Read Alouds, Ranked - No. 5
Everything I read aloud this month and what I thought
Happy Friday, readers!
It’s time for another round of Read Alouds, Ranked — the place where I share everything I read aloud in the library this month and why it worked (or didn’t).
Today, we’ve got 12 books, and this might be the best Read Alouds, Ranked lineup yet. Note that I am not providing a plot setup in these blurbs. Rather, the focus here is on read-aloud-ability in the context of group read-alouds (as distinct from 1:1 read-alouds between a parent and child).
For context, this month in the library I’m doing the following units — you’ll see them reflected in this month’s lineup:
K-1: Jonathan Stutzman Author Study. Jonathan is a great author to study with our littlest readers. His stories are often silly; he uses recognizable text patterns; and he has multiple picture books series that readers are excited to explore on their own after our unit.
2-3: Monica Arnaldo Author Study (and bridge to read alikes identified on Destiny Discover, our online catalog).
4-5: Weird Books (This might be my favorite unit ever. I’ll write a full post about it soon.)
For each book, we’ll discuss my general impressions of the read-aloud experience, the density of the text, the degree of agency kids experience in the story, and my final verdict on whether I’d read it aloud again.
These posts are intended to help you reflect on what makes a truly fantastic read-aloud experience and to inspire you with fresh titles to read aloud in your own classroom, home, or library.