Family Read Alouds

Volume 4 of this funny middle grades series has Penelope, Alexander, Beowulf, and Cassiopeia back in London attempting to save the Swanburne School for Poor ...

Volume 3 of this funny middle grades series has Penelope, Alexander, Beowulf, and Cassiopeia back in London attempting to save the Swanburne School for Poor ...

Miss Penelope Lumley and her three young charges are off to London in this humorous, satisfying follow-up to the first in the series. The Hidden ...

This post is part of our "Summer of Great Family Reads" series. Don't miss the initial post full of more excellent recommendations! McBroom’s Wonderful One-Acre ...

For Everything, There is a Season There are patterns in Scripture of both the Lord and his people resting from their labors. Summer is such ...

Last week I set forth some reasons why older children (ages 12-18) have not outgrown the benefits of reading aloud. If you’re convinced about the ...

The last time I talked to my daughter on the phone, she said, “Guess what Adriel is doing now.” That’s my nine-year-old granddaughter, and of ...

Long winter nights and the occasional snow day make for excellent read-aloud weather.  Here are five favorites that can be enjoyed by the whole family. ...

Originally published a couple years ago, this post explores one fantasy series for middle grade readers.    You know you have a good book . ...

*Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley. Dial, 2015, 304 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, age 10-12 Recommended for: all ages Bottom Line: Circus Mirandus, a magical ...

*Mikis and the Donkey by Bibi Dumon Tak, illustrated by Philip Hopman. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2014. 89 pages Reading Level: Chapter Books, ages ...

A Castle Full of Cats by Ruth Sanderson. Random House, 2015. 40 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 4-8   Once upon a time a king ...

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, by Jeanne Birdsall. Knopf, 2005. 262 pages. Reading Level: Middle ...

*Faerie Gold: Treasures from the Lands of Enchantment edited by Kathryn Lindskoog and Ranelda Mack Hunsicker. P&R, 2005. 304 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages ...

Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink. Aladdin, 2006 (reprint; originally published 1935). 288 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-12Recommended for: ages 8-12, especially girls Bottom ...

The Green Ember is animal fantasy at its best, filled with gripping action and heartwarming rabbits, all deeply informed by the Christian worldview of its ...

Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt’s masterpiece first published 40 years ago, is as timeless as its title characters. *Tuck Everlasting (40th Anniversary Edition) by Natalie Babbitt, ...

Winter Poems selected by Barbara Rogasky and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. Scholastic, 1994. 40 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books (ages 4-10)Recommended for: Ages 4 and ...

*On the Wing by David Elliot, illustrated by Becca Stadtlander. Candlewick, 2014. 30 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 4-8 Maturity level: 2 (ages 4-8) ...

Pathfinder by Angie Sage. Katherine Tegen Books, 2014. 460 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (age 10 and up) Pathfinder brings ...

Christmas Carols for a Kid’s Heart by Bobbie Wolgemuth and Joni Eareckson Tada, illustrated by Sergio Martinez. Crossway, 2004. 96 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages ...

This book is a "Best of the Best" pick from our Winter Book Fair. CLICK HERE to see more gift ideas! *A Light for My ...

The Young Carthaginian by G.A. Henty. Audiobook read by Jim Weiss. Greathall Productions, 2004.  Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8 and upMaturity Level: 4 (ages 11-12) ...

Nuts to You, by Lynne Rae Perkins. Greenwillow, 2014. 259 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10 Maturity Level: 3 (ages 8-10) One-line Summary: Nuts ...

The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr. Square Fish, 2000 (reprint; original pub. date 1998). 208 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades (ages 10-12)Recommended for: Ages ...

*Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham. Audiobook read by Jim Weiss, Greathall Productions, 2009. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-12 Maturity Level: Levels 3-5 ...

Gravity by Jason Chin. Roaring Brook Press, 2014. 32 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, 0-8Recommended for: All ages Gravity is a complex concept to explain ...

Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey. Viking, 1979, 191 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 8-10Maturity Level: 2 (ages 4-8) and up Centerburg Tales is set in ...

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey. Viking, 1943. 149 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 8-10Recommended for: Ages 8-10 McCloskey has transformed his picture book hero, Lentil, ...

Lentil by Robert McCloskey. First published by Viking, 1940. Reading Level: Picture Books, 4-8Recommended for: Ages 4-8 Lentil, McCloskey's first picture book, is now 74 years ...

An epic finale to an epic fantasy series. *The Warden and the Wolf King,by Andrew Peterson. Rabbit Room Press, 2014, 519 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages ...

*The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya, by Jane Kelley. Feiwel & Friends, 2013, 201 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, Ages 8-10 Maturity Level: 3 ...

Baseball Is . . . by Louise Borden, illustrated by Raul Colon. Simon and Shuster, 2014. 40 pages. Reading Level: Picture book, ages 4-8 Maturity ...

We're coming down to the wire with our Newbery discussions. The ALA Youth Media Awards (which include the Newbery and Caldecott) will be announced Monday ...

Twelve Kinds of Ice, by Ellen Bryan Obed, illustrated by Barbara McClintock.  Houghton Mifflin, 2012, 64 pages.  Reading level: Middle Grades, Ages 10-12 Maturity Level: ...

The Snow Queen, by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline.  Harpers, 2013, 34 pages.  Reading level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Maturity Level: All Bottom line: ...

*How God Used a Thunderstorm and Other Devotional Stories  by Joel R. Beeke and Diana Kleyn, illustrated by Jeff Anderson (Building on the Rock Series). ...

*Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers by Ralph Moody. Bison Books, 1991. 260 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10, ages 10-12 and upRecommended ...

Summer's Just Around the Corner! My family's summer schedule is quite different from our school year schedule. What with travel, fun in the sun, and ...

The Hobbit Read Along Two weeks from today on Monday, November 5th, our Great Hobbit Read Along Adventure begins!  We'll cover two or three chapters ...

Gary Paulsen's classic survival novel Hatchet offers a realistic--as opposed to romantic-- view of nature and what it takes to survive in the wild. Hatchet ...

*Secrets at Sea, by Richard Peck, illustrated by Kelly Murphy.  Dial, 2011, 239 pages.   Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-10 and ...

A Nest for Celeste: A Story About Art, Inspiration, and the Meaning of Home by Henry Cole.  HarperCollins, 2010, 336 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ...

In the fundamentalist church where I grew up, we never did advent.  I never even understood what the word meant until well into my twenties, ...

*The Charlatan's Boy, by Jonathan Rogers.  WaterBrook Press, 2010, 305 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 and up Bottom Line: ...

A Dog's Way Home, by Bobbie Pyron.  HarperCollins, 2011.  321 pp.  Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 Bottom line: When Abby ...