16 Best Read Alouds for Your Family

Reading aloud became a staple in my family when I was growing up and was a part of my regular routine. Below are some of my favorite read alouds. There are a mixture of short stories and chapter books so there is something for every age group.

Joe Wheeler collected three volumes of short stories from various authors written during the Golden Age of literature. Some are humorous, others romantic, still more adventurous, all clean and featuring Judeo-Christian values. The characters are faced with real life stories, but the stories are written without being preachy. They entertain the younger children, but the older kids and adults can relate to them and discuss them. The titles are:

• Great Stories Remembered Volume I

• Great Stories Remembered Volume II

• Great Stories Remembered Volume III

After his mother dies, Scarboy flees Enchanted City and the evil Enchanter with his brother, Little Child. He goes to Great Park, where he is renamed Hero and becomes part of the resistance organized to bring the true king to power and defeat the Enchanter. These allegorical tales are beautifully illustrated and the titles are:

• Tales of the Kingdom

• Tales of the Resistance

• Tales of the Restoration

Jay Berry Lee wants nothing more than a pony and a rifle of his own. But his parents save every penny in the hope they can pay for his sister, Daisy, to have surgery to fix her crippled leg. His golden opportunity arrives when escaped circus monkeys show up in his Oklahoma river bottom. With the help of his grandfather and his dog, Rowdy, he works to catch the monkeys and earn the reward money. But these monkeys are smarter than he thought and they won't be caught without a fight!
Note: there is some mild language.

Claudia wants to run away from home because she feels her parents don't appreciate her. But she isn't just running away from somewhere; she's running to some place – the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. She plans each detail carefully and persuades her younger brother, Jamie, to come with her. As they settle into their new home and try not to get caught, they become interested in a statue angel recently put on exhibit. Some suspect Michelangelo sculpted it, but no one knows for sure, except for the previous owner, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Jamie and Claudia decide to find out once and for all.

We've got it all wrong, ladies and gentlemen! Amos the mouse insists he's the one who thought up those inventions, not Ben Franklin. Amos tells about how he was unwillingly apart of Ben's experiments with electricity, makes an unusual scene in a European throne room, and helps make the Franklin stove. Amusing and historical at the same time.

Stanley Yelnats IV didn't steal the baseball player's sneakers. But the evidence is against him and he's sentenced to spend eighteen months at Camp Green Lake, which used to be a town. But Camp Green Lake is anything but green. It's a dried lake bed and full of venomous lizards. The boys at the camp dig holes all day, though they don't know why. As Stanley makes friends, he also pieces together the camp director's intentions and the reason for the boys digging holes. Dry, witty, and entertaining.
Note: a central part of the story is the Yelnats' curse.

Paddington arrives at London from Darkest Peru and the Brown family takes him in. They quickly learn the bear has a knack for getting into trouble with everyone – their neighbor, policemen, restaurant owners, you name it. But he always comes out on top and produces quite a bit of laughter in the process. There are over twenty books in the Paddington series. A few are:

• A Bear Called Paddington

• More About Paddington

• Paddington Helps Out

• Paddington Abroad

• Paddington At Large

• Paddington Marches On

• The Adventures of Paddington

Freckles, an Irish orphan who has an unusual injury, finds work in the Limberlost forest, where his job is to make sure no one steals the timber. He meets and falls in love with a girl he calls the Angel. But he thinks he can never marry her because of his disfigurement and situation in life. Meanwhile there are men lurking in the Limberlost who are plotting to steal some of the most valuable trees and it's up to Freckles to stop them.

Elnora Comstock has born with her widowed mother's hatred since the day she was born. Katharine Comstock blames Elnora for her husband's death and when Elnora becomes eligible for high school, Mrs. Comstock refuses to pay and Elnora works for her schooling by selling moths and other specimens from the Limberlost. After she graduates she meets Philip Ammon, a young man who's staying over the summer for his health. Once his fiancé, Edith, insults him he tells Elnora he loves her, but she won't marry him until she's certain he doesn't have any lingering feelings for his ex-fiance. Without warning she disappears, leaving Edith to try and lure Philip back with her charms.

Onesimus, the slave of Philemon, hates his master, his master's son, and the fact he's a slave. He runs away, but then his money is stolen. Eventually Paul the apostle takes him in and slowly Onesimus learns how to become truly free.

Jack and his aunt's butler, Praiseworthy, set out for California to dig for gold for Aunt Arabella so she won't lose her house. After stowing away on a ship, they work for their passage. Once they arrive in California they learn how to dig for gold and try not to get robbed by Cut-Eye Higgins, a thief they've run into before. Fast paced and hilarious.

Pat Gardiner loves her home, her family, and Judy (her family's servant) more than anything else in the world. She hates change more than anything else in the world, and as people marry and go about their lives, she takes comfort in the fact her house, Silver Bush, will never change. She spends her days with her friends, Jingle and Bets, getting in and out of scrapes, and loving Silver Bush. As the years go on she has many beaus but it seems as if she'll never marry and leave her home. Will anything get her to leave Silver Bush? The sequel is Mistress Pat.

In the first book, The Eagle of the Ninth, Marcus Aquila's father marches away with the Ninth Legion into Britain and never returns. Now that he's a young man, Marcus decides to find out what happened to his father and, if possible, bring back the legion's standard, a metal eagle. Accompanied by Esca, his ex-slave, he sets off into the uncivilized part of Britain to discover the mystery of the lost legion. Also in the series are:

• The Silver Branch

• The Lantern Bearers

Note: there is some violence in all three books.

The eight book series tells about a community of mice who live in the wood and their celebrations and tradition throughout the different seasons and occasions. Accompanied by beautiful and intricate illustrations. The books in the series are:

• Spring Story

• Summer Story

• Autumn Story

• Winter Story

• The Secret Staircase

• The High Hills

• Sea Story

• Poppy's Babies

Gerald, Kathy, and Jimmy set off for a picnic and meet Mabel, who claims she has a magic ring. Nobody believes her; after all, it's just play. Then they discover the ring really is magic. All you have to is wish and it happens. But magic isn't as simple as it is in books and the children find that playing with it could get them into more trouble than they bargained for.

One day the McBroom family packs up and leaves their no good farmland to go find land that will actually grow something. After a man tries to swindle them, Josh McBroom discovers he has made the greatest purchase of his life. What was supposed to be no good soil can grow anything in no time at all. But others are eager to get their hands on the land and it takes all of the McBroom's wits to keep their farm. Each of the tall tales are sure to make you laugh. The sequel is McBroom's Zoo.

What are your favorite read alouds? Tell me in the comments below!