My husband and I make it a point to try to read to our boys every single day. Because we know what a difference it truly can make.

We go to the library 2-4 times a month and I let each of the boys pick out a handful of books that they are interested in.

We buy Scholastic Books on Caleb's reading level, centered around characters he loves, in an effort to keep him interested in reading.

We read at all times of the day including in the morning, after school, at dinner and at bedtime.

It made me very happy to hear from Caleb's teacher at this last Parent-Teacher Conference that she can tell that we read to him and not only that but she can see the difference it has made in his reading and comprehension skills between the first of the year and now.

I also see a difference, one that has nothing to do with "reading accuracy or fluency" or "phonemic awareness," or "benchmarks,"  but rather a growth in his love for reading.

While its important to me that my son be able to string together a sentence and be able to read and understand others' sentences, I also want him to be able to access all of the magic and knowledge that reside within books.

And that is why we started reading chapter books together at night before bed. We started last September when we read The Tale of Despereaux as a family after receiving the book at a school function.


Soon after Caleb asked if we could read another book together. We chose The Boxcar Children because both my husband and I remembered reading this book as a child. From there we moved onto The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and then Stone Fox.

At the beginning of the year with the help of Caleb and my husband we chose thirty-six more chapter books to read, for a total of forty--one for every week of school.

You'll find our reading list below with links to Amazon, where you can find more info about each book including a synopsis, available formats and prices. (NOTE: These links are not affiliate links, but merely a place for you to find more information out about the book should you like to.)