Volunteer to Read to a Class

Every year, I love the opportunity to read in my child’s classroom. It is by far my favorite volunteer experience. It is always such a treat to think about sharing books we love and thinking through what books might engage kids with all kinds of interests.

Reading Recommendations

Last year I shared my top tips and recommendations, here: Best Read Alouds When Reading to a Class . We still love all of those books and would happily choose them to read to her class, however, my daughter really wanted to find some new books her friends may not have read yet.

This year as I planned to read to my daughter’s second grade class, we came up with a few others we felt like her class would love.

More Recommendations

This year I had longer to read so I took 6 books with me.

Here is what I took:

 (Each book is linked so you can easily check out more about each book or order them for your own kids. Just click on the book image or title.)

Since it is close to Thanksgiving, I wanted to include at least one seasonal book. We love this series. We have read How to Catch a Mermaid more times than I could possibly count. There are several more in the series, a few we have enjoyed are: How to Catch the Toothfairy, How to Catch a Dinosaur, and How to Catch an Elf.  

This book, set in a school, is hilariously told from the perspective of a turkey with stage fright. The kids loved hearing about the obstacles the turkey overcame in this funny picture book.  

This beautiful picture book won the Caldecott Award in 2015. The story is about an imaginary friend in search of his child. The book’s beautiful illustrations show the whimsy of a child’s imagination and shows how sometimes we can all be nervous to make new friends. Each time I read this book in a classroom, the children are captivated by the story and the images.

After the Fall by Dan Santat

I LOVE this book. This book is the story of Humpty Dumpty from the egg’s perspective and shares what his life was like before and after his fall. This book is surprisingly filled with emotion and has a fantastical and inspiring ending. Every time I read this book, there are gasps as I read the last pages. Santat expertly modernizes a well-known childhood rhyme and gives it depth.

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen

This book is another funny book from author Mac Barnett and illustrator Jon Klassen. Like Klassen’s other books, the illustrations add so much to what is happening in the story. Kids love to follow Sam and Dave as they dig around and around an amazing treasure. The ending is interesting and leaves the reader without a clear explanation. I love how this encourages kids to think through different theories about the story. If you are interested in some theories others have about this book, I found this page (and the discussion in the comments) thought provoking.

Sky Color by Peter Reynolds

Peter Reynolds is one of my favorite authors. His beautiful and minimal illustrations eloquently complement the powerful messages in his books. Sky Color is the story about a girl who is forced to think creatively to complete her part in the class mural.

There Was an Old Lady Who Lived in a Book by Jomika Tejido

I love books about books so this one caught my attention recently when I was browsing in the bookstore. In this book, a woman who is looking for her children visits many familiar characters from nursery rhymes and fairy tales. It is so fun to see the characters from other books and how the author connects them in this tale. My kids love the colorful and very detailed illustrations..

We hope you enjoy these books as much as we do! 

Please share books you love to read aloud to your child’s class.

Happy Reading!!