Read Aloud Family Faves This Year 📚

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:01]of nine books to share with you that have been some of our family's recent read-alouds. I'm going to share books I've read with the kids in our morning time, books my husband has read with each individual child, a book we are reading together as a family, and even a book that my husband and I are reading aloud together. And actually doing this read-aloud video in collaboration with my friend Katie from Life in the Mundane. She has gathered together all sorts of families of different ages, shapes, and sizes, and we are sharing our family's favorite read-alouds, and I will put the link to that playlist in the in the description. Make sure you check out everyone's videos, and I would love to hear what new books you've added to your family's read-aloud plans after you watch our videos. If you're new around here, my name is Amy Sloan. I'm a second-generation homeschooling mom of five. I actually only have three kids still in my home, ranging from 11 to 15 right now, because my older two have graduated. So, alas, they do not live at home, and they are not part of our family's read-aloud fun this year, but we still share stories and hear what they're reading on their own as well. I write at humilityandexology.com, and I'm the host of the Homeschool Conversations with Humility and Exology podcast. So, I have so many interviews with authors, book lists, previous videos with read-alouds from previous age ranges of my kids, and I'll put those in the description below so you can check those out. But let's just dive in and talk about some of the books we've enjoyed reading together as a family this year. The first two I'm going to share with you are books that I have read aloud to my three children.

[00:01:40]So, this year that was fifth, eighth, and 10th grades, and we love to start our day with morning time. So, this is when we pray and sing and recite scripture, recite poetry, and have a little read-aloud time. So, the most recent book we just completed was Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray.

[00:02:00]Interestingly enough, this particular copy is the same copy my mom read aloud to me and my brother when we were at home-schooled, and so it was really special for me as I was reading to the kids to see her notes in the margin or things that she had underlined. This is a story set in the Middle Ages. It's about a boy named Adam. He is a minstrel and the son of a minstrel, and through a series of of events, he ends up on his own on the road in medieval England. And what I love about the the story is not only is it beautifully written, it actually is a Newbery Medal winner, I believe, but you each chapter he ends up meeting people from all different walks of life. He has a run-in with some thieves, he has a run-in with members of the church, members of politics, ordinary people, a ferryman, all sorts of different walks of life. And so, it's a sneaky way for your kids to be learning about medieval life just in the context of a story. So, highly recommend, especially if you're studying the Middle Ages, but it's a wonderful read-aloud anytime. The other book we read aloud in our morning time this year is an absolute favorite of mine. I don't even know how many times I read this book as a kid, but this is Men of Iron by Howard Pyle. You may also be familiar with Howard Pyle's version of Robin Hood. This is a a very beautiful old copy. I I love old books.

[00:03:22]Nothing smells as good as an old book.

[00:03:24]Um but this is a story about a young man, well, a young boy at the beginning of the story, and it's really a coming-of-age story. He learns what it means to be a man, he learns about honor, and um ends up pursuing justice and defending his father's honor.

[00:03:40]And I don't want to spoil the story. It is an adventurous story. It is definitely one your boys would enjoy if they are looking for um stories about sword fighting and friendship, but I will tell you that your girls will love it, too. Like I said, it was a favorite of mine when I was growing up, and my daughters enjoyed it as well.

[00:04:01]Both of these books also share in common something I think is necessary for a good group read-aloud, which is that the chapters are relatively short.

[00:04:11]So, even if you don't have a lot of time, you can just read one chapter and feel like you've accomplished something and have gotten to a good stopping point.

[00:04:21]It took us about all semester to read one of these books, and that's because we don't have morning time every single day of the week because of some outside classes and because of some of my son's continued medical visits, or sometimes the kid the teens are really busy and they say, "Mom, like I have a lot of homework today. Can we do a shorter morning time?" And when that happens, I just prioritize our scripture, our singing, and our prayer time, and we don't always get to the book.

[00:04:52]But that's okay. It's still something we are able to enjoy together, and little by little it really adds up. So, don't wait until you have huge chunks of time to get started. It still matters, it still counts, and those are beautiful shared memories that you're making around good stories with your kids. So, let's move on to some of the books my husband has read aloud to our kids.

[00:05:17]Again, you heard some of the ages of our kids. We Our teenagers have work commitments and um extracurriculars, and then recently spring brings baseball for my youngest son. And so, when we're home together in the evenings, we're really prioritizing our family devotion time together, and it's very difficult to find much time for all of us to be here at the same time and have time to read a book.

[00:05:46]But my husband has really prioritized making one-on-one time with each of his children um over the past couple years around books, and that has been a beautiful thing. And so, I want to encourage you guys as well that if family read-aloud time shifts over the years, I've spoken about this in a previous video.

[00:06:05]But as it shifts and changes, embrace that new season for what it is and don't compare it to maybe what read-aloud time used to look like. So, with my oldest, I'll just go oldest to youngest.

[00:06:17]Actually, this first one may be a surprise to you, but it's actually a landmark book, a Valley Forge. Um so, nonfiction. I collect uh the old landmark book series, but you can get reprints for many of the titles as well.

[00:06:30]Nonfiction also counts as a read-aloud, right? This was something that uh John and Sophia enjoyed reading together.

[00:06:39]And even though it's technically not something you would expect as a teenager read-aloud, it's at a lower reading level. It was something that was didn't have a lot of pressure. I guess a lot of times in high school there's like so much that's heavy that they're having to think about. It was kind of nice for them to have something that was just easier to read and get into, and was really an achievable read-aloud. Um they're both interested in history and nonfiction, so that was one read-aloud.

