Read Aloud: Go on a Family Adventure Without Leaving Your House

A read aloud is a way your family can have an experience together without going anywhere. Our goal is to help you enjoy books together. Reading is one of the most important things you can do as a family, and there are so many great books to choose from.

One of my favorite things to do EVER is read aloud.

I will read out loud to my kids, in schools, to strangers.

I think one of the main reasons I love it so much is that everyone can enjoy it together. But I also love trying new voices (even though they frequently change as I’m reading a book over a prolonged period).  I love reading quietly.  I love reading with excitement.  I love being silly.

We will also feature tips for reading with our families: how to make it as enjoyable for everyone as possible and how to give our reading a little character. We will talk about how our families can get lots of reading done together, and we will chat with some of our local personalities and hear what they enjoy reading with their families.

Reading together can be as complex or as complicated as you want to make it.  I suggest you start by committing to just one book or to just five minutes a day.

I  have a list of resources that can help you on this important (and super fun) adventure.

Read Aloud Resources I Love

• Read Aloud Revival Podcast
• Goodreads– Reader reviews and communities.
• Honey for a Child’s Heart– This is THE essential guide for parents who want to find the best books for their kids.
• Local Library
• Local Bookshops
  • Red Balloon
  • Wild Rumpus
  • Excelsior Bay Books
  • Birchbark Books
  • Magers & Quinn

More Kid-Friendly Book Stores: The Best Twin Cities Independent Bookstores for Kids

Let’s Do This!

We want to feature books to share together as a family. It may be a picture book or a chapter book. As summer is winding down and school is going back into session, let’s do picture books! This book is an easy book to read for anyone.  And while it’s really fun to read with expression, you don’t need to.  You also don’t need to worry about voice.

Plus the pictures are adorable.

It’s called The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood.

This is one of the most fun picture books to read aloud. My 10 year old loves it as much as she did when she was three

You can get it through our BookShop affliliate link above. We love this book! Our copy is well-loved with pages taped back into the book, holes in the pages, a tattered cover.

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This article includes an affiliate link to Bookshop.org, an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. Family Fun Twin Cities receives a small commission on books ordered through our link. If you want to find a specific local bookstore to support, find them on this map and they’ll receive the full profit off your order. Otherwise, your order will contribute to an earnings pool that will be evenly distributed among independent bookstores (even those that don’t use Bookshop). Learn more here.

This article was originally published August 26, 2015 by Gianna Kortdatzky