Great Books for Read Alouds

During Phase 1, you have the power to make a book come alive for your students. Even at a young age, children begin to associate feelings of comfort and happiness with read-aloud time from parents and teachers that can eventually translate into similar feelings and attitudes toward books. Reading high-quality, high-interest literature everyday to your students can open worlds to them. Your read aloud is also a good time for students develop their listening skills.

Get your kids hooked with the following books:

The BFG
By: Roald Dahl
Fantasy about the Big Friendly Giant with his swishwiffling, frobscottle, and a special adventure with a little girl who can sit inside his ear.

The Breaker Boys
By: Pat Hughes
Set at the turn of the twentieth century, Nate Tanner experiences life as a "breaker boy" (immigrant boys working in the coal mines) and learns about the importance of family.

Chasing Vermeer
By: Blue Balliet
Join Petra and Calder on their journey of puzzles and patterns as they try to solve an art mystery! Find out why some critics have labeled this story "The DaVinci Code for Kids."

The Great Brain
By: John D. Fitzgerald
The first book in the Great Brain series, this story recounts the silly adventures of "The Great Brain" and his younger brother, including saving two friends lost in a cave.

Ida B… and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World
By: Katherine Hannigan
Sensitive, creative Ida loves to live life to the fullest, but that feeling is challenged when her mother is diagnosed with cancer. Find out how Ida copes with her new life through the help of others.

Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (and What the Neighbors Thought)
By: Kathleen Krull
Brief biographies of selected women who have made an impact throughout history. Read their fun facts and laugh with the author's plays on words.

Milo and the Mysterious Island
By: Marcus Pfister
Choose your own ending in this story about a mouse on a journey.

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick
by: Chris Van Allsburg
A compilation of fourteen full-page pictures, each accompanied by a title and caption, allowing each reader to create the rest of the story.

Sahara Special
By: Esme Raji Codell
Get inside Sahara's head as she tells her story of living with her single mom, trying to pursue her passion of writing, and her relationship with her witty teacher who believes in her.

The Top 10 Ways to Ruin the First Day of Fifth Grade
By: Ken Derby
Action-packed story of a class clown who will do anything to get onto The Late Show with David Letterman.

The Year I Didn't Go to School
By: Giselle Potter
Did you ever wonder what it would be like to miss school for a year? Find out what happens when you travel with your family's theater company through Italy.