With the beginning of a new school year looming just over the horizon, families everywhere are gearing up for nightly homework and required reading. For parents of new readers this can be a daunting task. More often than not the books children choose to read do not always appeal to adults and vice versa. With that in mind I have compiled a list of seven book series that everyone in my family loves to read together.
1. Calpurnia Tate
These books are wonderfully written and are filled with so much heart. Calpurnia, otherwise known as Callie Vee, is a precocious little girl growing up at the turn of the century. She’s expected to learn how to sew, cook, and keep house when all she really wants to do is become a scientist. Her beloved Grandfather nurtures this dream and gives Callie daily science lessons which include tales from Charles Darwin’s The Evolution of the Species. Callie Vee learns more than science and eventually learns that everything in life has a purpose and that sometimes growing up means acceptance.
2. Sarah, Plain and Tall
If you went to public school during your formative years than there’s a pretty good chance you’ve read this book. What most people don’t realize though, is that Patricia McLachlan revisited these characters at least four other times creating one of the most beloved children’s book series of all time. In this book young Anna and Caleb live with their widowed father on a farm in the Midwest. Their father, Jacob, decides to post an advertisement for what amounts to a mail order bride. Enter Sarah, a young woman from Maine who agrees to come out west to give life on the prairie a shot. If you’ve read the book, then you know that eventually Jacob and Sarah fall in love. The remaining four books chronicle the new family as it grows both in number and in love. These are a must read for every family.
3. The Missing
If you’re a history buff like me, then this series is for you. These books are great for an adventure as well as teaching children about famous people throughout history. The basic synopsis of the series, without giving too much away, is that the main character Jonah is adopted and so in the first book his parents think it wise to take him to a weekend retreat for families with adopted children. At this retreat he finds out the whole thing is staged and that he as well as the other adopted children there are actually missing children from history. Think along the lines of stories you heard about in history classes such as little Virginia Dare from the Lost Colony of Roanoke, Edward the V from 15th century London, and Anastasia Romanov from Russia. In an effort to avoid too many spoilers because you really should check it out, I’ll simply say they are amazing and stay true to historical accounts.
4. The Land of Stories
Okay, this book series is kind of like the popular television series Once Upon a Time wherein the main characters, twins Connor and Alex, discover in the first book that their Grandmother actually has ties to the world of the fairy tales they read as small children. I don’t want to give too much away, because much like the television series half the fun is in discovering who is who between the land of make believe and reality. If you and your family are fans of the popular show, then this series will be a no-fuss addition to nightly reading for school.
5. Dear America
As previously stated, I have a love for history and this is another series that gets my fangirl heart pumping. These books were popular with young girls in the late 90’s and was relaunched in 2010. Written in the form of a diary, each of these books follows a different girl during a period in history. Most of them focus on important historical events such as the Gold Rush, Civil War, Pearl Harbor, and my personal favorite, the sinking of the Titanic. Given that these books focus on different periods in history and are meant to be diaries, no two books are ever the same. Unlike most book series these are not meant to be read in chronological order which means that reading one written in the year 2000 does not mean you missed anything important in the books which preceded it. What makes this series unique is the way they are written and even more importantly there are also several books written from the perspective of boys which makes it easier for young kids to accept that everyone experiences things differently and that that’s okay.
6. Inkheart
I originally bought these books for my oldest daughter in the hopes that the plot would actually encourage her to pick up a book and read for fun. The basic synopsis of this trilogy is that the main character Meggie and her father discover that they have the unique power to bring storybook characters to life by simply reading the books aloud. This series not only fosters a love for adventure and creativity, but one for reading as well. It worked for my little girl who has been an avid reader ever since her first experience with these ten years ago.
7. Jedi Academy
This is probably not what you expected to see on a list like this, but I’ll tell you a secret. My son’s first grade teacher is actually the reason we own these books. She noticed that my son, who struggled with reading, had a passion for Star Wars. She went on a quest to seek out a book that he would not only want to read, but one that would be easy for him to understand. That’s when these books came into our life. In all honesty, everyone in my family has read these books and we laugh a lot while we do. Written in a similar fashion to that of the Wimpy Kid series, Jedi Academy follows a young boy named Roan who has been accepted to the prestigious school for Jedi training. What makes this series funny is that even though Roan is training to work alongside the likes of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo his journey to get there is much like that of any average school boy. If you like Star Wars, or even if you don’t, these books will keep you laughing long after you’ve read them all.
Daily reading requirements for school can be a chore, but there is nothing more special in life than being able to escape reality for a while into a land of adventure. Books make this possible and it is even more fun when the whole family takes the journey together.
