Are you looking for some read aloud inspiration for the New Year? If so, stick around because this is the blog post for you! I’m going to re-cap the books we spent time reading together as a family, including a series that had the whole family up late turning pages and one book that I just can’t recommend.
If you are new here, we are a homeschooling family of five who loves to read. Like really, really. You can check out our Meet the Reader page if you want the juicy details on all of our favorite books.
We carve out time each day for a family read aloud, and we each have a stack of books beside our beds or queued up on our Hoopla or Audible apps for when we get spare moments in our days. We drive around town listening to books in our car….I think you get the idea. So, let’s get to our year in review (the book edit).
2023 Read Aloud Wrap-Up
Adventures With Waffles by Maria Parr
Oh my goodness, this book had us laughing out loud. It is about the adventures of two best friends who live in Norway. The trouble these two manage to talk each other reminded me of a few of my friends growing up (I will name no names, but you know who you are). Spoiler alert/caution – there is a death in this book, so you will have to use your judgement for whether that would be too sensitive for your family.
When we finished reading this book, my girls and I made waffles, just like Auntie Granny in the story. It was a pretty epic morning snack, and I highly suggest pairing waffles with any read aloud book!
Heartwood Hotel: The Greatest Gift (Book 2) by Kalie George
The Heartwood Hotel series is probably one of my favorites to introduce kids to chapter books. It is like an updated classic, with lovable characters and great moral lessons. For younger kids though, the chapters are just the right length to hold their attention without wearing them out. With this book though, my 1st grader (and her older sisters) was begging for “just one more chapter, please!”
In book 2, we continue to follow along with the staff of the friendlies animal hotel in the woods.
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness: The Wingfeather Saga Book 1 by Andrew Peterson
This series catapulted our family into full blown book club mode this summer. I read the 1st book out loud to the kids, and then I could not stop reading the rest of the series. Adie has read the series front to back, middle to front, back to front (seriously!), more times than we can count. I even convinced my husband to pause all other reading until he could read and discuss these books with me! We will have a full review of the series soon, but the gist of it is that it’s a great story, and the whole family will love it. These books are written by a Christian author and the characters exhibit courage, perseverance in the face of their own shortcomings as well as in the face of evil and the comforting knowledge that the Maker has a plan for their lives.
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
If you hang around me long enough, you will find out that I adore classic literature. If you feel the same way, Heidi should absolutely be your next read (or read aloud). This is such a heartwarming story of a little girl who reminds her grandfather how to love again. Heidi is resilient and adorable, not to mention spunky. The descriptions of Switzerland in this book had us looking at YouTube for the best towns to visit there and imagining Heidi traipsing along the mountainsides in the videos we found.
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Ok, I have a secret. I don’t love every book I read. I try to pick books to read aloud that I’m fairly confident we will love, but this was a miss for me! Obviously, I am in the minority though because this book by Kate DiCamillo is a best-seller. In my opinion though, it was just a little strange and sad. The mother of the main character has abandoned her family and the father is basically depressed and absent. There is talk of alcohol abuse (which I was able to leave out because I was reading it aloud). Winn-Dixie is a stray who finds his way into the heart and home of a little girl desperately in need of a friend.
My advice would be skipping this one for the younger ages at least.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
A few years ago, I found my old copy of Anne of Green Gables, and on a whim decided to start reading it. I ended up flying through the entire series, and kicking off a year of devouring every classic I could get my hands on. Fast forward to this fall, and I decided we absolutely had to read Anne as our world was bursting in the bright colors of autumn, just so I could read the quote “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” The moment did not disappoint, and neither has the book.
To give an honest review, my kids would all say that the first few chapters were a little slow. I just say Ms. Montgomery is doing a wonderful job of setting the scene in those chapters, but to each their own!
Well, that’s our 2023 Read Aloud Wrap-up! Which book will you pick up to read next? I would love to hear the books you are planning to read (or read-aloud) in the coming year!
Great reviews of some great classics! I love Heidi! Love Anne! Love your blog!!