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Home Ed Resources : Read-aloud round-up 2021 (gorgeous gift ideas within 😍)

All the books we’ve read-aloud in 2021. *Mostly middle-grade/pre-teen* 

We’re a home-edding family of 6 and we love reading aloud.

We recently shared 17 Epic read-alouds you’ll love as much as your children 🙂  

But today we’re taking that a stage further and sharing all the books we’ve read aloud this year. All the chapter books, at least. Along with some non-fiction and picture books we revisited over more than one sesh. We also read many more picture books not included in this list.

In this whopping collection you’ll find a smattering of audiobooks on permanent repeat (they’re that good), a few e-books, and a load of library lends. Most of the books on this list were read in paperback or hardback format. 

These books were all enjoyed by my youngest daughter who turned 9 three-quarters of the way through the year. So most of these books are particularly suited for middle-grade/pre-teen listeners, dependent, of course, on their preference and sensitivities. 

Many of these books were also enjoyed by her 16 year old brother, and 20-something sisters – quite a few of them read aloud by these guys too, a few by their dad, but most of them read by me. Making many of these books perfect for the whole family 🙂

Some of the links included in this post are affiliate links, meaning if you click through and decide to buy I may earn a small commission from the sale, at no extra cost to you. I am super picky about the links on my site and only share resources I believe will bring value to your life. Thanks in advance if you follow any of my links, I hope you find them helpful. Full disclosure policy here.

Because it’s that time of year when you might be on the lookout for some gorgeous gift ideas, where possible I’ve linked to bookshop.org who support independent bookshops. But as I say, we got loads of these from our local library so hopefully, you can too!

On with the books…

Read-aloud round-up 2021

Fabulous Fiction

Our most recent reads –

The House with Chicken Legs – Sophie Anderson

Alice’s Farm – Maryrose Wood

The Angels of Wallaby Way – Sue Elvis

Pippi Longstocking – Astrid Lindgren

2 series’ on read and repeat all year –

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood – our go-to books for taking out and about and reading whenever we have a spare moment, there’s always one in the car or bag 🙂

The Mysterious Howling

The Hidden Gallery

The Unseen Guest

The Interrupted Tale

The Unmapped Sea

The Long-Lost Home (#6, not yet read this year, but read and loved in 2020)

Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder – regular bedtime books as we’ve read them through twice already and they’re so familiar and reassuring to wind down with at the end of a busy day 🙂

Little House in the Big Woods

Farmer Boy

Little House on the Prairie

On the Banks of Plum Creek

By the Shores of Silver Lake

The Long Winter

Little Town on the Prairie

Those Happy Golden Years

The First Four Years (#9 not yet read this year, but read and loved in 2020)

More classics we loved 🙂

What Katy Did – Susan Coolidge

What Katy Did at School – Susan Coolidge

What Katy Did Next – Susan Coolidge

Charlotte’s Web – E. B. White

Emily of New Moon – L. M. Montgomery

Anne of Green Gables – L. M. Montgomery

Classics revisited –

Return to the Secret Garden – Holly Webb

Malory Towers: New Class at Malory Towers: Four brand-new Malory Towers stories – Rebecca Westcott, Narinder Dhami, Patrice Lawrence & Lucy Mangan

Awesome adventures –

The Hobbit – J. R. R Tolkien

Star Wars : From A Certain Point of View – Various authors

Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener’s Bones (Alcatraz #2) – Brandon Sanderson

Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia (Alcatraz, #3) – Brandon Sanderson

Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens (Alcatraz, #4) – Brandon Sanderson

The Dark Talent (Alcatraz, #5) – Brandon Sanderson

(Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, #1, read in 2020)

Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox (#6) – Eoin Colfer

(Artemis Fowl – #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5, read in 2020)

Talking of fairies –

Fairy Ponies : Enchanted Mirror – Zanna Davidson

Fairy Unicorns : Star Spell – Zanna Davidson

2 audiobook series on regular repeat –

The print books of these are often enjoyed alongside the audio versions.

Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Malory Towers by Enid Blyton

First Term at Malory Towers

Second Form at Malory Towers

Third Year at Malory Towers

Upper Fourth at Malory Towers

In the Fifth at Malory Towers

Last Term at Malory Towers

Where the animals steal the show –

A Sheep Called Skye – S. R. Harris

To Skye With Love – S. R. Harris

A Patch of Skye – S. R. Harris

No Place Like Skye – S. R. Harris

A Forever Home for Bella – Linda Chapman

Little Penguin Rescue – Rachel Delahaye

The Mystery Kitten – Holly Webb

Winter Tales – Various authors

Some Shakespeare –

The Comedy of Errors – Retold by Tim Knapman

King Lear – Retold by Martin Howard

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Retold by Marcia Williams

Shakespeare Tales : A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Retold by Terry Deary

Tales from Shakespeare – Charles and Mary Lamb

Tales from history and legend –

Greek Myths – Ann Turnbull

Stone Age Tales: The Great Storm – Terry Deary

The Willow Pattern Story – Allan Drummond

Lin Yi’s Lantern : A Moon Festival Tale – Brenda Williams

Fun family stories –

Sophie Is Seven (Sophie, #5) – Dick King-Smith

Sophie’s Lucky (Sophie, #6) – Dick King-Smith

(Sophie’s Snail #1, and Sophie #2, #3, #4 read in 2020)

Fangtastic! (My Sister the Vampire, #2) – Sienna Mercer

Re-Vamped! (My Sister the Vampire, #3) – Sienna Mercer

Vampalicious! (My Sister the Vampire, #4) – Sienna Mercer

(Switched – My Sister the Vampire #1, read in 2020)

The Angels of Gum Tree Road (#2) – Sue Elvis

(The Angels of Abbey Creek #1, read in 2020)

Non-fiction

Nature –

I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast: A Celebration of Plants Around the World – Michael Holland and Philip Giordano

National Trust: 2021 Nature Month-By-Month: A Children’s Almanac – Anna Wilson

Exploring Nature with Children: A Complete Year-Long Curriculum – Lynn, Raising Little Shoots

The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate : Discoveries from a Secret World – Peter Wohlleben

Migration: Incredible Animal Journeys – Mike Unwin

Wonderland: A Year of Britain’s Wildlife, Day by Day – Brett Westwood

I Love This Tree : Discover the Life, Beauty and Importance of Trees – Anna Claybourne

More World Matters –

What’s Science All About – Alex Frith et al

Stickmen’s Guide to Science – John Farndon

A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson

The History of Everything in 32 pages – Anna Claybourne

The Story of Britain – Patrick Dillon

Great Stories from British History – Geraldine McCaughrean

Shakespeare: His Work & His World – Michael Rosen

Kings and Queens – Tony Robinson

If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World’s People – David J. Smith

Peoples of the World – Gill Doherty & Anna Claybourne

Numbers –

What’s the Point of Maths? – Dorling Kindersley

STEM Quest: Fabulous Figures and Cool Calculations – Colin Stuart

How to Measure Everything: A Fun First Guide to the Maths of Measuring – Dorling Kindersley

Gaming –

Minecraft Guide to Enchantments and Potions – Mojang

Minecraft Guide to Ocean Survival – Mojang

Tales from the Sea of Thieves – Paul Davies

Health and Well-being –

The Worry (Less) Book: Feel Strong, Find Calm, and Tame Your Anxiety! – Rachel Brian

Making A Baby: An Inclusive Guide to How Every Family Begins – Rachel Greener

Phew. And there we have it. A bumper read-aloud round up!

Let me know if you’ve read any of these books and which are your favourites.

And now you know the kinds of books we love, how about some recommendations? Please share your suggestions in the comments.

Find more beautiful book lists at the takingakinderpath bookshop.

And if you love parenting books, you might enjoy my Top 10 Respectful Parenting Books.

We keep track of all the books we’re reading on Goodreads, find out more about that here and here.

Enjoy x

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4 Comments

  1. Reading aloud to children is an excellent way to foster a love of reading and to spend quality time together as a family. The article’s comprehensive list of books, including classics and newer titles, provides an excellent resource for parents looking for read-aloud suggestions. Additionally, the author’s mention of supporting independent bookshops and using local libraries is a great way to help build strong communities.

    1. Thanks for your comment, Adrian. Glad you liked the selection of books. We had great fun reading them and putting together this post. We’d love to know if you’ve read any from our list 🙂

  2. Hannah says:

    This is an amazing list and… holy Maloney! Syou read this much in a year??! We love reading aloud but we’ve read like 10-20 books, tops, I reckon (maybe I need to go count them!) My kids read their own things, independently… but your shared family-reads list is HUGE!!! Kudos to you! 🙌

    How much do you read a day? And how often a week (7 days?)

    1. Hey Hannah, we read aloud most days and often more than once! And we usually have multiple books on the go at any time. Even so, I was amazed when I went back and looked at how many we’d got through. And some of them have been absolute crackers, it’s been a bumper year for sure!

      Love to know if you’ve enjoyed any of the same titles? Thanks for stopping by 🙂

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