Read aloud decision time, opinions please

NO! It does not. We just finished it before naptime (weird). And the kids were ALL happy it was over (me too)!

Not sure about Black Beauty…the girls and I are mulling over the 1st/2nd grade Literature suggestions for Read Aloud, and I think we’re going to go with Trumpet of The Swan (at 3 yr old’s request)…although both girls voted for Pollyanna!

Well, we loved Peter Pan, but we also loved Black Beauty.  What age are your children?  We do not like the Peter Pan movies but we loved the book.  Peter IS a little obnoxious, but then, he hasn’t a mother, has he?  Tinkerbell of course is not very nice either, but she’s not intended to be.  She hasn’t a mother either!  Hmm, theme?  At the end when we read this, one of my little sons patted me and said “Mommy, I wouldn’t ever fly away because I’d miss you too much and you’d miss me, too.”  Worth the price of admission. 

I read Peter Pan to my son a couple of years ago, and while it was ok, I wasn’t fond of it either (I don’t think he was either… I think he was barely 6….)

Pinochio was good – nothing like the movie….  Pinochio is always getting into trouble of course, but then he always has the consequences from those choices occur.  (Really, that is the point of the story… it is a cautionary tale.)  Of course it is not realistic if that bothers you (but then Peter Pan isn’t either.)   The version of Pinochio we had was beautifully illustrated which really added to it… but there is a spot in the story where the villans try to hang pinochio (didn’t hurt him as he is a puppet made of wood) and unfortunately the hanging was one of the pictures… so I had to really discuss that with my son, and how although it didn’t hurt a wood puppet, that it would seriously hurt or even kill a person.  So I wish that one illustration wasn’t in my version.  (I don’t think the words were a problem – just the visual image).

My children (7, 5, 5, and 2) have loved Trumpet of the Swan. Daddy even pulled out his trumpet from high school and it was ridiculously fun. In truth, it is a very sweet story.

I’m reading Black Beauty to my 11, 9, 6 and 4 year olds right now as our bedtime read-aloud.  It’s very good and we’re all enjoying it.  We read Peter Pan a few years ago and my boys LOVED it.  Pinochio was a big hit here as well.  We’ve read it twice.  We have not, however, read Trumpet of the Swan, so I may have to add that in somewhere. 

I’ve always wondered about PollyAnna.  When my ds was doing AO year 4 it was listed under his reading selections, but it was one he never got to.  We’ll have to give it a try after Black Beauty.  We’re also reading Freckles by Jean Stratton Porter.  For older kids I think it’s excellent.

I read Peter Pan to my 9yo, may just turned 9 at the time, not sure.  He loved it.  Now I just read it to him as a special bedtime read aloud and he really liked it.  We had great discussions over it.  I don’t know if I would’ve read it as a family read aloud, but maybe in the way future.

We are reading Rascal right now and the boys are loving it.  The chapters are super long, but it’s been such an interesting story.

I just finished Understood Betsy (I know, it’s young, but I just had to read it).  What a wonderfully, delightful book!  The kind that you don’t ever want to end, so sweet.  I may read it to the boys in the future, as well, I think they would get a kick out that little girl.