Our Current Favorite Family Read-Alouds

Mercy Watson to the Rescue (and the rest of the Mercy Watson and Tales from Deckawoo Drive series) by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen— You just can’t go wrong with these early chapter books from Kate DiCamillo. Start with the Mercy Watson series and then move to the slightly more advanced Deckawoo Drive books! Our girls also loved the Mercy Watson audiobooks.

Ages 5-8 and 6-10. We started to read the Mercy Watson books when the girls were 3 and 5 and still read the Deckawoo Drive books with our 8-year-old.

Heartwood Hotel: A True Home (and the rest of the Heartwood Hotel series) by Kallie George, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin — Ooh, if pressed to choose just one favorite series to read with kids, there’s a decent chance I’d pick this one. It’s just the right combination of super sweet yet slightly adventurous and suspenseful. With one book per season, you could read them easily over the course of a year. You can read my full review here.

Ages 6-10. We read the whole series when the girls were probably 4 and 6, and again when they were about 6 and 8.

The Clementine series by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Marla Frazee— Pennypacker often had all of us laughing out loud as we read these books to the girls. Clementine is exuberant and endearing and has a delightful relationship with her parents, younger brother, and friends. Our girls also listened to many of these on repeat (and will still ask for them from time to time, at ages 9 and 11!). You can read my full review here.

Ages 7-9. We read the whole series when the girls were about 5/6 and 7/8.

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes, illustrated by Louis Slobodkin— A must-read for ALL families and classrooms, in my opinion. This book addresses incredibly important social lessons around kindness, inclusion, empathy, diversity, etc. If you haven’t read it with your kids yet, please give it a try. I actually read it with both girls at the beginning of the school year for 4 or 5 years in a row. You can read my full review here.

Ages 8-12. We read multiple times when the girls were between 5-11, and I read it every year to my third graders during the first week of school.

The One and Only Ivan (and the rest of the One and Only series) by Katherine Applegate — These are beautiful books of friendship and family (born or chosen) at its best. These stories can have scarier moments or address darker themes (such as animal cruelty), so they’re wonderful for reading as a family and discussing these as they come up. As an added family read-aloud bonus, The One and Only Ivan has been made into a movie, so you’ve got a family movie night ready to go when you finish! You can read my then-7-year-old’s thoughts here.

Ages 8-12. We read the first two books in the series when the girls were about 5 and 7, and my younger daughter read the rest of the series on her own when she was 8.

Zoey and Sassafras #1: Dragons and Marshmallows (and the rest of the Zoey and Sassafras series) by Asia Citro, illustrated by Marion Lindsay— Do you have a budding scientist? An explorer? An animal lover? Or maybe you want to inspire your children to expand their interests to these areas? If so, the Zoey and Sassafras series might be perfect for your family or classroom! You can read my full review here.

P.S. There’s a tenth book coming out in October 2024!

Ages 6-9. We read when the girls were about 5 and 7.5.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline — DiCamillo opens this novel with a quote: “The heart breaks and breaks and lives by breaking. It is necessary to go through dark and deeper dark and not to turn” (from “The Testing-Tree” by Stanley Kunitz). You know from that moment that Edward’s journey is no ordinary adventure of his body, but rather a life-changing journey of his heart. And life-changing it is! My girls LOVED this, begging for more and more every day (we absolutely flew through all 240 pages!). You can read my full review here.

Ages 8-12. We read when the girls were about 5.5 and 7.5.

Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, illustrated by Garth Williams— Okay, admittedly, three people in my family love this story. The fourth refuses to even hear Charlotte’s Web mentioned in her presence because it just makes her too sad… But it’s so, so good, from the very first line (“Where’s Papa going with that axe?” to the very end. May we all find friendships like those of Charlotte, Wilbur, and Fern! Another added family movie night bonus here, and the audiobook with a full cast (featuring Meryl Streep even!) is just phenomenal too.

Ages 8-12. We read when the girls were 5.5 and 8.

Poppy by Avi, illustrated by Brian Floca — Poppy is a young deermouse, a loyal family member, and a fierce friend. While we love Poppy’s courage and heart, our favorite character is Ereth, the grouchy, grumpy, and old porcupine whose soft heart shines through more and more as his friendship with Poppy blossoms. Poppy is actually the second book in a 7-book series (the whole series is good, but Poppy is my favorite!), but works well as a stand-alone novel too. We went on to read Poppy and Rye and Ereth’s Birthday after we finished this one, because we were all so interested in Poppy’s story. You can read my full review here.

Ages 8-12. We read when the girls were about 6 and 8.

A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus — This is an incredible, touching, age-appropriate introduction to what it might have been like to grow up in England during World War II. Not at all scary, but still very real, this is the story of three orphaned siblings sent from London to live with a guardian in the countryside, hopefully keeping them safe from the more regular bombings coming to London. Much like The One and Only Ivan, this is a beautiful story of friendship and family, both born and chosen.

While we did this as a family read-aloud, I’ll admit that I might actually suggest listening to this as a family audiobook instead… Polly Lee has such a delightful British accent that really brings the story to life.

