Children's Chapter Books for Reading Aloud

*Disclaimer: Links are provided by an affiliate program.  I do receive a small compensation for any purchase made through this post.  However all the titles listed are one I have read and enjoy, and would gladly read again!

My real life friend, Annette, over at This Simple Home, approached me recently and asked if I would be interested in writing a post about children's chapter books.  Well, a little known fact about me ... I have a small obsession with children's literature.  So when she asked, I jumped at the chance!   I have previously posted about my top ten favorites here.

While picture books offer great illustrations and can be a beginning readers best friend, they just don't offer the same character and plot development that a chapter book does.  Chapter books allow you to build a relationship with the character and a desire to keep turning the pages.  There is nothing better than reading a chapter to your child and having them shout, "Read one more...plllleeeaaassee!"  I began reading chapter books to my children when they were about 3 years old.  Pumpkin although she is only two, will often come curl up in my lap while I am reading to the boys and listen.  Today I am just listing some of my favorite read alouds.  I am only going up to third grade, however you can certainly read aloud to your child past this age.  :) 

 I would like to call this a "living list", as it is always growing and changing from child to child. As I find new favorites I will update it. 

OK here we go....

Preschool: *Note about Preschool read alouds-  Keep in mind your child's attention span.  Sometimes a series of short stories is better than a chapter book for this age group.  I have listed some of both here.



The Jesus Storybook Bible Collector's Edition by Sally Lloyd Jones



A Robert McCloskey Collection



Mike Mulligan and More: Four Classic Stories by Virginia Lee Burton

American Tall Tales by Jim Weiss

The Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit by Joel Chandler Harris 

James Herriot's Treasury of Inspirational Stories for Children

My Father's Dragon Value Pack: My Father's Dragon / Elmer and the Dragon / The Dragons of Blueland
by Ruth Stiles Gannett

The Betsy-Tacy Treasury: The First Four Betsy-Tacy Books (P.S.) by Maud Hart Lovelace

Kindergarten:

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

Peter Pan (Aladdin Classics) by J. M. Barrie

Junie B. Jones's First Boxed Set Ever! (Books 1-4) by Barbara Park

Dolphin Adventure:: A True Story by Wayne Grover

The Boxcar Children Bookshelf (The Boxcar Children Mysteries, Books 1-12) by Gertrude Chandler Warner

In Grandma's Attic (Grandma's Attic Series) by Arleta Richardson

Twenty and Ten (Puffin story books) by Claire Huchet Bishop

The World of Pooh: The Complete Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner (Pooh Original Edition) by A. A. Milne

The Littles by John Peterson

Charlotte's Web by E. B. White

First - Third Grade:



Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary

Meet Felicity (The American Girls Collection, Book 1) by Valerie Tripp

Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard & Florence Atwater

 

 The Minstrel in the Tower (Stepping Stone) by Gloria Skurzynski

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

The Complete Little House Nine-Book Set by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Tales of Robin Hood by Tony Allan

The Children's Homer: The Adventures of Odysseus and The Tale of Troy by Padraic Colum

The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

Old Yeller (Perennial Classics) by Fred Gipson

Where the Red Fern Grows: Mcdougal Littell Literature Connections by Wilson Rawls

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Puffin Modern Classics) by Roald Dahl

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

The Complete Anne of Green Gables Boxed Set (Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, ... Rainbow Valley, Rilla of Ingleside) by L.M. Montgomery

Linking up at Serendipity and Spice: Manic Monday , and Pursuit of Functional Home - Pin It Monday Hop