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Why (and What) Should I Read to My Kids?When my children were toddlers, I read them a book entitled I'll Teach My Dog a Hundred Words by Michael Frith. It served as a delightful introduction to vocabulary for the children, as the little boy taught the hundred words to his dog. I read aloud to my children almost every day after that, for the next twelve years. I read over a thousand books and short stories to my kids, and we had great fun. Our imaginations hung on every word of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and we couldn't wait to turn the pages as C.S. Lewis led us on our first visit to Narnia. Our reading accounted for much of the time that we have spent together, averaging 30 minutes to one hour per day. In a time when fathers spend so little time with their kids, it's ideal to share this fun activity that we all enjoy. I'm no better than the next dad at spending time with my kids, but reading greatly increased the amount of time we spent talking and listening to each other.Reading is how we learn things. As we read biographies of great statesman like Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan, great church leaders like Martin Luther and Billy Graham, and all the great men of science, we discovered that one consistent common denominator was that they read everything they could get their hands on. It's also important that our children see us reading and understand that reading is not just for kids. Also, reading stimulates our imaginations, and reading means not watching TV. Parents should read their children all different types of books. Read fiction, like Samuel Clemens' Tom Sawyer. Laugh together at all of Louis Sachar's students in Sideways Stories From Wayside School. Cry together with E.B. White's Charlotte's Web, or Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia. Read nonfiction, too. Besides biographies of people they should know about, kids need to learn about history, geography, science, and the Bible. Finally, below is a list of the best 100 books that we read. I believe that I would have been remiss as a father not to have read these particular books aloud to my kids. In order to be placed on this list, each book had to receive a four-start rating from my son, my daughter, and myself. Each of these books passed the careful scrutiny my son and my daughter, as well as myself. No matter whether you have sons or daughters, you should enjoy reading these: 100 Read Aloud Books For Children 1) Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls 2) Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Patterson 3) The Indian in the Cupboard, by Lynn Reid Banks 4) Sideways Stories of Wayside School, by Louis Sachar 5) The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth George Speare 6) The Witches, by Roald Dahl 7) The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis 8) The Yearling, by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings 9) The Door in the Dragon's Throat, by Frank Peretti 10) To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee 11) Skinny Bones, by Barbara Park 12) Building Blocks, by Cynthia Voight 13) Cheaper by the Dozen, by Frank and Ernestine Gilbreth 14) If I Love You, Am I Trapped Forever, by M.E. Kerr 15) Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White 16) Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain 17) Old Yeller, by Fred Gipson 18) A Dog Called Kitty, by Bill Wallace 19) Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, by Judy Blume 20) The Computer Nut, by Betsy Byars 21) How the West Was Won, by Louis L'Amour 22) Island of the Blue Dolphin, by Scott O'dell 23) The Incredible Journey, by Sheila Burnford 24) The Whipping Boy, by Sid Fleischman 25) How to Eat Fried Worms, by Thomas Rockwell 26) The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare 27) Home From Far, by Jean Little 28) The Summer of the Monkeys, by Wilson Rawls 29) Bunnicula, by Deborah and James Howe 30) A Ghost in the House, by Betty Ren Wright 31) The Dollhouse Murders, by Betty Ren Wright 32) Ghost Beneath Our Feet, by Betty Ren Wright 33) The Wizard of Oz, by Frank Baum 34) My Brother Sam is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Colier 35) The Return of the Indian, by Lynn Reid Banks 36) Cybil War, by Betsy Byars 37) Summer of the Swans, by Betsy Byars 38) The Midnight Fox, by Betsy Byars 39) There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom, by Louis Sachar 40) The Boy Who Lost His Face, by Louis Sachar 41) The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom 42) Trumpet of the Swans, by E. B. White 43) Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You, by Barth DeClements 44) Anastasia Again, by Lois Lowry 45) Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry 46) Switch Around, by Lois Lowry 47) The Light in the Forest, by Conrad Richter 48) The Hot and Cold Summer, by Barbara Park 49) The Cold and Hot Winter, by Barbara Park 50) Almost Starring Skinny Bones, by Barbara Park 51) Partners in Grime, by Barbara Park 52) The Kid in the Red Jacket, by Barbara Park 53) Rip-Roaring Russell, by Joanna Hurwitz 54) Prince Caspian, C. S. Lewis 55) The Silver Chair, C. S. Lewis 56) The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C. S. Lewis 57) The Horse and His Boy, C. S. Lewis 58) The Magician's Nephew, C. S. Lewis 59) The Last Battle, C. S. Lewis 60) Escape From the Island of Aquarius, by Frank Peretti 61) The Tombs of Anak, by Frank Peretti 62) Trapped at the Bottom of the Sea, by Frank Peretti 63) The Tell-Tale Heart, by Edgar Allan Poe 64) Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Case, by Donald J. Sobol 65) Encyclopedia Brown Saves the Day, by Donald J. Sobol 66) Sarah, Plain & Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan 67) Come Sing, Jimmy Jo, by Katherine Paterson 68) Lassie Come Home, by Eric Knight 69) The Black Stallion, by Walter Farley 70) Big Red, by Jim Kjelgaard 71) The Stone Fox, by John Reynolds Gardiner 72) The Bully of Barkham Street, by Mary Stolz 73) The Bremen Town Musicians, by Grimm 74) Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingals Wilder 75) The Emperor's New Clothes, by Hans Christian Anderson 76) Anderson's Tales, by Hans Christian Anderson 77) Aesop's Fables 78) Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia, by Peggy Parrish 79) Are You My Mother?, by Dr. Seuss 80) I'll Teach My Dog 100 Words, by Michael Frith 81) Preparing for Adolescence, by James Dobson Books of The Bible: 82) Genesis 83) Exodus (Chapters 1-12) 84) Judges 85) Ruth 86) John 87) Acts 88) Romans 89) Philippians 90) Revelation Biographies: 91) Walt Disney 92) Helen Keller 93) Sam Houston 94) Abraham Lincoln 95) Franlkin D. Roosevelt 96) Jimmy Carter 97) Ronald Reagan 98) Martin Luther 99) John Wesley 100) Billy Graham Paraphrasing from "The Reading Mother" by Strickland Gillilan, in The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease: You may have tangible wealth untold; Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I you can never be-- I had a parent who read to me. Owen Weber 2009 |