Books to Read as a Family

Image courtesy of home-school-coach.com

 

 

One great way to keep your children interested in reading is to make it a family activity.  Since reading can happen anywhere, grab an ice cream, lay a blanket out in the yard, go to a park, snuggle on the couch - and read together!  The challenging part is choosing a book everyone will enjoy.  We're making that simple with five family-friendly titles to get you started!.  Happy Reading!

 

 

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater

 

The unexpected delivery of a large crate containing an Antarctic penguin changes the life and fortunes of Mr. Popper, a house painter obsessed by dreams of the Polar regions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary

 

A reckless young mouse named Ralph makes friends with a boy in room 215 of the Mountain View Inn and discovers the joys of motorcycling.

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

 

A young boy escapes from two wicked aunts and embarks on a series of adventures with six giant insects he meets inside a giant peach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big
ugly dog Winn-Dixie.

Holes by Louis Sachar

As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.



Reading Resources for Beginners - Starfall.com

If you're looking for an educational website that focuses on ABC's, sight words, sounding out, and beginning reading, take a look at starfall.com . 

Starfall is a pre-K and Kindergarten website developed by Dr. Stephen Shultz who holds a Ph.D. in physics, and is a successful artist and publisher.  He and his dedicated team released Starfall.com in 2002.  Over the years it has won multiple awards including awards from CommonSenseMedia.com as well as Parenting, and Family Fun magazine. 

There are five main areas of the website you can access without a paid membership.  Each area has tons of activities to promote letter recognition and sounds, sight words, and early reading.  The site contains other free materials for access to more reading, math, and song activities and videos.


Level 1 - ABC's

Clicking on a letter prompts a Sesame Street-esque interactive cartoon.  The letter appears, along with an image of something that begins with that letter's sound.  Click on the letter to hear the sound, click on the green arrow to move to the next page on which there will be a few other examples of the letter in action!  Click on each one to hear the sound and the word.  There are several pages of examples, ending with a game of separating the upper case version of the letter from the lower case.



Level 2 - Learn to Read.

Each Learn to Read section has two sight-word games, a short sight-word story, and a video about letters or sounds that pertain to the previous activities.  The videos are a little ridiculous, but in a way that will ensure kids remember what they have learned!  Kids (or grownups) can rate each video too.

 
 
 
 
 
 


Level 3 - It's Fun to Read.


It's Fun to Read has slightly more challenging interactive games.  Each category has several options in which kids can read and listen to the text in order to accomplish the required tasks.  The tasks include creating a mini cartoon of their own interests and home, reading simple words in order to perform magic tricks with a customizable cartoon magician, interactive riddles and more!  Because part of this level is creating their own world, it can be played over and over for more learning and new words.

Level 4. I'm Reading!



I'm Reading features both new and familiar stories, and plenty of them!  Some of the vocabulary is challenging for a beginner, but there is always help in context clues, pictures, and clicking in order to hear new words.  The text is large and clear on simple backgrounds and the images further explain the text.  These reading activities can be done by the child alone, or with the help of a grownup.

Click on any of the holiday icons for special reading games and activities for that season!


Parents are often wary of using technology too often.  Most experts suggest once a child is of school age, screen time (any time spent in front of the tv, computer, iPad or other personal device) is fine as long as it is limited and monitored by an adult - just so we know what our children are up to!  Each family is different.  As always, ask your pediatrician, local librarian, or child's teacher for further recommendations and ideas about technology use in your family!

Happy Learning!

Audiobooks for Family Road Trips

Summer is well underway and chances are many of you will find yourselves in the car for an extended period of time. Long car rides can get boring for everyone, but families, in particular, often face the challenge of  endless “are we there yets?” and “he’s bothering me” and “waaaaaaaaa,” etc., ad infinitum.  To keep your kids engaged, or, at the very least distracted, try listening to an audiobook that will entertain the whole family.  Many beloved series can feel like a whole new experience when listened to on audiobook. The best audiobook narrators are superb actors who can slip in and out of different character voices without the listener noticing, and some audiobooks feature a full cast who will voice-act the whole book. 

The Wellesley Free Library has a large selection of audiobooks on CD, as well as on Playaway  audio players, which can be connected to your car’s sound system using an auxiliary (AUX) cord. Don’t forget to check out the library’s digital catalog featuring an ever growing selection of digital audiobooks that you can download to your smart phone.

Here are some recommended audiobooks for families with kids of all ages to get you through the long hours on the road.

Llama Llama books by Anna Dewdney

Anna Dewdney herself reads several of her pleasingly rhymed story books about little Llama and his adventures navigating the world of sharing, shopping with mama, bedtime and preschool bullies. Each book runs about 4 minutes long, which is just enough to distract your toddler from the meltdown he/she may be having in the back seat.
Ideal for kids aged 18 months - 3 years old.

 

The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall

Read by a hilarious gentleman who sounds alarmingly like the actor who plays Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies (It’s not him, I checked!) , this humorous version of the Three Little Pigs runs for about 11 minutes and will keep your 2- 4 year olds silent and engaged. I know it does not sound like a long time, but it works wonders for breaking up moments of tension brought on by boredom in the car.
Ideal for kids aged 3-6 years old.  

