{This is a guest post written by my friend, Tina. You’ll be hearing from her a lot. She helps me with the Literature Kits and is a cherished bookish friend.}
Over spring break my family enjoyed the Florida sunshine, lots of time at the pool, copious amounts of ice cream and the perfect vacation read aloud: The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser. Because there is a five year age span between my kids, plus having one of each gender, it can be challenging to find a book that won’t be over my little guy’s head and will still keep my girl’s attention. But they both absolutely fell in love with the Vanderbeeker family and their adventures.
As we’ve graduated from reading picture books to chapter books and juvenile fiction, I’ve discovered that family stories are the ones my kids seem to enjoy most. They love stories where a group of siblings are on some sort of quest or adventure, or simply navigating the ups and downs of everyday life.
As you head into the spring months and the countdown to summer here are a few suggestions for good read-alouds about families that will appeal to a variety of ages:
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser
The five Vanderbeeker children find out that the landlord of the brownstone in which they’ve all grown up is not renewing their lease. With only a few days left until Christmas they set out to change his mind with acts of kindness, a neighborhood petition, and their own charming personalities. A delightful story of family, community and siblings on a mission. Elementary and up
All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
If you are looking for a read that takes you back in time, this book is a delightful journey about a Jewish family set in New York City at the turn of the century. This family has five children as well, but they are all girls, with a new baby on the way. My girl and I have read this aloud together twice and both read it on our own as well. While it will appeal more to girls, any member of a large family will relate to life sharing rooms and chores, celebrating holidays and navigating the challenges of growing up. Elementary and up
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Edwards
I read this aloud to both my kids last year and they adored it. Benjamin, Thomas and Lindy meet a wacky professor who takes them to a fantastical land to find the last whangdoodle. I’m not sure my kids have laughed quite so hard at a book scene as they did at the antics of the Splintercat. My boy liked this one so much he turned around and read it again on his own as soon as we finished, despite it being a fairly long book with some heady vocabulary. This is saying something for a kid whose preferred books are Captain Underpants and the Notebooks of Doom series. Elementary and up
The Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall
If you have girls, this series will be a definite winner. My girl and I listened to these books on audio a few years back and enjoyed getting to know these sisters. Over the series their family expands as their Dad gets remarried and they become part of a blended family. Read this one together and you will likely find that your kids will happily read the rest of the series on their own. Elementary and up
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
This book was published in 1930 and has some fairly technical boating vocabulary so I wasn’t sure if my kids would like it or not. It is a slow starter but once again, the family connection and siblings setting off on an adventure together won my kids’ over. If the vocabulary doesn’t clue you in that this is not a modern day book, the fact that John, Susan, Titty and Roger’s parents let them set up camp by themselves on an uninhabited island certainly will. My kids adored the idea of an adventure free of adults and delighted when the Swallows (John and siblings) make frenemies with the Amazons (Nancy and Peggy) and start a pirating war. Middle grade and up
Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper
This is the first in the Dark is Rising series. I just re-read it over spring break to see if I felt like my kids were ready for it as it does have some darker elements. For boys (or girls) who are enamored with tales of King Arthur and Camelot and questing knights this might be a perfect read. Simon, Jane and Barney are vacationing In Cornwall, England with their parents and their rather mysterious Great Uncle Merry when they find an old map in the attic that starts them on a quest for a medieval grail. If you have kids who enjoy mythology and a bit of danger this book will draw them in quickly. Middle grade and up
Note: Age recommendations are for kids reading these books on their own. I tend to read books to my kids that I might not let them read on their own, as I have the opportunity to discuss harsher elements of the book with them as we read.
P.S. I, Stephanie have read half this list. My kids and I are very much loving the Vanderbeeker family. We loved All-of-A-Kind Family and because of these two, we may pick up and move to New York City.
Also, The Last of Really Great Whangdoodles was my absolute favorite read-aloud as a child. My first grade teacher read it to our class and I still remember the stool she sat on, where I sat on the floor, the feel and look of the classroom (80’s orange and hot — no air conditioning), and the magical scene with cotton-candy colors illustrated on the large hard-back book she held in her hands as she read. I own the book and right now I’m not sure at all why I have not read it to my kids.