Name: Thrive! NCHE Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-05-22T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-05-24T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Tagged: animals read alouds

This topic has 13 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 4 months ago by keechivalley.

Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)

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December 12, 2014 at 4:03 pm
keechivalley
Participant
Looking for read aloud books suggestions where animals are the main characters.
We’ve just finished Winnie the Pooh and House on Pooh Corner. We are starting A Bear Called Paddington.
Can you guys suggest some other books that would make great read alouds where animals (stuffed or real are the main characters)?
TY,
Linda
December 15, 2014 at 9:47 am
Kayla
Participant
We have been going through the Among the People series. (By Clara Dillingham Pierson) It isn’t so much fiction like the ones you listed. More science-y with personified animals. Like they all talk but you learn real things about that animal during each story. They are free for kindle
December 15, 2014 at 9:49 am
Tristan
Participant
Charlotte’s Web, Trumpet of the Swan, Stuart Little
December 15, 2014 at 9:55 am
Kayla
Participant
Ha Tristan we’ve read those too. I am only in our first year and I can’t remember everything we’ve read.
December 15, 2014 at 10:41 am
Karen
Participant
Poppy by Avi (there are others in the Dimwood Forest (?) or Dimwood Tales (something like that?) series.
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
The Tale of Desperaux (sp?) by Kate DiCamillo
Redwall (maybe too old for your children)
They’re all about mice and rats! I hate mice! I hate rats! I’m beginning to think we need to find some new read alouds, too! *L*
Brighty of the Grand Canyon – has people in it, too. Brighty doesn’t really talk or anything, so maybe that’s not quite what you’re looking for.
The Hundred and One Dalmations by Dodie Smith (see? we do read books that aren’t about mice or rats!)
How about the Raggedy Ann series? (by somebody Gruelle? or Gruel or something like that) I had a hard time reading the first book out loud, because it just seemed tedious to me, but probably listening to them on CD would work good.
That’s all I can think of at the moment.
December 15, 2014 at 10:52 am
sheraz
Participant
Thorton Burgess books have animals as the characters.
Wild Animals I Have Known by Seton features the animals as the story – of course the narrator mentions himself occasionally as I, but the focus is the animals. In that same vein, the wonderful children’s stories by James Herriott are excellent.
We really enjoyed 101 Dalmations and the Raggedy Ann and Andy books.
Big Red
The Black Stallion series
Black Beauty

December 15, 2014 at 12:07 pm
Angelina
Participant
Not sure how old your kids are. I echo all suggestions above, though I waited on Black Beauty, Black Stallion series and Marguerite Henry’s book (Brighty, etc) until my kids were over age 9 or so.
My top picks for ANY age:
Wind in the Willows (the ALL TIME favourite amongst my kids)
Charlotte’s Web
Trumpet of the Swan
Stuart Little
The Adventures of…series by Thornton Burgess (we LOVED this series – and to my knowledge there are at least 30 in the series…you could spend over a year using these as your read alouds)
Jungle Book (another massive hit with all my boys)
Note – you mentioned A Bear Called Paddington – note, this is just one among the series, so you could keep going on Paddington for quite a while. We loved this series as well.
December 15, 2014 at 12:14 pm
nerakr
Participant
The Wind in the Willows
Other books by Marguerite Henry (author of Brighty), especially Misty of Chincoteague. The horse isn’t exactly the main character, but she is central to the story
Socks, The Mouse and the Motorcycle and its sequels by Beverly Cleary
Uncle Wiggily series. There’s a five-in-one volume currently 99 cents on Kindle, or they’re free from Project Gutenberg.
December 15, 2014 at 12:56 pm
nebby
Participant
Freddy the Pig series
lots of books by Dick King-Smith
December 15, 2014 at 2:10 pm
RobinP
Participant
One of our favorite animal stories is Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling.
Lad, a Dog and others by Terhune.
December 15, 2014 at 2:18 pm
keechivalley
Participant
TY! Lots of great ideas here I will be looking for in the future.
I was specifically looking for a book that had short enough stories (like Pooh or Paddington) that we could read a chapter and maybe not read another one for a few days without losing continuity yet with familiar charactes that we would enjoy coming back to. Also, hoping for a little humor in them!
We read lots of of other books daily and I was just wanting something for bedtime (occasionally) that wasn’t a picture book and that we haven’t read dozens of times already!
My son is 8 and I can read aloud just about anything to him.
December 15, 2014 at 2:18 pm
MelissaB
Participant
A few that I didn’t see and thought of:
Cricket In Times Square by George Selden. There are others too by Mr. Selden: Harry Kitten & Tucker Mouse, Tucker’s Countryside, Harry Cat’s Pet Puppy, Chester Cricket’s New Home, and I think a few more.
December 16, 2014 at 8:57 pm
keechivalley
Participant
Thanks for all the great suggestions! I will check into them.
Linda
PS BTW, I’m new to posting here and everything I post is taking 2 or 3 days to show up. Is this normal?
December 17, 2014 at 1:17 pm
greenebalts
Participant
Some titles we’ve enjoyed are books by Beatrix Potter and Thornton Burgess, The Velveteen Rabbit, Aesop’s Fables, Uncle Wiggly, and Uncle Remus. I believe Arthur Scott Bailey books are also about animals, maybe similar to Burgess books.