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When people find out that I have a love affair going with children's books, they often ask me: "So what's your favorite book at the moment?" or "What do you read to your children at bedtime?" or "What books do you recommend?" These are questions that parents and grandparents and nannies and teachers are always curious about - everybody seems to be looking for a new great book to read!
Today I'm sharing 10 great books to read aloud. I read these books often with my children, and these are books that we all love and can read again and again. Some of these books may be familiar to you, some may be unknown - but if you haven't read them aloud with your child yet, you should!
1. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz
As a child I loved hearing this story, and as an adult I love to read it to my children even more. Everyone can relate to having a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day". It's a great book to read aloud because Alexander's voice and attitude are expressed so clearly in the way Viorst writes that you can make the character "come alive" as you read it. And while I have seen this book criticized, I really couldn't love it any less, no matter what some say about Alexander being bratty and spoiled. It's a perfect book to open up a conversation with your child about having a day that's just not going his way.
2. Veggies with Wedgies by Todd H. Doodler
You might know author Todd H. Doodler from another underwear-themed tale,
Bear in Underwear. This story about a bunch of veggies who happen upon a bunch of underpants hanging out to dry is....well, pretty funny. There are lots of veggie characters in this book and when I read it with my children, I give each one its own distinctive voice. I promise this book will make you and your kids chuckle, or at the very least smile.
Veggies with Wedgies would be a great book to buy for a potty-training toddler or preschooler - it will not only get them excited about underwear, but will put some silliness into what can sometimes be a less than fun transition.
3. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
In my humble opinion Shel Silverstein is a genius. I've read this collection of poems over and over and over again and never tire of it. My children can recite some of the poems by heart because many are short, and I'd imagine can keep the attention of even the busiest of toddlers. All of the poems in this collection are what I would call "whimsical". Some are touching. Some are just outright hysterical and goofy. Basically what I'm saying is that this book of poems has something for everyone. And, did you know that rhymes like these aid in your child's pre-reading skills by drawing his attention to the different sounds in spoken words? Yep, you should really pick up this book if have never read it, and your child's preschool teacher will thank you. Oh, and Silverstein's drawings are just as genius as his words.
4. Blue 2 by David A Carter
Blue 2 is really an art book to me. There aren't many words, but the words that Carter uses in this intelligently crafted pop-up book will give your child a lesson in vocabulary. I put this book on my "read aloud" love list because it's something fun to read
and do with your child. If you ask my daughter what her favorite present was this past Christmas, she'll definitely respond,
"Blue 2". Trust me, you will read this book over and over again - not always because you want to, but because you just HAVE to find all of those hidden Blue 2's!
5. Brief Thief by Michael Escoffier and illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo
I do have to warn you that this book does contain potty humor, but the giggles I get from reading it make me happy. Brief Thief does have a very important lesson to be learned too: don't touch other people's things. My children just love to read this book over and over for a plain and simple reason: it's fun. And in my mind, if you can take a valuable lesson and make it fun to learn, it's a win win for all.
6. Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty and illustrated by David Roberts
This book gets one thing right with its title - this world needs more female engineers! I'm loving this book not only because it's inspiring to little minds, but it gives you a great feeling when you are done reading it. You can't help but feel like you did at least one thing "right" in the day by reading it with your child.
7. Eric!...The Hero? by Chris Wormell
Ah, Eric! The boy that nobody believes in, and who seems to be good at nothing. I think we all can relate to feeling a little lost and misunderstood at times which is why I love this book. Wormell's story is about courage, finding yourself, and believing in your own abilities, even when no one else does. This book is especially great for kids who love monster books, and parents (like me) who love to teach important life lessons through books.
8. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
My kids adore this book, and I do too because it's clever. The first time I read it I remember thinking - well, isn't that an adorable ending to a perfectly enjoyable book.
The Gruffalo is fun to read aloud because you can really put a lot of expression into the character's voices, and even give the story an eerie feel in the way that you read it. In my opinion, this is one of those great children's books that you can cuddle under a blanket and read together....and anticipate exactly what's going to happen next. This book is truly a greatly told story.
9. The Girl Who Wouldn't Brush Her Hair by Kate Bernheimer and Jake Parker
A story of a little girl who wouldn't brush her hair...and you know what happens to her? She has a little village of mice who take up residence in her over-tangled locks! There are many days that I think this book was written specifically about my daughter (she even has the same long brown hair). We love this story because it takes something that we struggle with on a daily basis and exaggerates it. I'm sure many families with little girls can relate. And of course, if you think a book was written
for you and
about you...you're going to want to read it aloud again and again like we do.
