12 Books I Read With My Kids This Year
I love to read 📚
I try to get through about 80 books a year myself and I want to be intentional in the way that I pass that love onto my children. A couple years ago we started doing audiobooks on the way to school, it’s been a wonderful way to introduce the love of stories. (Added benefit: it keeps the kids quiet and not fighting.)
PS: Libby is a great way to get free audiobooks from your public library
We also started chapter books at bedtime with my 7-year-old daughter as a way to connect over longer stories together. (I’ve only fallen asleep reading to her once!)
Here’s what we read this year:
Little Pilgrim’s Progress ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great story, great Christian themes. This version makes the language accessible while keeping the heart of the book. We had fun talking through the character names—each one symbolizes a trait or value. Worth your time.
Holes (Louis Sachar) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fun, easy read. I enjoyed this as a kid and loved revisiting it with my daughter. We watched the Disney movie after. Loved it!
The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Super interesting, great storytelling. Ashamed to say this was my first time really reading these. My daughter got into the characters but was still a little young for it, I think. Also, it was a bummer the movies weren’t better.
The Wingfeather Saga (Andrew Peterson) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A little slow in the first book, but great second book. Feels like a more accessible, younger Harry Potter. The animated series makes it even better, though it’s a bit intense for kids under 8.
The Time Quintet (Madeleine L’Engle) ⭐️⭐️ Starts strong and is super interesting but it gets a little weird spiritually as the books go on. We listened on the way to school and I had to fast-forward through a couple parts. Overall, not a great pick.
The Wild Robot (Peter Brown) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great movie which prompted us to explore the books. She loved them. It does have interesting themes of family and adoption that you should be prepared to discuss. Especially in the later books more things worth talking through come up; I didn’t agree with everything it explored but overall we enjoyed it.
PSA: We did make a lot of progress on books this year. But let me just say: I’ve sent the kids to bed with no books on many nights when I was too worn out from work.
There have been plenty of drives to school where they lost their stories because they wouldn’t listen or because I just needed a break.
Don’t get intimidated seeing us get through all these books. Do what you can. If listening is easier than the energy of reading, do that. Take a walk with some headphones on with your kiddos. Just find a way to make progress in whatever way is easiest for you.
“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”
- Mark Twain
-JW
About the Author:
Currently, I serve as the Executive Director of Them Before Us, advocating globally for the rights and well-being of children.
I am also the co-founder of All The Good, a leadership organization helping non-profits do all the good they are called to do.
I studied Cross-Cultural Ministry and Humanitarian and Disaster Leadership at Messiah and Wheaton. I read a lot and sleep less than I probably should.
My wife and I live in Charlotte, North Carolina with our 4 kids.
