A Dad's Read Aloud Booklist for Boys
Feeding the hearts and minds of boys with good literature
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Early on in our parenting journey, my husband decided to create a culture of reading aloud to our children before bed. Since we have three boys right in a row, he would read to them while I read to the girls. They enjoy this time so much that if he takes too long putting down our three-year-old, the boys come and implore me to take over so that Dad can read them the latest adventure story. This past year they finished their greatest feat yet in not only reading but finishing The Three Musketeers, unabridged. Let’s just say they now have an intimate understanding of the struggle between the Huguenots and the Catholics during early 17th century France. The reading selections aren’t always so classic, but they are always Dad’s choice.
Our boys ages 10, 11, and 13 have found a myriad of ways to occupy themselves during these long reading sessions. Sometimes they draw, or color, sometimes they grab their lacrosse sticks and practice cradling or what-have-you. I’ve found one curled up like a cocoon in a blanket staring up at the ceiling as the scene from the book plays out around him. I love watching them bond over these books. It’s a sacred time as these years with our kids at home fly by.
I was reflecting about all the books they’ve read together and wanted to write down some of them to share with you in case you were look to ennoble your own sons’ hearts with good literature. Here’s the starter list ranging from the littlest boy to that early teen.
Favorites for Little Boys
The Little Airplane by Lois Lenski - This is part of a series of picture books created by this famed author-illustrator. They are sweet, engaging, honor the child by using a story to explain how a propellor plane works. Charming.
Cowboy Small by Lois Lenksi- My favorite of this series due to the cowboy theme and shorter prose. My kids love to memorize this one and pretend to “read it aloud” before they can read, naturally.
The Little Train by Lois Lenski - Following the journey of a passenger steam engine as it prepares for its journey, this book is full of train vocabulary. Admittedly, if I’m tired, I read the first and last sentence of each paragraph to move things along. Dad always reads all the words, because That’s How It’s Done.
Little Tim books by Edward Ardizzone- Little Tim to the Rescue, Tim All Alone, Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain, Tim in Danger, Tim and Charlotte… There are many more! These books are about a little boy who yearns for the sea. Surprisingly (to us modern mothers), Tim’s parents let him join the old sea captain as a ship’s boy. These books are the adventures of Tim. He embodies the virtues of bravery, honesty, kindness, loyalty, and gets into many challenging situations where he must figure a way out. They don’t write books like this anymore.
Tomie dePaola’s Mother Goose - These unabridged nursery rhymes are charmingly illustrated by Mr. dePaola.
Cars, Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry- Finding Goldbug has been a hit with all four of my boys. Watching my thirteen-year-old son read this to my three-year-old son melts my heart.
Favorites for Elementary
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson- Pirates and treasure. Let’s do this.
Captain’s Courageous by Rudyard Kipling - There’s nothing like watching a spoiled brat learn his lesson and become a respectable fellow. This book has been helpful in pointing to virtue.
Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff- The beautifully illustrated retelling of the Iliad. I love these books because they help us see that humans throughout time are really just the same, but for the grace of God, would our civilization be as depraved.
Beowulf by Rosemary Sutcliff- This retelling of Beowulf brings this epic into a narrative prose to help those of us who are new to the tale grasp the story arch. I love this story - and so did Tolkien. If you are a Tolkien family, see if you can find what inspired him for Lord of the Rings. They two tales are connected because Tolkien loved this story so much.
Arabian Nights - Admittedly some of the more gruesome tales, these stories are a series of cliff-hangers. “Open sesame” and Aladdan and the lamp come from these stories. At some point death was removed from stories for children. Here you may get a clue why the modern parent would choose to skip it. But we enjoyed it because it presented lots of opportunities for conversation about good and evil.
Pinocchio by Carlo Colletti - Another favorite of boys and girls in our house. Pinocchio is the naughtiest of boys and can’t seem to choose to do what is right. He is a puppet literally and spiritually. He is always being played by those he meets. He becomes real when he can finally learn to govern himself. This one is full of Charlotte Mason’s principles.
The Stories of the Saints by Carey Wallace and Nick Thornborrow - A lovely picture book that takes us on a fly-over of church history. Starting with Polycarp and ending with Mother Teresa we loved every story. It does include some of the weird and supernatural tales like levitating saints and nun supernaturally stuck in her bed, but I recommend it to everyone - especially if you don’t know anything about church history. Start here.
Signature Winston Churchill Biography- My husband has at least 8 biographies of Sir Churchill plus a portrait of the man in his office. This biography is a short and sweet overview of his autobiography and covers his life from boyhood to his WWII glory days.
Favorites for Middle School Boys
Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts who made the Man’s First Journey to the Moon by Robert Kurson - One of our favorites. The descriptions of space alone are worth the read. Now we get into the books that Dad needs to edit vocabulary and content here and there. But TOTALLY WORTH IT!
Dune by Frank Herbert- My husband edited on the fly with these books too, but the boys loved them. Yes, they read the entire series together.
The Sackett Series by Lois Lamore- If you aren’t familiar with Lois Lamore, you are in for a treat! This charming series follows a family from England as they come to settle in the New World. Family values, virtuous men and women, war, peace, guns, knives - all the things boys love. My husband bought the whole series, thread a couple aloud and let them read through the rest on their own.
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas - You know, this is a classic.
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay - Follows the life of Peekay through his childhood and his career as a boxer. The boys loved it. More editing was necessary, but epic.
The Count of Monte Cristo - The current read. Another classic.
The Man who Counted: A collection of Mathematical Adventures - This hilarious story is about a man who can use numbers to help negotiate, bring peace, and help others and himself gain wealth. Every story is a fascinating dive into numbers and how they can be used to tell a story, lie, tell the truth and generally blow you mind.
I hope you discovered some new books! I’ve made sure to link to the most beautiful versions of the books where I could!
Happy reading aloud!
If you want to be effective with your Nature Study work, check out my Nature Study Hacking Guides at www.naturestudyhacking.com. Learn how to get outside and use those lovely nature journals.
We are currently working through Charlotte Mason’s 20 Principles of a Liberating Education here are the posts that are up to date:
#2 The Good and Evil Nature of Children
#3 Parents are in Charge and Children Must Obey
Amazing! I will add all of these books to my list. Thank you!
This is a goldmine of titles! Some I'm familiar with, some I'd forgotten, and some I've never heard of. Thank you. I found one of my boys liked the Obadiah books by Brinton Turkle. I'd also recommend Marguerite de Angeli's The Door in the Wall, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, Herge's Tintin books, Lost in the Barrens by Farley Mowat, and The Call of the Wild by Jack London.
Blessings to you and yours!