books full of cows and chickens, which is adorable. My daughter is in her ballerina phase, and we're loving Becoming a Ballerina: The Story of Michaela Mabinty DePrince by Laura Obuobi.
I gave the 10 year old the 16th Wings of Fire and then immediately had to check 1-15 out for her because even though it's a new arc she wanted to do a reread. I made it through arc 1 three years ago when she first read them and not sure I can manage any more of it; not exactly my favorite genre. But the 8 year old is now reading them for the first time so at least they can nerd out about it together. And Science Comics are a long-standing favorite so we're looking forward to the Prehistoric Mammals one that comes out next month! The kids have also been taking a close reading of comics class this year and so very well loved copies of Calvin and Hobbes, Cul de Sac, Wallace the Brave, and Nancy go with us everywhere. Trying to track down copies of the other Cul de Sac books now because they're surprisingly good but also out of print. Partner and I are reading the Children of Time series now and looking forward to sharing it with the kids in a few years.
Love this! I love reading to my 6 year old at night. We both recently loved the Wild Robot series which has been really hard to top. We’re now reading Boxcar Children books and enjoying those, although sometimes the “old” way of talking is a bit tricky! They’re super comforting cozy books though.
Dear Parent,
Greetings.
God bless you and your little ones with all the happiness in this world.
You may like to go through the gentle stories I’ve crafted so lovingly for them. These tales are sure to bring a ray of sunshine to everyone.
With best wishes,
Roy
M’y daughter is 15 and reads by herself, sometimes next time reading too yet it’s getting more rare.
But at Christmas time when the old pictures books come out, she’ll ask that I read them aloud to her. I love it.
My 5 and 3 year old have been enjoying lately:
-Doctor Nice—thank you for the rec!
-Bears in the Night (my mystery book!)
-Little Witch Hazel
-an exploration of Caldecott winners—loving the wordless ones
-Doctor De Soto
-Taking Care of Mama Rabbit
-My Spring Robin
Aw, love this. It is cute and slightly accompanied by grief when children want to do things alone, but still want us to be there and present. My babysitting babies and I love rereading Harold and The Purple Crayon and the Rainbow Fish stories over and over. I'm loving Amor Towles books💗
We’re reading “One Naked Baby” over and over (thanks to your review)! We wore out one copy and are on our second board book. My son runs around yelling “one naked baby! One naked baby!!” to ask for the book or just express joy generally.
That makes me so happy 💕