 

Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace

Betsy and Tacy first meet at Betsy’s fifth birthday party and become such close friends that everyone starts to think of them as one person: Betsy-Tacy. This is a very sweet and charming series about two kids having adventures in their neighborhood in the early part of the 20th century. Betsy-Tacy is the first book in a series that takes you through the girls’ lives all the way up to their weddings. It will appeal to fans of The Penderwicks, Ivy and Bean, and Little House on the Prairie. Look for the audiobook read by Broadway and television actress Sutton Foster.
Ideal for kids aged 5 and up.


Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

It doesn’t matter if you have already read these books, the Little House on the Prairie series, as performed by the actress Cherry Jones, will appeal to your entire family. Kids as young as five can enjoy this series, as Wilder did her best to provide almost non-stop action, particularly in the first two books: Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie. The many descriptions of Pa’s fiddle playing are enhanced by an actual fiddle performance, which, combined with Jones’ rich narration, makes for a listening experience filled with nuance and wonder.

Ideal for kids aged 5 and up.

What happened on Fox Street  by Tricia Springstubb

11-year old Mo Wren has lived on Fox Street her whole life with her father and her little sister. Every year, Mo looks forward to when her best friend Mercedes comes to stay with her grandmother across the street. One summer, a series of unexpected changes and mysterious happenings threaten to change the world as Mo knows it. The combination of an interesting plot and lovable, fully realized characters make this an unforgettable and bittersweet tale about growing up.
Ideal for kids aged 7-12.

Okay for Now and The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

Schmidt's two coming of age novels about middle school boys are absolutely stellar. The Wednesday Wars focuses on Holling HoodHood, a seventh grader who has to spend Wednesday afternoons alone with his teacher while his classmates attend religious instruction. Unable to understand his teacher, Mrs. Baker, Holling is convinced that she hates him. It is 1967 in suburban upstate New York and the world feels on the verge of exploding. Schmidt manages to weave together many themes in this thoroughly moving and entertaining book.

If The Wednesday Wars is good, Okay for Now is outstanding. Middle schooler Doug Swieteck doesn’t care if you like him or not.  A tough kid from a tough family (who also plays a part in The Wednesday Wars), Doug goes into every situation assuming that people think the worst of him.  When he discovers an affection for the work of John James Audubon and develops a slow friendship with Lil Spicer, a girl in his town, Doug starts to open up, little by little, and we are reminded that there is usually much more to “troubled” kids then we may realize. This book will simultaneously break and warm your heart. Both audiobooks are narrated well by young male actors.

Ideal for kids aged 11 and up.

 

Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
I hardly need to tell you what this series is about. By now, most people know the story of Harry Potter, whether they have read the books or not. What you may not know is how wonderful the audiobook versions are. Actor Jim Dale narrated all seven books and developed detailed and distinct voices for each of the many, many characters in Rowling’s story.  No matter how well you or your kids know the books, I can promise that these audio versions will sweep you away and provide a new Harry Potter experience.
Ideal for kids aged 10 and up. (This is my humble opinion, but the perfect age for Harry Potter is constantly up for debate).

 

The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic by Allan Wolff
A full cast acts out the many narratives in this wonderful, harrowing recreation of the doomed voyage of the Titanic. Featuring a wide variety of stories, from the captain of the ship all the way down to a bilge rat, The Watch that Ends the Night is an unforgettable experience that will entertain kids and their grown ups. Be warned that it is harrowing, as not all of the voices survive. Descriptions of the recovery of bodies frozen in the sea are featured throughout and may upset younger or more sensitive listeners. However, older elementary-aged kids familiar with the Titanic and other large scale disasters will be enthralled with this well-done story.
Ideal for kids aged 11 and up.

 

Revolution and Countdown by Deborah Wiles
Countdown and Revolution share some characters but are two separate stories told during pivotal moments in  1960s America. Countdown centers around Franny Chapman’s experience living in Maryland in 1962, as the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis play out. Revolution takes place in Greenwood, Mississippi during the summer of 1964, otherwise known as the Freedom Summer. Twelve year-old Sunny is thrust into the middle of the tumultuous events of that summer as volunteers pour into town to help register black voters.  The volunteers are met with considerable resistance and violence from the townspeople--many of whom Sunny has known her whole life. What sets these novels apart is the creative use of primary source material throughout. Actors read speeches, excerpts from memoirs and newspaper articles, and even recreate popular ads and jingles to fully evoke the era.
Both of these stories are wonderful, affecting and engaging audiobooks, particularly Revolution, which brought me to tears more than once. Listening to 12-year old Sunny experience the violence of a civil war protest right in front of her eyes, and watching her struggle to understand how people could behave the way they did, proves a powerful emotional experience.  
Ideal for ages 11 and up.

Life as we knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Life as we knew it is a harrowing suspense thriller that follows what happens after an asteroid knocks the moon out of orbit and closer to earth. As the world experiences catastrophic tsunamis and floods, earthquakes and volcanoes, 10th grader Miranda and her family struggle to survive. The young female narrator reads this story with the perfect amount of urgency and innocence. Your family will beg to stay in the car just to find out what happens.
Ideal for ages 13 and up.

The benefits of audio books!

At the Wellesley Free Library, we LOVE audiobooks, and we know our patrons do too!  They are great for car trips, days home sick, and shared listening.  But isn't reading "real" books better?  Won't children lose reading skills if they do a lot of listening?

Actually, the answer is no!  Listening to books promotes literacy!  Check out this infographic that we found through the great resource Reading Rockets!