Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children, gathered by William F. Russell, is a book for 5 year olds and the grown-ups reading to them, packed with famous stories and poems chosen to be heard rather than read alone.<\/p>\n
This one is really for you as much as your child. It’s a big collection of classic tales, poems and extracts, and the idea is that you read them out loud together.<\/p>\n
Every piece comes with a little note about where it’s from, a rough reading time and a guide to any tricky names or words. So you won’t get stuck on Androcles halfway through a sentence (it’s ANN-droe-kleez, apparently).<\/p>\n
The pieces are sorted into three listening levels. They run from short, light, wonder-filled tales for the youngest listeners up to long, demanding pieces for much older children. You pick what suits your child and your evening.<\/p>\n
The first level opens with The Ugly Duckling. Then there’s Androcles and the Lion, the early chapters of Black Beauty told by the horse himself, and a Robin Hood tale where he escapes his enemies disguised in an old woman’s skirt and headscarf.<\/p>\n
The original wording is kept wherever possible. So the language is rich and old-fashioned, and it sounds lovely out loud, even the bits that twist your tongue a little.<\/p>\n
There’s a long introduction at the front for parents, all about why and how to read aloud. It’s very American and quite old-fashioned in places (fathers, it says, have a special duty to read poetry to their children). You can happily skip straight to the stories.<\/p>\n
One thing to be ready for. These are the real old versions, not the softened ones. In The Ugly Duckling, hunters shoot two geese and their blood colours the water. In Black Beauty, the young horse watches the hounds catch a hare, and a rider breaks his neck jumping a brook. Androcles is a runaway slave sentenced to face a starving lion in the arena (it ends happily). If your listener is sensitive, have a quick read yourself first.<\/p>\n
If your family loves a bedtime story and you’re running out of picture books you can bear to read again, this could keep you going for months.<\/p>\n
And if it becomes a favourite, More Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children is the same idea with a whole new set, including The Emperor’s New Clothes and Aladdin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children, gathered by William F. Russell, is a book for 5 year olds and the grown-ups reading to them, packed with famous stories and poems chosen to be heard rather than read alone. This one is really for you as much as your child. It’s a big collection of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12558,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"lr_next_read_post_id":8110,"lr_next_read_anchor":"More Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children","lr_seo_hook":"Famous stories and poems chosen for reading aloud, with handy word guides."},"book_tag":[20],"age_group":[21],"book_type":[1044],"book_author":[1033],"class_list":["post-7093","our-books","type-our-books","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","book_tag-real-life-books","age_group-books-for-5-year-olds","book_type-paid","book_author-william-f-russell"],"yoast_title":"Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children by William F. Russell | Little Reads","yoast_metadesc":"Famous stories and poems chosen for reading aloud, with handy word guides. For ages 5+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n