On today’s episode of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast, we’re answering YOUR questions! These Q and A podcasts are listener favorites, so grab some laundry, pop in your earbuds, and let’s go!
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- what I do when kids are whiny and don’t want to listen to a read-aloud
- what to try when teens aren’t interested in the family book
- and how I organize my booklists
Click that play button below to hear the podcast!
More free resources and booklists
Get the best episodes and reources
from the Read-Aloud Revival
Books from this episode:
(All links are Amazon affiliate links.)
Favorite Thornton Burgess Animal Stories Boxed Set (Sets)
This is a collection of 6 short books featuring animal characters like Danny Meadow Mouse and Reddy Fox. Kids will love the animal stories, but also learn about nature from these wholesome tales.
More info →The Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook
This collection of 21 stories is often described as timeless. First printed in 1925, the book takes kids on sweet adventures along with Milly-Molly-Mandy and even includes a map of her town for reference.
More info →The Green Ember
FROM SARAH:
A Read-Aloud Revival community favorite. Rabbits with Swords! This story will inspire heroic virtue in your children (and who knows... maybe you too!). This is first in a truly wonderful fantasy series. Your kids can meet author S.D. Smith at his Author Access video replay in RAR Premium.
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Heather and Picket are extraordinary rabbits with ordinary lives until calamitous events overtake them, spilling them into a cauldron of misadventures. They discover that their own story is bound up in the tumult threatening to overwhelm the wider world.
More info →Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers
FROM SARAH:
This one comes up again and again in podcast episodes! The first in Ralph Moody’s autobiographical series, this is a wonderful father-son story. Note: Does contain a few mature words that begin with H and D.
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Ralph Moody was eight years old in 1906 when his family moved from New Hampshire to a Colorado ranch. Through his eyes we experience the pleasures and perils of ranching there early in the twentieth century. Auctions and roundups, family picnics, irrigation wars, tornadoes and wind storms give authentic color to Little Britches. So do adventures, wonderfully told, that equip Ralph to take his father's place when it becomes necessary.
More info →Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
When Charlie finds a golden ticket in a Wonka bar, it means he and Grandpa Joe get to tour the famous chocolate factory. They encounter the eccentric Mr. Wonka, Oompa-Loompas, and some very naughty children!
More info →James Herriot’s Treasury for Children: Warm and Joyful Tales by the Author of All Creatures Great and Small
FROM SARAH:
The lovely stories of country vet James Herriot. Children will love hearing how Mr. Herriot cares for animals and the people who love them. (Note: There are some animals who do not survive, so heads up if you have sensitive readers!)
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Children have always found a delightful friend in James Herriot. His award-winning stories for young readers bring the farmyard world of Herriot's Yorkshire to vibrant life. Featuring a host of adorable animals and colorful townsfolk, each of the stories is narrated by the country vet himself, with all of the warmth, caring, and good humor that have made James Herriot beloved the world over.
More info →The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings (the Hobbit / the Fellowship of the Ring / the Two Towers / the
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
The complete four-book boxed set of what is arguably the greatest fantasy epic of all time: The Lord of the Rings and its enchanting prequel, The Hobbit,
More info →Jane Eyre (Penguin Classics)
FROM THE PUBLISHER: Charlotte Brontë's moving masterpiece – the novel that has been "teaching true strength of character for generations" (The Guardian)A novel of intense power and intrigue, Jane Eyre has dazzled generations of readers with its depiction of a woman's quest for freedom. Having grown up an orphan...
More info →The Chronicles of Narnia (Box Set)
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
The hardcover box set of C. S. Lewis's classic fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia, with cover art by three-time Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator David Wiesner and the full black-and-white original interior art by Pauline Baynes.
More info →Magic Tree House Boxed Set, Books 1-4: Dinosaurs Before Dark, The Knight at Dawn, Mummies in the Morning, and Pirates Past Noon
**Description from Amazon: The #1 bestselling chapter book series of all time celebrates 25 years with new covers and a new, easy-to-use numbering system! Meet Jack and Annie! Jack and his younger sister, Annie, are just regular kids. But when they discover a tree house in the woods, something magical happens. Jack an...
More info →The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared
FROM SARAH:
I loved this memoir about a dad who read aloud to his daughter every single day until she completed high school. Need a little fire underneath you to prioritize read-alouds? This book oughtta do it! You can hear Alice Ozma talk about it on the RAR Podcast right here.
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
When Alice Ozma was in 4th grade, she and her father decided to see if he could read aloud to her for 100 consecutive nights. On the hundreth night, they shared pancakes to celebrate, but it soon became evident that neither wanted to let go of their storytelling ritual.
More info →Honey for a Childs Heart By Hunt Gladys
Family favorite now revised and updated including an annotated list of books for ages 0 12 Everything parents need to know to find the best books for their children Since its publication in 1969 this has been an essential guide for parents wanting to find the best books for their children Now in its...
