A year and a couple of weeks ago, we started reading chapter books at bedtime. We all curl up in Baguette’s bed and read the next installment of the current literary adventure.
Baguette is working on her reading skills, and we’ve always read picture books to her (that is, when she wasn’t grabbing them from us and turning away to page through them on her own, as she often did at age two). And Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book remains an oft-requested favorite.
But now that she’s in grade school, I want to be sure that focusing on phonics and sight words doesn’t get in the way of exposure to the books Mr. Sandwich and I loved at her age.
So, what have we been reading to her? Thanks to Goodreads, I have a list. In no particular order:
The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White (This was our first, and it was new to Mr. Sandwich and me as well as to Baguette. We all liked it, and I suspect we’ll re-read it one of these days. And we did not remember how drily funny White was.)
Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater (Cute enough, but not my favorite)
Who Was Alexander Hamilton? by Pam Pollock (our first foray into nonfiction; we need to do more of this)
The Princess in Black (#1) by Shannon Hale (our first foray into kind-of graphic novels; we need to do more of this, too)
Illustrated Stories from Aesop by Susanna Davidson (there were far more of these than I think are strictly traditional)
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry (still sweet, but surprisingly hard to read aloud)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (there is some weird stuff going on here)
Stuart Little by E. B. White (I’ve got to be honest. Stuart creeps me out a bit on more than one level.)
Yours Sincerely, Giraffe by Megumi Iwasa (a recommendation from Cloud that we’re glad we took)
All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor (I remember loving these books when I was young, but I’m not sure this really grabbed Baguette)
The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum (more weirdness, and he did not like suffragists)
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary (I’ve always liked this better than Stuart Little)
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (I remember being kind of meh on this as a kid, but now that I have a better sense of Manhattan, and parenting, and autism, I like it a lot. And yes, I think Harriet is autistic. Read this.)
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (Still wonderful, and I am so sad that White wrote only three children’s books.)
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (I always preferred this to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; books about journeys have always intrigued me–although I could have done with a bit less of the Cloud Men on this go-round.)
The Borrowers by Mary Norton (I really admired the creativity with which the author outfitted the Clock’s quarters, but nothing much happens for a very long time.)
Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum (This one was my favorite as a kid, and the weirdness continues.)
Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge (We’re reading this now, and this book is mistitled, unless Hans Brinker becomes really pivotal in the next few chapters. So far, the book is mostly about richer boys on a wintertime skating tour of The Netherlands.)
I’m feeling pretty good about the fact that we are on book number 18–and this list alone doesn’t account for the summer, when Baguette just wanted us to re-read Sandra Boynton’s Little Pookie books over and over and over. Which we did, because why not? It was summer.