[00:07:08]The one they are currently working through, I hear laughter coming from the living room every time they read this book. It's At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon. It is uh set in the mountains here of our home state of North Carolina. It is his is sort of like a just a of an old village kind of story, like a British village, only it's a North Carolina mountain. And it's beautifully written, the characters are are well-drawn and unique. And yes, if the laughter that I hear from them is any indication, they are very much enjoying that read-aloud together. The book that my husband read to our 13-year-old daughter at the time, she just is a recent 14-year-old, um was The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. I'm not exactly sure how to pronounce her last name, actually. I don't think I've ever said it out loud. O R C Z Y.

[00:08:02]Someone correct me in the comments. But, The Scarlet Pimpernel is a favorite. Um Grace had actually, I believe, read it before, wanted to share it with her dad, so they really enjoyed this swashbuckling tale set during the French Revolution. It is about The Scarlet Pimpernel, the dashing and debonair British nobleman who comes in and rescues the French from the guillotine.

[00:08:25]And um it's a very fun adventure story, it's a love story. Uh our family actually enjoyed watching the movie version as well um after they finished reading the book.

[00:08:38]Your mileage may vary. Please preview before you show it to your own family, but we enjoy it.

[00:08:43]Very different from the book, but still a good time. Um so, The Scarlet Pimpernel is definitely one your teen daughters will love. Um but I my know my son also enjoyed the movie and plans to uh recommend this book for his book club. Right now, John is currently reading aloud Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen to Grace. This may be a lesser-known one to you, but it is so funny. It's making fun of the gothic, the melodramatic gothic novels of the time, and it has a very ordinary, very ordinary young female heroine who goes to seek adventures. In fact, the famous quote is, "If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad." But she really learns to be more mature. There's she learns maturity, she learns whom to trust, she learns what's truly important, and maybe it's not all what's in her novels. But this is a delightful Jane Austen book and is the current read-aloud that John and Grace are enjoying together. Now, this spring, John actually made the decision to use his baseball practice time as his one-on-one time with Isaac. So, he is an assistant coach on Isaac's baseball team right now. And so, they are not actively reading a book one-on-one, but the previous one they did this fall was The Green Ember by S.D. Smith.

[00:10:08]Anyone who follows us knows that Isaac loves The Green Ember. Sam Smith is his favorite living author, only surpassed by Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. And so, Isaac really wanted his dad to be able to read the story that was so very important to him. And so, the two of them shared that story together. And I know many of you are also Green Ember fans. They are wonderful books for children, great stories. Um, it's a whole series. So, if your kid likes the first one, you've got plenty more where that came from. And I have interviewed Sam a couple times as well. So, I will try to remember to put those links in the in the description.

[00:10:48]Our current family read-aloud is going to take us forever to finish. We have been working on it forever. And we'll keep plotting our way through. It's 1776 by David McCullough.

[00:11:01]John and I actually read this one together via audiobook oh, well over a decade ago now and really enjoyed it.

[00:11:09]And David McCullough has a way of writing nonfiction in a beautifully engaging way, a good narrative style, but with tons of detail and research.

[00:11:19]And so, we figured since it's the 250th birthday of the United States this summer, it was a great time to read this aloud to the family.

[00:11:29]I would personally recommend it for teens on up. Our youngest son is also listening in, but if you have all younger kids, it will probably go over their head and not be a good time for them. So, I would recommend this for those of you with older kids. Or if you have summer travel plans, audiobook is a great option as well. Like I said, my husband and I enjoyed that a while back.

[00:11:53]And in the car, I really consider like if we're all listening to the audiobook together on a drive, I still consider that a family read-aloud cuz we're all listening and sharing the story at the same time. So, just something to consider. But if you're looking for a US history book and something you want to read with your older kids, check out 1776. Now, something John and I have done the whole time we've been married is had some sort of book that we're reading aloud together.

[00:12:21]We have been married almost 22 years, and we have not I don't even think gotten into the double digits of books that we have completed, which is totally okay. It goes back to what I have said a few times now that just being consistent matters a lot more than volume.

[00:12:39]And it just takes us a long time to get through a book because we've prioritized all these other things, right? The family times, family devotions, reading aloud with our kids, the the family time time for us to be able to talk.

[00:12:53]So, it takes a while to get through a book. And we may read a chapter a week.

[00:12:59]Sometimes it may be a chapter every 2 weeks. And that's okay.

[00:13:03]Our current slow but steady read-aloud is Listening to the Law by Amy Coney Barrett, who is currently on the US Supreme Court.

[00:13:12]Um, I have it checked out from the library and I have to keep returning it cuz it comes due and then checking it back out checking it back out again. But it has been fascinating. Actually, I have enjoyed it and learned a lot more than I was anticipating. So, it's part memoir, part an analysis of the legal system. And I am actually planning on adding it to my teen girl's US civics reading list for next year. But we're really enjoying it. So, don't forget to find something maybe to read aloud with your spouse. That can be a really fun thing to do. It gives you something to talk about other than your children and the bills, which is also always a good thing for a marriage. And just don't worry if it takes you a really long time to get through the book. Just keep plotting away. And if you have any interest in the law or the legal system or the United States Constitution, you might enjoy this book. Well, I would love to hear what have been some of your families' favorite read-alouds this year. I'm always looking for new book suggestions. So, put those in the comments and maybe the ages that especially enjoyed the read-aloud so that everyone can get in there and find even more recommendations. And like I said at the beginning, I'm going to put in the playlist link so that you can see all of the other homeschool moms sharing the read-alouds that their family has enjoyed this year.

[00:14:35]Until next time, happy homeschooling.