10. Tap to Play by Salina Yoon
A truly interactive book where you play a game as you read along! My 5-year old and 2-year old equally love reading this with me and the second we are through, ask to read it again. While
Tap to Play reads like a traditional book, it feels like an iPad app with all of the fun, and none of the screen-time guilt (which I sometimes feel, anyway). I have no doubt this book will become one of your household favorites to read (and play) over and over, like it is ours.
So there you have it....my book love list (just in time for Valentine's Day). Of course, if you ask me in a week, I might have some new favs to add to the list, but as of right now these books get my votes and I'm sticking to it.
What are your favorite books to read aloud lately?
I’ve just returned from Edinburgh on a train packed to the gills with rucksacks, sleeping bags, and the odd piece of bin-bag wrapped set. Yes, it’s festival time and the returning festival-goers include, as they have for the last twenty-two years, me.
I’ve also been a participant this year – talking at the Edinburgh Book Festival, just one of seven festivals that completely take over the Scottish capital every August. At the same time as I was talking to 80 children about The Dark Wild yesterday, Alex Salmond was discussing the referendum next door, and had you struck out in almost any direction from Charlotte Square in search of alternative fare, I guarantee you could have found some event to suit your palate.
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| My audience at the Edinburgh Book Festival 2014 |
I wasn’t with my partner on this occasion, who was giving a talk on a forgotten Elizabethan play…at another festival, Wilderness, in Oxfordshire. Wilderness is part of a new crop of ‘boutique’ festivals offering a midsummer’s assortment of revels from hip bands to literary events to Madhatter’s Teaparties. The lakes and Arcadian lawns of Wilderness are a far cry from the cobbles and closes of Edinburgh, although this weekend they shared the same weather.
Earlier this summer we
didgo to the same festival, to the brand new
Curious Arts – a kind of Voewood-on-Sea, in the charming grounds of Pylewell Park, a Regency mansion with a view
from the terrace straight down to the Isle of Wight. You could dance to Ed Harcourt in the evening, listen to Lady Antonia Fraser on the Great Reform Act after breakfast, hunt a Jabberwocky in the Aboretum all afternoon, and finish the day with a gin cocktail leaning over a crumbling balustrade watching ships pass on the Solent.
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| Pylewell Park, the setting for the Curious Arts Festival |
All very charming and civilised. But as I returned for the umpteenth time from the granddaddy of all festivals last night – I found myself meditating on the true attraction of such gatherings. What’s the point of a festival?
Let me first declare an interest in this British summer sport. I began my career programming a large theatre on the Edinburgh Fringe,
the Pleasance (of which I am now a Trustee). Each year we have enough shows in enough different rooms to momentarily make us one of the largest arts venues in Europe.
I’ve sat in the sun at Hay and waded through the mud at Latitude. I’ve spoken at a tiny theatre festival that just takes over three floors of one building in Suffolk and a new book festival in Devon which was just a room in a library.
Later this year I’ll be leading a wildlife walk at
Bath Festival and then dashing off to sit on a panel at Cheltenham. You can festival it up from Port Elliot
to Adelaide to Dubai, if you want to.
It would seem that we are at peak Festival, with over 700 events taking place this year classified as one, about 300 of them literary.
As a writer, you will be told many things about festivals, as I know theatre companies, musicians and comedians are told about theirs. You will be told they are essential for profile, that ‘festivals are the new bookshops’ and a great way for connecting with readers.
I don’t wholly dispute those things. Being in a Festival programme, especially an established one, does lift perception of you and your titles. Sales wise I’m less sure – I had a sold out talk at Edinburgh yesterday, in a 75 seat room, and probably sold 20 odd books, which is great - but it’s not the sole reason I went.
You certainly don’t go for the money. Some Festivals, like Bath and Edinburgh offer a token fee, and some like Hay, offer a case of wine and a flower. And as someone involved with the running of a festival venue, I can report that the ever increasing rental, accommodation, promotional, regulatory and staff costs associated with mounting one of these temporary gatherings mean profits are only ever normally found behind the bar rather than the box office.
It’s not cheap for audience members either. Individual events may carry an average ticket price of £8-10 but the travel, accommodation, taxi and food/drink bill means the minimum festival tab comes close to the £100 prices offered by the all inclusive weekend events like Curious Arts, and can be often more - if you visited Edinburgh all week, for example.
Why do we all go and what do we take away?
A dull critic of this pastime might argue that at best audience members take away an empty wallet and often a hangover, and we take away some book sales and inclusion in a programme mailing list.
Of course, all of us are in search of something much more profound.
