Where do I  find great books to read to my child? The library is a great place to look and librarians can help a lot!  Book stores are also great if you want to spend money for a book.  If you want to get inexpensive books, garage sales are another option.  I found many books for my classroom at garage and rummage sales.

However, what are some great books? Book Dads is a great website where you can find reviews of many children’s books.     What Should I Read Aloud by Nancy Anderson is another great resource to find a book that you might want to borrow from a library or read aloud.

I would invite  readers to add their comments about  places to find books or the names of books that you would recommend.

Happy reading!


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Here are a some examples of books that might interest kids in middle school and beyond.

Read to your middle schooler? Read to your teenager?

Well, even though not too many parents do this, I think that it still has benefits.

  • Reading to your teenager or almost teenager can be fun and it brings the family together in an age where young adults want to do their own thing and not be with their parents.
  • If a child struggles with reading subject matter (science, history etc.), reading the content aloud to your child may be a way for him or her to learn something that they would miss if they read it alone.
  • I know a parent who regularly read to her teenager sons.  Because it was something that she had always done when they were younger, it was a natural to keep it going.  Her sons would pick the book and they would enjoy discussing it along the way.
  • Many middle school and high school teachers read to their classes.  At a time when listening skills seem to be diminishing, reading to teenagers may actually come in handy and remind them of the importance of hearing and remembering the spoken word.

Do you remember being read to as a teenager?  Do you read to your middle schooler?  I would love to hear your story of how it worked or didn’t work for you and your family.


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Reading to Your Child, Part 5: Elementary School

March 8, 2011

As your child learns to read in first through third grade, it is still important to read to them on a daily basis. Children still love to be read to by a parent.The books now become more fun because there is a plot that is interesting and characters that your child can relate to.You can [...]

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Reading to Your Child, Part 4b: The Preschooler

March 5, 2011

My previous post was on reading to your preschooler, but because it is such an important topic, I want to add some more.  I want to write about the importance or reading books that rhyme. Reading books that rhyme are not only fun, but teach phonemic awareness.  Phonemic awareness is being able to hear and [...]

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Reading to Your Child, Part 4: Preschoolers

March 2, 2011

I can remember that reading to preschoolers can be fun and also frustrating.  Let me explain. Reading to my own children when they were three and four years old was enjoyable.  They were now able to sit longer.  The books that we read together were getting a bit longer and had simple plots which made [...]

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Reading to Your Child, Part 3, Toddlers

February 28, 2011

Your toddler is probably on the go most of the day, exploring his/her environment with constant energy.  Finding a moment to read with your toddler may be more difficult, but still very important. Toddlers are learning new words very quickly.  According to the Child Development Institute, a toddler goes from knowing 5-20 words at 18 [...]

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Reading to Your Child, Part 2: Infants

February 26, 2011

Today I am going to write about the importance of reading to infants. Babies are fun to read to.  For newborn babies it does not make any difference what you read, they will listen.  Read your favorite magazine, a recipe, the newspaper or a novel.  The important part is that they hear your voice.  They [...]

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Reading to Your Child, Part 1

February 25, 2011

In the next few posts I will continue to discuss the importance to reading to your child.  Each post will be aimed at a different age group from infants to teenagers.  I will attempt to answer to the following questions: What are the benefits of reading to my child at this age? When and where [...]

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LINK: Check this for Daily Review of Children’s Books

February 23, 2011

Have you ever run out of good books to read to your children?  Looking for some different books that come highly recommended?  I have a great website for you. Many adults know the importance of reading to children. For babies it helps them hear words and the connection of words to the objects in the [...]

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Going Beyond Third Grade in my Blog

February 22, 2011

It has been a while since I wrote a post for my blog.   Almost three years since I retired from teaching third grade, but I still have been involved in education as a tutor  and  a supervisor of student teachers.  Add to that, I am now a grandma. So my interest in education is still [...]

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