[CarrieF Posts: 269 Status: Offline WWW]

Hi all-

I'm bumping this up because now, months after my successful (thanks to all your recommendations) kindergarten read-aloud, I am now organizing a weekly read-aloud series in my son's classroom. He's now in first grade. I'm going to pull suggestions off of this list to give to the other parent volunteers, but I wondered if anyone else out there has additional suggestions that didn't get mentioned the first time. Also, since this will last all year, we might get into some longer PBs, folktales, or if you have suggestions for chapter books where the chapters are really distinct and can stand alone (the book Homer Price comes to mind).

Thank you all again, so much, for your support!

Carrie

[KeithM Posts: 75 Status: Offline WWW]

Frog and Toad stories are really great, I've found, each one complete and a good length, and just awesome stories.

[CarrieF Posts: 269 Status: Offline WWW]

Thanks, Keith. It's funny, I was just reading Frog and Toad are Friends last night and thinking, what a great read-aloud. I love those stories. And the copy I was reading was one that a friend had given to me when I was 6 years old -- perfect for first graders.

Carrie

[elissacruz Posts: 753 Status: Offline]

My favorite is Rattletrap Car by Phyllis Root.  It's got a great rhythm and both girls and boys love the story.  Plus it's a great way to introduce onomatopoeia to young children.  

[ButterflyGirl Posts: 507 Status: Offline @kidlitSarah sarahfloydbooks.com]

When my son was in kindergarten, I was surprised that many of the kids had never heard classics like Caps for Sale or The Little Engine That Could.  How the Grinch Stole Christmas is good for k or 1st, and we also enjoyed Karma Wilson's books, like Bear Snores On -- funny!  Other good choices are Stop Drop and Roll by Margery Cuyler (humor/fire safety), and Someday We'll Have Very Good Manners (short, hilarious, and teaches manners, good for k or 1st.  My novel reading fourth grader still likes me to read it to him.) 

Best wishes on your read aloud program! 
 

[CarrieF Posts: 269 Status: Offline WWW]

Oh, I do love Bear Snores On. That would be great for a group, I think. Thanks!

Rattletrap Car is great too, Elissa. So clever. I love how every crazy thing they bring with them gets used.

Good suggestions!

[majanecka Posts: 89 Status: Offline]

Mr Duck Means Business by Tammi Sauer.  I did this with my son's kindergarten class.  I bought puppets for each of the charcters in the book and we used their morning circle carpet as the pond and had the children act out the parts with their puppet and come jump into the "pond" when it was their turn.  They loved it.

[jodyjl Posts: 403 Status: Offline]

I think when reading to little ones (pre-K, Kindergarten and first grade), the story itself is less important than the delivery of the story. I would encourage your volunteers to practice before they read to the kids. Read slowly. Use different voices if possible for different characters (kids LOVE this). Make eye contact with the kids. Whisper at times. Turn the pages sloooowly to build suspense...this is great for Jan Brett stories! With little ones, I try not to stop too often to discuss the story. They lose interest too quickly when this happens. The only time I might stop is if there is a word that I know they will not know and understanding that word is critical to enjoying and/or understaning the story.

I love reading just about any story to this age group. I adore HENRY AND MUDGE  and MR. PUTTER by Cynthia Rylant. A few weeks ago I read "Big Pumpkin" aloud which the kids loved.

Enjoy and good luck!