Festivals may be promoted effectively but I would not place them under the heading of ‘Effective Promotion’ for any artist. There are numerous more sober and less fun ways to do that – just speak to your publisher’s sales and marketing department. But festivals are also fun for them to attend too.
Festivals, especially the summer ones, satisfy a much deeper urge in us to ‘gather.’ Writing, as we all know, can be a damnably lonely business, just you, your ideas and a cold screen all day long. School visits are often hectic and at best your longest conversation with an adult might be five minutes on logistics over a coffee in the staff room.
I think all of us, from writers to actors to comedians to singers to audience members, go to festivals primarily to talk, and to connect. We need our events, sure, we need a reason to gather, our cover story; but the real business of a Festival takes place in the green room, the author’s yurt, the performer’s bar and the pop-up café franchise.
The classic image of a festival is a big tent, and that is the heart of their appeal. Where else can one talk to Archbishop Emeritus Rowan Williams, the Gruffalo and First Minister Salmond all in one room? Even if I chose not to. They are harvest festivals without the back breaking labour (unless perhaps you’re in an acrobatic troupe), weddings for all, and the very best are always tinged with midsummer madness.
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| The Gruffalo loses his head at all the excitement in the Edinburgh Author's Yurt |
We gather, we discover, share ideas, news, worries and gossip like crazy. Twitter handles become three dimensional, books expand to reveal the lives behind them, and readers are no longer scary anonymous Amazon commenters.
We might sell the odd book or register with a bookseller who didn’t know us before. All of which is great and worthwhile. But next time your publisher invites you to a festival, don’t worry too much about the fee or whether the sales will be worth it, just gather in the tent (ideally under a super moon) and enjoy the craic.
Piers Torday
@PiersTorday
www.pierstorday.co.uk
If anyone has any memorable Festival experiences, good or bad, do share them below!
I’m still gathering my thoughts from the wonderful experience that was the IBBY Congress in London Thursday to Sunday 23-26 August. Four days of inspirational speakers and meeting kindred spirits from all over the world. I’ve now added a selection of photographs to our Flickr – you can see them here. I haven’t quite finished tagging and describing yet, but I’m getting there… and here is a smaller selection for you to enjoy on the blog – again, I’ve numbered them so that I can come back and label them!
A London children’s theatre company Theatre Peckham helped the Opening Ceremony go with a swing with their delightful performance of an extract from the theatre adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Then fuelled with a piece of Wally’s delicious 25th birthday cake (but where was he? Answer: everywhere, in the guise of the very game Imperial College staff!), we headed back to the auditorium for our first plenary session – and what a line up! Three UK Children’s Laureates – the current reigning Julia Donaldson and two of her predeceesors, Michael Morpurgo and Anthony Browne.
Each spoke about what particular passions they had brought to their role as laureate: Michael described how he and poet Ted Hughes had first come up with the idea, and how Hughes had been instrumental in making it all happen; Anthony played the ‘shape game’ and showed how it appears everywhere in his work and outside it; and Julia talked of the three areas close to her heart: enhancing children’s experience of reading through drama; keeping libraries open (a big issue in the UK); and promoting stories for and about deaf children.
Julia and her husband Malcolm, on guitar, then showcased some examples of what theatre can do to enhance literacy, from the chorus of a very fast Italian pasta song written while on holiday in Siena, Italy, to a virtuoso performance of The Gruffalo in French, German and (its most recent language) Scots. In between, we were treated to the song that inspired Julia’s book A Squash and a Squeeze with audience participation… and I say treated, well, it was a real treat for me as I got to be the hen! Thanks to Australian author Susanne Gervay (yes, that was one of my top thrills of IBBY, meeting Susanne in person…), you will shortly be able to see it on Flickr too – don’t laugh too much!!
Well, that was just the first few hours of the Congress – I will certainly be writing more about it over the coming weeks. In the meantime, hello to all those PaperTigers friends I got to meet for the first time in real life – Shirin Adl, Candy Gourlay, Dashdondog Jamba; and to old friends and new. I’ll now be dreaming of IBBY Mexico 2014… In the meantime, head on over to Flickr and enjoy my photos – and much better ones on the official IBBY Congress 2012′s photostream.
Yesterday, I took our dog, Jess, for her usual morning walk. Instead of going up over the hill, as we usually do, we cut along the bottom, through a small wood. There's a special little clearing here - special because at this time of year, cowslips grow there. A little further on there is a patch of primroses: unusual in this part of the Mendips.
It was early morning. The sun shone through the trees and it was very quiet, very still. Something stirred in the undergrowth - a bird probably, or maybe a rabbit or a fox. Nothing remotely threatening.
