10 Outstanding Books That Will Bond Your Family for Years

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Books bond families.  They do.

We’ve talked briefly about giving our kids roots that run deep and parenting intentionally and in my home, reading together is one simple way we make that happen.

Books help us share time and adventures.  They help us dream together, think together, and imagine together.  Books build memories.

We learn characters and discover plot twists.  We theorize, even in the earliest years and in the simplest forms.  We understand good versus evil.  And when we read as a family, we do all of this, together.

 

 

Reading is a big deal in our home.  I’ve worked hard in recent years to consistently develop a reading culture  by intentionally modeling and prioritizing reading as an important part of our lives.  We have hard stops built into our schedule to guarantee reading happens – morning time, afternoons and often just before bed.  But we also keep read alouds at arm’s reach for when we need that break, that connection, together.

Personally, books have taught me huge lessons.  They have challenged my thinking when I feared my brain was going to turn to mush during those earliest years of being a stay at home mom. They have comforted me during times of struggle, mentored me when I needed guidance and helped me solve problems or sort out new ideas.  Ultimately, books have encouraged me as a wife, as a mama, as a woman who dreams big, as a friend and in my faith.  And sometimes, they are just solidly entertaining.

I owe a great deal of gratitude to the authors and words that have shaped my life over the years and I cannot help but want to pass this love on no to my children and give them gift of great books.

 

 

In our home we read books aloud together and quietly on our own.  Sometimes we read the same book, individually, and discuss the theme and plot together.  There are a million ways to do it right, as long as we take the time, make the time, to keep reading together.

I keep an ever-growing lists of great book recommendations and am constantly adding to them.  There are fantastic book lists out there like Honey for a Childs Heart and The Read Aloud Handbook, both of which I’ve referenced frequently.  But nearly as often, I’ve got great book recommendations from friends and mentors, blog posts and podcasts.  Real mamas, bonding their own families through great books.

 

 

So in the spirit of that and with gratitude for those great lists that I have gleaned from over the years,  I thought I’d share 10 of our family favorites that have served us well in bonding our family so far.  These books each hold great memories for us, had my kids begging for more and are the ones I would share with my best friends.  Remember that my children are all 10 years old and younger and a mix of boys and girls, so these books reflect that audience.

I think every book list I’ve ever read comes with a disclaimer so I will follow suit.  There are a ridiculous number of great books out there.  So many, we could never dream of getting to them all.  There is no way this list, or any for that matter, can be all-inclusive, but these are 10 solid read alouds, in no particular order, that I am certain will serve you well and help your family bond over great literature.  I hope they soon become your family favorites as well.

 

Old Mother West Wind by Thornton Burgess

This is such a great place to start! These books were introduced to us as a gift from a dear friend many years ago and have become some of our favorites.  The personified animal characters who these stories revolve around have charming personalities and engage in hilarious antics while cleverly weaving in facts of animal attributes and nature as well.  These books also have really short chapters, which is great when mama doesn’t have but 5 or 10 minutes for a read aloud.

 

James Herriot’s Treasury for Children

This collection of short stories is timeless, written by Harriot about his time as a veterinarian.  I cannot tell you how many times we’ve read The Christmas Kitten or The Market Square Dog but we never seem to tire of them.  The illustrations by Ruth Brown are fabulous as well.  This book would make a fantastic gift.

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

As my oldest child is a boy I try to steer away from family real alouds that are overly “girly”, but Heidi was a book that all of my kids really loved.  As the reader, I loved the writing, but as listeners my kids were hooked.  Heidi introduced my kids to a life without a mother and father, an appreciation of the small things and the value of relationships, an appreciation of elders, of hard work and the beautiful Swiss Alps.  How could we not love this book?  We followed this one up by watching the movie as well.

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater

So this book might not go down as one of the best books ever written, but it is one really fun classic that kids just love.  It slightly silly and, at times, ridiculous but it is always good natured and kids can’t help but love those penguins.  This books has been requested numerous times around here and is the particular favorite of one of my girls. (Note:  This book is less than $4 on Amazon right now.  Nice!)

Charlotte’s Web (Trophy Newbery)

Charlotte and Wilbur, Templeton and Fern.  They require no explanation.  Every child, every family, should know them. The end.

 

Everyday Graces: A Child’s Book of Good Manners

This book had been a more recent addition to our home, and the kids don’t let me skip a day of reading it.  We often re-read their favorite stories when daddy is home in the evening and they’ve even committed some of their favorite poems to memory simply due to repetition.  This is a truly fabulous collection of poems and short stories, as well as historical re-tellings and excerpts from great books, all organized around themes of character traits and manners such as respecting our country, using words wisely, celebrating others’ success and hard work.  Using a mix of modern and classical pieces, Santorum has constructed a book that kids love while delivering a meaningful message at the same.  In addition by using excerpts from all kinds of great books, this collection briefly introduces children to many authors and poets  (like Jack Prelutsky and Hans Christian Andersen)  as well as characters and historical figures (such as Amelia Bedelia, Lou Gehrig, and Tom Sawyer) they may have not met yet, whetting their appetites to read even more.

Egermeier’s Bible Story Book

Bible reading is a regular part of our morning time.  This version came highly recommended to my family and works perfectly for the the mix of ages my children currently are.  The chapters are short enough to serve a young child’s attention span and but the content is meaty enough to serve older children as well.  It’s also sprinkled with occasional illustrations.  Our favorite in the earlier years, which often makes a reappearance, was The Jesus Storybook Bible.

The Trumpet of the Swan (full color)

A second book on our list by E.B. White. This story is so very different from Charlotte’s Web, yet every bit as great.  E.B. White’s story telling skills and ability to captivate children (and adults!) is really unmatched.

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread

Probably the most modern book on this list, this is one of my personal favorites to read to my children.  Kate DiCamillo is a fabulous writer and her characters make for a charming read aloud.

The Chronicles of Narnia

I’m not sure it gets much better than this series.  We started these as a read aloud when our oldest son was about 6 and he has since read most of the series on his own as well.  The plots are engaging, the characters are well developed and they will leave both kids and parenting begging for another chapter.  This is a read aloud at it’s finest.

 

 

Honorable mentions include  The Cricket in Times Square , Pinocchio,  The Little House Series, and James and the Giant Peach (along with a number of other Roald Dahl books).

So there you go!  Add them up and there are far more than 10 to get you started.

Take these books and run with them.  Build a reading culture in your home and root your kids in memories of words and worlds shared together.  Make Lemon Meringue Pie like Amelia Bedelia did or try Turkish Delight like Edmund loved so well and turn these books into even more shared experiences, even more memories, together.

My lists of personal favorites, adventurous books for boys, books for my growing girls and chapter books for the earliest readers are constantly running over.  I hope to someday share those with you as well.  But for now, these are the read alouds we love dearly.  I hope you will love them too!

 

What are some of your favorite family read alouds?  Share them in the comments and we can all keep adding to our lists! 🙂

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