Repeat Read Alouds

"Here are the ones who know magic:

The young

The old

The brave

The honest

The joyful."

We just finished reading aloud Waiting for the Magic, by Patricia MacLachlan.  Oh my goodness, this book is amazingly sweet, but addresses some relevant issues.  Willian, the older brother is narrating the story.  His dad walks out on the family, so William's mom decides they need a dog (the dad never liked animals) they end up with four dogs...and a cat!  Throughout the story, the animals start to talk, but only the ones ready for the magic can hear them.  As a class we guessed which character was the young, the old, the brave, the honest, and the joyful.  And I wish I had pictures of their faces when they realized one of the characters was finally "hearing" the magic.  Precious!

Do you have "must read" chapter book read alouds.  When I first started teaching, I was intrigued by teachers who could read the same chapter book read alouds every year.  Especially with books I just thought were, okay.  Now that I have been teaching for a while I have realized I have started a shelf of chapter books that previous classes have loved so so so much, that I have to read the next year's class and the class after that, and the class after that.....

My two repeat offenders are The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo and Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins.  Both about toys/dolls....hmmm....




And now Waiting for the Magic will be added to the list.

Happy Friday,