As I walked on, I thought about another wood - well, not a wood, a forest: far away on the other side of Europe, in south east Poland, on the other side of the Carpathians. We were there last summer. The hills are much higher than the Mendips; when you climb up through the forest, you reach alpine meadows where great clumps of deep blue gentians grow, and mountains curve and dip like blue and lilac waves.
The forest is spreading. There used to be more villages in these mountains, but the villagers were forcibly removed in the war, some to Russia, some to other parts of Poland. Their homes have crumbled now, their fields and gardens are part of the woods.
The trees are tall, so light falls in columns. Some of them have a fierce kink at the bottom of their trunks; this is caused by heavy snowfalls when the trees are young. As far as you look, there are trees, dim into the distance. The path is wide, but if you strayed, it would be easy to lose your way. You could wander for miles and not see another soul. If you went up hill, of course, you would eventually come out into the open - but a small child might not think of that.
There are bears in these forests, and wolves. Real ones. We didn't see any, but we saw their leavings: paw prints and droppings, pointed out to us by Olek, the forester who was with us. He's a hunter, too. He cares for the forest creatures, but sometimes he shoots them.
This was the forest of the Grimm brothers' fairy tales: the forest of little girls in red cloaks, of gingerbread houses, of wolves, of huntsmen who may be heroes or villains, of beasts who may once have been men. Perhaps too, it's the forest of picture book stories where small creatures have great adventures, where the Gruffalo could be just out of sight, where safety is a cosy cave with a warm bed and a welcoming candle.
It was a shock to find out that it is a real place.
The GruffaloWritten by Julia Donaldson
Illustrated by Alex Scheffler
MacMillan Children's Books, 1999
ISBN: 0 333 96568 X
A mouse, strolling through the deep dark woods, can't seem to stop running into folks who want to eat him - snake, and owl, and fox. Only his wits manage to keep him from becoming an appetizer; he convinces each animal that he's on his way to meet a terrifying (and made-up) creature called a gruffalo. The predators rush off to hide from the fictitious monster, leaving the mouse snickering.
"Silly old Fox! Doesn't he know,
There's no such thing as a gruffalo?"
Clever mouse must be feeling pretty pleased with himself for avoiding becoming a snack - until he stumbles upon a gruffalo, who's not so fictional after all. The gruffalo, like everyone else, thinks the mouse looks awfully tasty, but the quick-thinking rodent still has a few tricks up his sleeve...
Grab a copy to find out how the mouse outsmarts the gruffalo! You can't go wrong with this book for very little kids - its adorable illustrations and clever rhyming text make it a sure thing. It's even available in board-book format for the littlest of monster lovers! This is one of my personal favourite picture books of all time, I recommend it to everyone with a small child.
In this episode, two listener submitted reviews:
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How wonderful to have been in the actual forest populated by all those stories!
You describe it so eloquently, too. I feel I've been there - but then of course we all have, through the tales.
One of the first things that struck me on moving to the UK is how benign the landscape is compared with much of the rest of the world. It would be interesting to study how landscape affects the folk lore of a region.
Lovely post, Sue, thank you. I love the bit about the tree trunks shaped in infancy by the weight of the snow. Mostly coniferous, or mixed?
Mixed, Ellen. I think the ones with the distorted trunks were beeches, but couldn't be certain.
Thanks for dropping by!
it's odd how deeply woods have got into our psyche. There's something immediately intriguing about a story that starts with someone going into the woods. I grew up surrounded by a suburban wood - found it very mysterious. It was in Norwood - which used to be the Great North Wood.
Thank you for taking us on a walk, Sue. I feel quite refreshed and a pleasantly tired, and as if I deserve tea with scones and lashings of cream after all that exercise.
I'll come and have tea with you, Michelle!
Lovely post, Sue - thank you. I love the picture, too. I remember walking in the Black Forest in Germany as a child and realising I could get lost in about three paces. Nothing quite like it in the UK.
Thanks, Anne!
Lovely Post, Sue!
I love walking in deep dark woods.
Count me in to the tea, too!
But is the tea in a gingerbread cottage, eh? specially if it is the deep dark wood as so well described?
Thanks for this post Sue!
Oh, lovely, Sue! You transported me there. Now I want to go myself and see these dangerous fairytale woods.
The woods are so particularly beautiful at this time of the year in England. I've been in and out of woods all week, seeking bluebells. But now I want to visit the proper fairy tale woods. Lovely post Sue.
Very different from those Robert Frost snowy woods or those where Mole got lost--I think all woods are magical, and I certainly always want to write after walking in among trees. Great post, Sue.