Ages 9-12. We read when the girls were 6.5 and 9.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling (and the rest of the Harry Potter series) — I have big thoughts on when and how kids should read this series, and my thoughts essentially boil down to feeling like most children read these on their own and way too early. The vocabulary and concepts are pretty complex, so worth discussing with an adult, and starting with books 3 and 4, they get progressively scarier and darker… But they’re wonderful stories of friendship, of love, of good triumphing over evil, of the complexities within all of us that keep us from being totally good or completely evil — stories worth reading and loving!

Another bonus family movie night option here, as well as wonderful audiobook option for family listening (Jim Dale does incredible voices!).

Ages 9-12 for first book. We read the first book one-on-one with each girl when she turned 7, and then read one a year with each girl after until they turned 11 (except our younger daughter actually hasn’t wanted to read #3 yet because she thinks it’ll be too scary).

The Magical Ms. Plum by Bonny Becker, illustrated by Amy Portnoy — I had somehow never heard of this book until a few years ago, when I picked it up to read to the girls at the beginning of the school year (they were in first and fourth grade). Ms. Plum is *the* teacher to have at school… the one everyone wants to have. And Ms. Plum’s classroom comes with a magical supply closet, so every kid waits anxiously for his or her day to be chosen to go into the closet to retrieve normal classroom supplies. Part Mary Poppins, part Wayside School, this is a delightful way to start the school year!

Ages 6-9. We read when the girls were 7 and 9.5.

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo — Yes, I do indeed have three books by Kate DiCamillo on this list. It’s safe to say she’s my favorite children’s book author! Because of Winn-Dixie was the very first novel I read aloud to my own class as a third grade teacher, way back in 2004. I loved it then and couldn’t wait to eventually share it with my own children. You can just guess how excited I was when that time came a few years ago… Fortunately, the girls loved it as much as I hoped they would!

And yes, this is another book on this list that has a wonderful film for family movie night!

Ages 8-11. We read when the girls were 7.5 and 9.5.

The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman — I first discovered this book while working as a teacher’s asssistant in a second grade classroom. My mentor teacher read it to the students that spring, and we were all incredibly engaged the whole time. It’s got mystery, it’s got suspense and adventure, it’s got talking animals. You can really make this an engaging experience by enlarging the map of the Land of Elyon to make it easy for everyone to see while you’re listening, and then keep an ongoing list of everyone’s ideas about who the traitor Sebastian is! There are four books in the series if your family or class is ready to keep going, but this first one is by far my favorite of them all and can be read on its own.

Ages 8-12. We read when the girls were 7.5 and 9.5, and I read it to my third graders every single spring in the classroom.

The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies — A book about the bond between a brother and sister, about entrepreneurship, about economics and financing… All that AND it will make you laugh out loud? It’s the perfect recipe for an amazing family read-aloud!

This is the first book in a 6-book series, which I admitedly didn’t know until writing this post. We did read the second immediately after this one, and the girls enjoyed it too.

Ages 8-11. We read when the girls were 8.5 and 10.5.

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg — I pulled this off of the shelf before a family trip to New York City, to get the girls excited about the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I don’t think I had read this since I was a child myself, and I had such fun revisiting it with the girls. In order to make sure her family fully appreciates her, Claudia decides to run away (to the Met), and she takes her younger brother, Jamie, with her. Once in the museum, they stumble upon a mystery that Claudia is determined to solve before she returns home… A mystery involving one Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

Ages 9-13. We read when the girls were 8.5 and almost 11.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis— This one is incredibly common for families to read together… I waited for years until I thought my girls would be ready (the older one in particular is very sensitive to animals dying). I just loved experiencing this through their eyes… The magic, the relationships, the hope, the love, the good, the evil. My older daughter took some time to recover from Aslan’s death (even though we made sure to read till he came back to life in that same sitting), so we didn’t continue on in the series, but I hope to some day!

And once again, be sure to watch the movie together once you’ve finished the book.

Ages 8-13. We read when the girls were 8.5 and almost 11.

The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity by Nicholas Day, illustrated by Brett Helquist — This is another book I picked up before a trip (we were lucky enough to accompany my husband on a work trip to London, and tacked on a weekend in Paris at the end). I’m not sure I’ve ever read a non-picture-book nonfiction book aloud to the girls, and this was a delightful first choice. Yes, it’s nonfiction, but written in a narrative format, so lends itself to being read aloud. We all know the Mona Lisa, and our kids likely do too, but I bet you don’t know much about her history!

Ages 10-14. We read when the girls were 8.5 and 11.

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume — I held off on this one for a while because one of the later books in the series (Superfudge) does address the truth about Santa… But once we were safely past that in our house, I eagerly got my hands on this one (somehow the rest of the series survived my classroom days, but not Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing). The girls loved it so much that they both went on to read the rest of the series on their own over the past few months. That’s a winner of a family read-aloud, if I do say so myself!

Ages 8-11. We read when the girls were 8.5 and 11.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan— First published in 2006, I discovered Percy Jackson while teaching fourth grade in 2008. Our big unit that year centered around Greek mythology, so my students devoured this series.

Be sure to watch this movie after you read the book. There’s even a Disney+ television series now, too!

Ages 10-14. We read with our oldest daughter when she was 9. She went on to read the rest of the series on her own. (And if your children do that, there are then tons of other spin-off series they may go for, too!).