Read Aloud Books for Ages 2-5

I've always enjoyed reading aloud to my children.  When they were young, our reading sessions were more about spending quality time with my little ones and instilling a love of books in them.  Recently, I feel like the kids have not just been passively listening to the stories, but actually living them.  They played Aslan versus The White Witch (from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe) for weeks.  When one twin is being particularly demanding, the other tells her to stop being "Veruca Salt" (from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).  The other day, their plastic toy horses were being used to reenact the barn fire in Black Beauty.  I could go on and on (not including all the literature-inspired artwork they have produced).  As a bibliophile myself, it warms my heart to see my children feel such a connection with the books they read.

Three years ago, when I was looking for ideas for read alouds for younger children, I looked to blogs and Facebook for recommendations.  I've been keeping track of the books we've read both for myself and also with the hopes of inspiring other families to create read-aloud traditions with their children.  Here's the list so far...



Read Aloud Books - 2012 (twins were 2.5-3.5)

Two Times the Fun by Beverly Cleary
My Father's Dragon trilogy by Ruth Stiles Gannett
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (abridged)
The Story of Doctor Doolittle by Hugh Lofting (abridged)
The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson
The Cat Who Wanted to Go Home by Jill Tomlinson
The Adventures of the Wishing Chair by Enid Blyton

Read Aloud Books 2013 (twins were 3.5-4.5)

The Wishing Chair Again by Enid Blyton
The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton
The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
Catwings Series by Ursula K. Le Guin (we read all four in a week so I'm grouping them together)
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (abridged)
The Gorilla Who Wanted to Grow Up by Jill Tomlinson
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
Wolf Story by William McCleery
Little Witch by Anna Elizabeth Bennett
The Witch Family by Eleanor Estes
The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
Princess Posey Series by Stephanie Greene (we read 4 books in this series)
Magic Treehouse Books 1-4 by Mary Pope Osbourne
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot
Amelia Bedelia Chapter Book #1: Amelia Bedelia Means Business by Herman Parish
Amelia Bedelia Chapter Book #2: Amelia Bedelia Unleashed by Herman Parish
Trouble With Violet (Sister Magic) by Anne Maze
The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet (The Secrets of Droon, Book 1) by Tony Abbott
Magic Bone (book 1 and book 2) by Nancy Krulik

Read Aloud Books 2014 (twins were 4.5 - 5.5, little guy was 2.5 - 3.5)

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Prince Siddhartha: The Story of Buddha by Jonathan Landaw
African Bedtime Stories by Godwin C. Nwaogwugwu
Half Magic by Edward Eager
Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
The Adventures of Buster Bear by Thornton W. Burgess
The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
The Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins
The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse by Thornton W. Burgess
Among the Farmyard People by Clara Dillingham Pierson
Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay
Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C. Holling
Children of the North Lights by Ingri and Edgar d'Aulaire
Horse Diaries #1: Elska by Catherine Hapka
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Four Dolls by Rumer Godden
A Penny's Worth of Character by Jesse Stuart
The Ordinary Princess by Mary Margaret Kaye
Pagoo by Holling C. Holling
In Aunt Lucy's Kitchen  by Cynthia Rylant
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
Stuart Little by E. B. White
Thirteen Moons Series  -Wild Pigs, Mountain Lions, Deer, Alligator, Gray Wolves, Winter Bird, Mole (we read the corresponding book each month) by Jean Craighead George
Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (abridged)
Ribsy by Beverly Cleary
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen
Eight Little Indians by Josephine Lovell
A Mouse Called Wolf by Dick King-Smith
Sophie's Snail, Sophie's Tom, and Sophie Hits Six by Dick King-Smith
The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne

My wish-list for 2015 is already full of books that I can't wait to share with my little ones!

This list only includes the novels that I read aloud to my young children.  Poetry is also a big part of our lives.  Last month I put together a book of my favorite read aloud classic poetry along with fun activities for children (visual perception, science, beginner math) to go along with each poem.  You can purchase it on Amazon: