I attend as many of the grade level teacher meetings in my building as I
can. A common complaint I hear is that when teachers select a novel to read
aloud to the class, many students claim they have already read it/heard it.
I volunteered to try to provide a bibliography that might help with this
problem, though I was sure to tell teachers that I cannot prevent a child
from checking out a title because in some future year it will be a class
novel or might be a read aloud choice of his teacher!
Therefore, I am looking for suggestions of titles that would make great read
alouds but that are NOT commonly used as class novels or are on everyone's
radar (such as Sarah, Plain and Tall or Holes). Here at my school, the
following titles are used as class novels so are instantly out:
2nd gr.: Bunnicula, The Paint Brush Kid, The Courage of Sarah Noble, Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory, Charlotte's Web, The Trumpet of the Swan
3rd gr.: Freckle Juice, Stuart Little, The War with Grandpa, The Mouse and
the Motorcycle, Little House on the Prairie
4th gr.: Number the Stars, Dear Mr. Henshaw, Caddie Woodlawn, From the
Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, The Family Under the Bridge
5th gr.: Esperanza Rising, Because of Winn-Dixie, A Year Down Yonder, The
Good Dog
(I do not agree with the suitability of all of these titles for the grades
that use them; however, a committee of teachers decided on these just after
I was hired and I had no chance to provide input.)
If you could suggest titles for ranges of grade levels, that would be even
better. I know I am personally reluctant to recommend books that I have not
read myself, but feel free to do so yourself if you know someone who had
great success reading a title aloud.
Just to get the ball rolling, books I read and think would be great that are
often overlooked include: Missing May by Cynthia Rylant (4-5), Toning the
Sweep by Angela Johnson (6+), The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
(6+), The Incredible Journey by Shelia Burnford (4-5) , My Life in Dog Years
by Gary Paulsen (4+) and The Time Bike (3-5) by Jane Langton.
I will gladly post a hit!
Evie Kremyar, Teacher Librarian
Seton Catholic School
6923 Stow Road
Hudson, Ohio 44236
(330) 342-4200 (main office)
(330) 342-8134 (library)
kremyare@setoncatholicschool.org
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