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Books We Read Aloud This Spring
By Kendra | May 26, 2010
In keeping with the time period we were studying in history this year, many of our read-alouds were about the Renaissance and Reformation. All were a delight, all I would recommend. The children who were in on our read-aloud sessions (and actually paying attention 
) were 12, 10, 8, and 6.
If you’re reading this post in a reader, you might want to click over to the Preschoolers and Peace site to see the book link buttons.
Set in 1587, Red Hugh, Prince of Donegal is a fast-paced, exciting story of warring between the English and the Irish. Definitely a worthwhile read.
We’ve enjoyed the Building on the Rock series very much, and How God Stopped the Pirates didn’t disappoint. Used in our morning devotions/Circle Time, the readings are short and to the point. Memorable, too.
Soldier Fritz and the Enemies He Fought is a story of the Reformation. Set in 1525, young Fritz learns what it means to live like a Reformer and be a soldier for Christ.
Bartholomew’s Passage is part of the wonderful Advent series written by Arnold Ytreeide. Favorites here: we’ve done the series twice now.
Before the Dawn follows Wycliffe and Huss, and brings us into the life of a young man named Conrad who must choose between the church he’s always known and the words of Scripture.
We read The Year of Miss Agnes because we needed a light-hearted little break from the heavy topics of our history studies. A delightful story of an itinerant school teacher in Alaska and the sweet and funny children under her care.
And then we jumped into King Solomon’s Mines, where adventure loomed large. Got any Indiana Jones fans in your house? King Solomon’s Mines‘ Allan Quartermain was the original Indy. And we laughed out loud, too!
My Brother’s Keeper is a series of letters from an older brother to a younger one, writing on various topics. I read it to all the kids because I felt we could all use reminders on being in the Word, serving others, and choosing friends wisely. I highly recommend it as a read-aloud for the youngers, but high schoolers can read it on their own.
From out of the Renaissance and Reformation we headed into the New World. Voyage to Freedom is the story of the Pilgrims’ journey on the Mayflower, and in particular focuses on a brother and sister and their point of view. We all liked this one because it didn’t soft-sell how difficult the journey actually was, and the story had nice little ups and downs.
Hands That Hold the World: the Biography of M.A. Thomas has been an inspiration to me, personally. I see my kids pondering the faith of M.A. Thomas, and I love the discussions we’ve had around the table about the man and his work in India. I want to inspire my kids to break out of the mold and serve God, no matter the cost. M.A. Thomas has done so in such a way that his steadfastness is awe-inspiring. You can click on the link and download the book for free.
The Shakespeare Stealer is a romp through Shakespeare’s London. If this is the time period you’re heading into next year, put The Shakespeare Stealer on your list. Orphan Widge learns to write in a remarkable shorthand that takes him into the Globe Theater and changes his life!
…and Shakespeare’s Scribe, every bit as good as it’s predecessor!
I’ve read The Witch of Blackbird Pond twice now to my kids, and I find myself pondering different elements of the story often. That’s the sign of good writing, isn’t it? Thought-provoking, historically representative, and compelling story-telling.
My adventure-loving ten-year-old daughter adored Island of the Blue Dolphins. The story of a young native woman left stranded off the coast of California, this one will inspire your kids to get out into the backyard and try to start a fire with two sticks
Topics: Educating at Home, Resources | 18 Comments »
May 26th, 2010 at 5:10 am
Thanks for the list!
May 26th, 2010 at 5:51 am
I recently reread Island of the Blue Dolphins and forgot how good it was!! I will definitely be passing that on to my adventurous girl when she gets a little older.
May 26th, 2010 at 5:56 am
I really enjoy your book lists-I was just looking at your list for boys and girls yesterday for some possible summer titles. I was wondering if you (or your readers) had time to suggest some of the chapter books your younger (7-10 yrs range) children have been interested in reading to themselves-my daughter loves books like the boxcar children-and I am just looking for some more quality books for her to read. Thanks again for sharing.
May 26th, 2010 at 7:22 am
Great picks, Kendra! I haven’t heard of a lot of these.
May 26th, 2010 at 7:57 am
You read those with your preschoolers. Did they sit through it. How do you actually do circle time for preschoolers. I have seen it done for older children.
May 26th, 2010 at 8:25 am
Hi Tammy-
No, they do not sit through read-alouds. They either play around us or we read when they’re otherwise occupied. You can find LOTS of Circle Time posts and discussions if you click on the links on the left sidebar. There are two- one is a page (link at the top of the home page) and the other is all the posts I’ve done on the subject (a little lower down).
May 26th, 2010 at 10:30 am
Hi Kendra, you might be interested in this book that was inspired by the life and ministry of MA Thomas (Papa).
http://www.fromthenarrows.com/2010/05/one-million-arrows-book-review.html
May 26th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Thanks Kendra,
We’re just gearing up to begin this time period in history, so this comes at a perfect time for us!
May 26th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Thanks Susan! Loved One Million Arrows:
http://www.preschoolersandpeace.com/?p=1558
May 27th, 2010 at 7:41 am
Kendra,
Do you happen to have a list of your favorite books broken down by time period somewhere on your site? That would be such a wonderful resource!
May 27th, 2010 at 8:08 am
Thanks for sharing the list. Most inspiring. How do you manage to get through so many books? You just read, read, read? My two schoolers and I have only read five read-alouds since January. I guess we just need to put more time in.
May 27th, 2010 at 8:15 am
Kim- I don’t, but if you put “read-aloud” in the search engine, the lists I’ve posted will come up. We study history on a 4-year rotation, so we hit Ancients the first year, Medieval the second year, Renaissance and Reformation the third year, and Modern history the fourth year.
Andrea- I read aloud during our devotional/Circle Time and then I read aloud our current fiction for about an hour a day. I was actually surprised by how many we’d read this spring, too!
May 27th, 2010 at 10:05 am
[...] list is from Kendra of Preschoolers and Peace fame. She recently highlighted her family’s springtime read-alouds, most of which deal with the Renaissance and [...]
May 27th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Oh yay!
Thanks Kendra! We are also headed into this time period in history next fall. I’m excited to peruse your list!
Thanks for sharing it!
May 28th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Just out of curiosity (as mom of very young children) do you have any advice or standards to help moms out in picking their read aloud? Do you follow any book list or special book awarsds?
May 28th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
Hi Krissy=
I was blessed to have a mom who introduced us to great literature and read aloud to us for a loooong time. I think I was in junior high when she stopped reading aloud to me chapter books after school. I loved it!
Consequently, I am very familiar with classic children’s literature and equally familiar with authors. Many of the books I read to my children are books I loved as a child. But I do also love to be exposed to new selections, and I draw often upon the lists in catalogues like Veritas Press and Sonlight. I also like this list:
http://classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000.html
Hope that helps-
Kendra
May 28th, 2010 at 11:22 pm
Kendra~
Yay! I’d also love to see your book list for year 2 of your history rotation, if you ever get a chance…
August 4th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
I enjoyed “Island of the Blue Dolphins” as a young girl. It’s definitely on my to-read-aloud list when my girls are a little older!