by Clare Langley-Hawthorne
There’s something very therapeutic about reading aloud and, as it’s still part of my boys’ bedtime routine (sadly I’m not allowed to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star anymore…), there’s something very nurturing about it too. I love hearing the cadence and flow of another author’s writing and it’s great fun to practice character voices and hear your own voice speaking some of the most familiar lines from your favorite books from childhood. Now that my boys are voracious readers themselves it’s getting increasingly difficult to choose the right books to read aloud (versus ones they’d prefer to read on their own). Each night we only have limited time for me to read aloud (otherwise we’d all end up asleep at midnight!) and it can be a hard slog to tackle a huge tome of a novel (we gave up on Lord of the Rings after the second book simply because it took so long to plow through it reading aloud).
I’m close to finishing our current book (one of Jonathan Stroud’s great Bartimaeus series) and have to decide on what to read next. Given it’s summer I’m thinking of something a little shorter and more concise, but at the same time, something that my boys are unlikely to tackle reading on their own right now. I’m tossing up classics like George Orwell’s 1984 or William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and even considering something a little different like Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist or a classic crime novel (Jasper’s already devoured a few Agatha Christie novels)…but I need more suggestions to add to the list (and to give the boys some choice).
So I’m turning to you, TKZers for some recommendations for ‘summer’ read aloud options. Preferably not too long and something that’s appropriate for 11 year old boys to hear (although, hey, we survived dealing with To Kill A Mockingbird!). I’d love to have a nice long list for them to choose from – and they might even opt to read some for themselves too!
All and any recommendations greatly appreciated!
If you haven’t already, my boys (and I) enjoyed Mark Twain –
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,
and
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
Not back-to-back in binge fashion, of course, but within about a two year span around their “tweens” (right before the older one thought he was “too old for that sort of thing…”)
I don’t have any book suggestions but I think it’s awesome that you and your boys share a love reading in common and that you have this quality time together. How cool!
Ditto BK…
Wouldn’t have a clue what to recommend to a boy!
But one of my best childhood memories is of my dad reading to us at bedtime.
The Outsiders
My step-sons love Stephen King, and though I never read aloud to them, they did pick up Different Seasons, four short stories, and loved it. Or even the series, the Green Mile would be good to read out loud. Don’t think I’d suggest all of King’s, best if you’ve read them yourself and deem them suitable.
Or Dean Koontz Odd series, they are entertaining.
Oh Odd Thomas is a terrific book! I loved it and can see how an 11 year old would as well. It is sorta dark but not gruesome.
The Pull of Gravity by Gae Polisner
The Summer of Letting Go, also by Gae Polisner
Yes, she’s an acquaintance but her books are YA, popular with adults, used in schools, and not too long.
Most of all, boys like them, too.
I don’t know if your boys like horses, but the Black Stallion series was one of my staples, starting about 8 years old.
The Hardy Boys instead of Nancy Drew (as I’m known to my friends)?
I suspect the actual writing is better in Gae’s work than in some of the older ones.
At that age, my kids loved Treasure Island and, afterward, Kidnapped, which would have been too difficult for them to read because of all the dialogue. Heard out loud, though, the stories were riveting and inspired a long term fascination with anything to do with ships or with Scotland. Years later, my daughter went to Scotland on her honeymoon,
C. S. Forester, Hornbloer series
Madeline L’Engle, Wrinkle In Time
Captains Courageous.
Tarzan of the Apes.
The Call of the Wild.
The Chronicles of Narnia.
I read some of the “Little House on the Prarie” books. My son especially liked “Farmer Boy” from that series. They are all interesting and fit for children. 🙂 — Suzanne
Short. The Sherlock Holmes stories.
My brother’s kids loved Harry Potter and LORD OF THE RINGS read aloud. (Yes, we are geeks!) The Harry Potter series narrated by Jim Dale is incredible and perfect for a long road trip.
Be sure to read the novels of your choice beforehand because some recommended here and on your list aren’t exactly kid friendly.
1984 can be tough because it has long polemical sections that are like lectures on dystopian history, but Animal Farm is perfect. My wife read that book to our kids during a long car trip, and I kept interrupting the narrative from the driver’s seat, shouting things like “That pig is really Stalin!”
I see somebody beat me to it, but still: Sherlock Holmes. You’ve got short stories, novels, a character they’ve probably heard of, a different time period in a real city, and crime stories that you won’t have to worry about censoring for language, etc.
Sherlock Holmes and Mark Twain. Particularly Twain’s short stories.
Clare is in the UK trying to answer some of your comments using her iPhone, but there’s seems to be a problem getting through. She’ll keep trying but thanks everyone for their comments.
I just re-read one of my childhood favorites, which would be perfect for 11-year-old boys: Susan Cooper’s Over Sea, Under Stone (the first of her series, The Dark is Rising). I have an omnibus edition of the series, which I had forgotten I owned until I rummaged through a book in the storeroom. As soon as I laid eyes on the first page, I was sucked in all over again and thought, “This really is the perfect story.” Three siblings on vacation with their parents in a seaside town get drawn into a mystery, have a terrific adventure, and may even succeed in saving the world from the powers of darkness (that part is mostly hinted at). Over Sea, Under Stone works fine as a stand alone, but if your boys want more, there are four more books in the series. Plus it ties into the whole tradition of Arthurian legends which, if your kids get interested, will open up a whole world of fascinating stories, written over the past thousand years.
I just finished The Book Thief, and I’m recommending it to everyone!
Hi Clare. How about John Marsden’s Tomorrow series? ( Always sticking up for Aussie authors!) And a couple out of left field: Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane ( would probably give them nightmares!) And also Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast Trilogy? Good luck!
In addition to Sherlock above, Jeeves and Wooster series by PG Wodehouse are good fun, and The Princess Bride by William Goldman.
A friend recommended Balthazar Fabuloso in the Lair of the Humbugs by I.M. Brindle, looks like a lot of fun if your boys enjoy a magic and quirkiness in their books.