More info →Honey for a Teen’s Heart
Help Your Teen Catch the Lifelong Reading Bug. Honey for a Teen’s Heart spells out how good books can help you and your teenager communicate heart-to-heart about ideas, values, and the various issues of a Christian worldview. Sharing the adventure of a book lets both of you know the same people, s...
More info →The Boundless
FROM SARAH:
The story of a boy who longs for adventure—and finds it!—on the Canadian railway. Slightly younger kids may enjoy listening in on this one along with your teen(s).
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
When Selah found true love with Prince Torden of Norway, she never imagined she'd have to leave him behind. All because the Beholder's true mission was a secret Selah's crew didn't trust her to keep: transporting weapons to the rebels fighting against the brutal tsarytsya, whose shadow looms over their next port of Shvartsval'd. A place Selah hoped she'd never go.
More info →Honey for a Woman’s Heart: Growing Your World through Reading Great Books
**Description from Amazon: Vibrates with encouragement for women who want to explore and enjoy the world of books Gladys Hunt, long-time advocate of reading and author of the cherished Honey for a Child’s Heart, has written this new book for busy women who want a wider worldview and stimulus for intellectual and emotional g...
More info →Kristin Lavransdatter: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
**Description from Amazon: “[Sigrid Undset] should be the next Elena Ferrante.” —Slate The turbulent historical masterpiece of Norway’s literary masterA Penguin Classic In her great historical epic Kristin Lavransdatter, set in fourteenth-century Norway, Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset tells the life story of one pass...
More info →Benjamin Franklin
**Description from Amazon: An intuitive understanding of the things children love to know, combined with the d'Aulaire's extraordinary artistic ability make this book on the life of one of America's most beloved founders a perennial classic. Folk art style illustrations are enhanced with pert aphorisms from Poor Richard's Alm...
More info →The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had (Updated and Expanded)
**Description from Amazon: The enduring and engaging guide to educating yourself in the classical tradition.Have you lost the art of reading for pleasure? Are there books you know you should read but haven’t because they seem too daunting? In The Well-Educated Mind, Susan Wise Bauer provides a welcome and encouraging antido...
More info →I Capture the Castle
**Description from Amazon: One of the 20th Century's most beloved novels is still winning hearts! I Capture the Castle tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her family, who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Here she strives, over six turbulent months, to hone her writing skills. ...
More info →The Complete Tales of Winnie-The-Pooh
**Description from Amazon: This exquisite, deluxe edition contains the complete illustrated texts of both Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner. In full-color and featuring a satin ribbon marker, it is the perfect gift and a cornerstone of every family's bookshelf.Happy 90th birthday, to one of the world's most beloved...
More info →The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Volume 1: Ancient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor, Revised Edition
**Description from Amazon: This first book in the four-volume narrative history series for elementary students will transform your study of history. The Story of the World has won awards from numerous homeschooling magazines and readers' polls―over 150,000 copies of the series in print! What terrible secret was buried in Sh...
More info →The Shadow of the Bear: A Fairy Tale Retold
**Description from Amazon: When Bear, a mysterious young man, lands on Blanche and Rose Brier's doorstep in New York City, the two sisters have conflicting opinions on whether or not he is dangerous. Even as Blanche learns to trust him, her fears that Bear's friendship threatens their family prove terrifyingly true. A modern...
More info →Series of Unfortunate Events #1: The Bad Beginning Rare Edition Enhanced
**Description from Amazon: Are you made fainthearted by death? Does fire unnerve you? Is a villain something that might crop up in future nightmares of yours? Are you thrilled by nefarious plots? Is cold porridge upsetting to you? Vicious threats? Hooks? Uncomfortable clothing?It is likely that yo...
More info →Farmer Boy: Little House, Book 2
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Farmer Boy is Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved story of how her husband, Almanzo, grew up as a farmer boy far from the little house where Laura lived.
More info →Little House on the Prairie: Little House, Book 3
The adventures continue for Laura Ingalls and her family as they leave their little house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin and set out for Kansas. They travel for many days in their covered wagon until they find the best spot to build their little house on the prairie. Soon they are planting and plowin...
More info →Links from this episode:
- Find Allison’s blog and podcasts at Truth Beauty Goodness
- Sarah and Allison’s prior FAQ podcast, episode #18
- Link to sign up for Sarah’s free e-magazine, Flourish
- Brandy Vencel’s blog post on 3 types of books moms should be reading
- The Well-Read Mom
- Anne Bogel’s website, Modern Mrs. Darcy
- Adam Andrews and the Center for Lit
- Learn more about the Read-Aloud Revival Membership Site
- Melissa Wiley’s blog
- Mystie Winckler’s blog, SimplyConvivial
- Hear more about utilizing audiobooks in Read-Aloud Revival episode #14 with Mystie Winckler
- Sarah’s (surprisingly organized!) liturgical booklists