Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Check out upcoming Top Ten themes on Jana’s blog and go here to see what others have on their Top Ten Tuesday lists!
This week, the theme is a school freebie in honor of school starting back up. For my theme, I’m going with Books to Read to Your Kids. The husband teaches school, and he knows the importance of developing good reading skills. And how do kids best learn to read and to love reading? By having someone read to them! We’re both big readers, and we’ve read to our boys since they were very young. These are some of our favorites through the years. Some are for younger kids, some for older. Mine enjoyed me reading with them even into their preteen years. (I’ve included affiliate links – if you decide you might like to buy one of these books, you’ll get an awesome book and I’ll make a little money. Win-win!)
In no particular order, ten books we loved to read to our boys:
Alexander
This was one of my favorites as a child. I was delighted to share it with my boys when they were young.
Bad Kitty Gets a Bath
My older son brought this home one day when he was in elementary school. We read it together, and I nearly busted a gut laughing. Bad Kitty books are the best.
Bash and the Pirate Pig
This is an excellent read for upper elementary aged kids. A story that kids will love, but funny enough for adults, too! There are three books in the series. We liked them so much, we donated a set to our younger son’s teacher at the time.
Can’t You Sleep, Dotty?
We read this many a night when my boys were young! It’s a delightful bedtime book.
Gumbo Goes Downtown
My second mom gave us this book when my older son was little. It’s the story of a little watchdog who thinks he wants something more. I will treasure it forever, even though my boys are way past the reading at bedtime stage. (If you’d like this book, don’t get it on Amazon – it’s expensive there. Go to Thriftbooks instead!)
Little Blue Truck
This was my husband’s favorite to read to our younger son! Apparently there’s a whole series of them now.
The Ice-Cream Cone Coot and Other Rare Birds
This is another from my childhood that I was delighted to share with my boys. It’s written in rhyme and tells the story of all kinds of fantastical birds. (Again, it’s cheaper on Thriftbooks!)
Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder
This is geared toward middle grade readers, but it was still bedtime reading when ours were young, because why limit them to reading “at their grade level”? Read ahead! It’s how you learn!
It’s hilarious. Because farts are funny. And there are a LOT of farts in this book. There are also entertaining characters, an alligator in the sewer, parades, and bullies who get their comeuppance.
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
This is the first in Andrew Peterson’s marvelous Wingfeather Saga. Upper elementary and middle grade level, but we read it before then. HUGELY popular at our house! It’s a fantasy tale with family, danger, intrigue, doing the right thing even when it’s hard, and a nameless evil named Gnag the Nameless. (So there’s humor, too!) I cannot rave enough about this book and this series. Read them to your kids, have your kids read them to themselves, you read them, too. So very good.
Calvin and Hobbes
Calvin and Hobbes is a national treasure, and everyone should read it! This is just one of the collections of Calvin and Hobbes cartoons that we read. Filled with humor and life lessons and gentle wisdom, it’s a treat to read with your kids.
BONUS: Pearls Before Swine
Stephan Pastis’ Pearls Before Swine is another comic we’ve greatly enjoyed. Again, this is just one of the collections that’s been read at our house. Pick one and get to reading.
If your kids only want to read comics, or manga, or the back of the cereal box at breakfast, don’t anguish it. School has enough rules about what they can and can’t read, what they have to read to get credit. Start when they’re young and LET THEM READ! Read to them. Read with them. Read at bedtime. Read at the table. Take books on road trips. If a book is boring, don’t make them finish it. Let them read what they love for the sheer joy of it. That’s how you instill a love of reading that lasts a lifetime.
I bet FART POWER was big with little boys. What a hilarious title. My grandsons like the Little Blue Truck. The other titles I’m not familiar with. Thanks for a new reading list!
Happy to share!
I loved Calvin and Hobbes. It’s a modern classic in my opinion. 🙂
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-microhistory-books-worth-reading
Glad your boys enjoyed these all so much!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2022/08/30/top-ten-tuesday-383/
Calvin and Hobbs is great at any age.
It’s always been a favorite at our house, for sure!
Such a nice take on this school freebie prompt. I definitely take the recommendations for my nieces and nephews! Here is my spin on this week’s TTT: https://herseriallife.com/top-10-books-set-in-college-academia/
Have a great week 🙂
Thanks, Rae! I love a good academia setting – off to check out your list!
My son loved the Bash books and The Wingfeather Saga, great choices. Have a great week.
Thanks, Cindy! Bash makes me snort-laugh. And Wingfeather is just amazing. So good.
I’m not familiar with any of these but great use of the freebie week! My grandmother always read to me as a kid and both she and my great uncle were big readers which I think fed my love of reading.
My parents would have read to me. But I was an early reader and read to myself! They had plenty of books in the house, though, and made sure I never lacked for reading material.
I just picked up the Wingfeather Saga, but I haven’t started it yet!
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/gus-was-a-friendly-ghost_jane-thayer/841879/item/51682684/?gclid=CjwKCAjwsMGYBhAEEiwAGUXJaSnPZyCuPFNbjAILHyplTPqDWlarPmMqoUdDxSVQ7SjJCukyq2MT9hoCSTUQAvD_BwE#idiq=51682684&edition=9184662
Gus Was a Friendly Ghost by Jane Thayer was awesome, too. Mrs. Scott, she was SO PRETTY!
Indeed she was! I loved Gus.
Always yes to Calvin and Hobbs! What a great selection you have for kids books. Love it…
Thanks for visiting us earlier this week!
Thank you for your kind words!
I think I’ve heard of the Little Blue Truck, but most of these I hadn’t heard of. I actually still have a lot of my childhood books. Someday I should go through them, and despite their dilapidated state, I should maybe donate them. 🙂 Thanks so much for visiting Finding Wonderland on this school theme week. Apologies it took this long to visit here.
No worries! I know I can’t always make the rounds as fast as I’d like. Thank you for stopping by!
I’m holding on to some of my childhood books in hopes of sharing them with future grandchildren!