02 September 2009

Read Out Loud

It may be that you could explain the whole thing by attacking my credibility as a sane person, but I have always loved to read stories aloud to others. Long ago, Roald Dahl's Matilda was my book of choice, and I jumped at the chance to read it to anyone who would listen and a fair number who wouldn't. I couldn't be stopped, heaven only knows why.

It's no different today, except that Dahl is so yesteryear. These days, I drag the kids (kicking and screaming, of course) to our library to get Junie B. Jones books. It started back in July. That’s when I finally read out the Junie B. Jones books Star's cousin gave her for her birthday. We were all hooked. Even Dandelion (who is only 4) sits and listens from start to finish every time.

As of today, we have finished all of the books where Junie B. is in Kindergarten. This one, where she really wants to be a "beauty shop guy", was one of my favorites.

Junie B. is outrageous, hilarious, creative, imaginative, smart, dramatic, loving, and most of all, she's engaging. My kids understand the dilemmas, frustrations, missteps, and worries that Junie B. has and they really love getting to the end of the story to see how things are resolved. As for me, I love how Barbara Park sets up her stories, develops the plot or conflict or central theme, fills each page with funny stuff and does it all through the first person narrative of a kindergartener.

Since it takes a good 30-45 minutes to read each book out to them, it's a good thing I like Junie B. as much as the kids do.

Do you have a book (or series) that you are happy to read out loud?

4 comments:

Terra said...

The Enchanted Forrest Chronicals- so funny! Jason adn I used to read them to eachother and I would correct him from memory when he read them wrong. Chronicals of Narnia is a classic...I've really wanted to check out "The Talking Parcel" again- I remember it fondly and wonder if it will stand up against my memories. There was also a series about a brother and sister who would travel to another world through a turnstyle? located in the middle of the everglades, but I can't remember what the title is. Ramona Quimby is also a classic for young children.

Matthew said...

These Junie B. Jones book are very funny and engaging. I'm so glad we are able use them to set a tone for reading in the home.

Terra said...

Megan and I brain stormed and came up with some other titles:
The Ordinary Princess
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
The Frog Princess
Emily Windsnap
Elmer and the Dragon
The Boxcar children
The Swallows and the Amazons
Trixi Beldon
The American Girl series

Sara Jensen said...

Wesley really loved reading the Magic Tree House series. They are nice because although fictional, they are filled with little facts about all the cool places the kids visit.