Over the past year, my daughter, a seventh grader, and I have started listening to titles together while in the car. Since her birth we have always read together each night, but starting in 2nd grade she want to read all by herself which meant we didn't share the stories even though we continued to read side-by-side. Listening with our ears together in the car has been a magical time. We can once again enjoy literally reading together. It has also pushed her to read genres that she wouldn't normally read, historical fiction.
Our first favorite was Jennifer Donnelly's These Shallow Graves. She loved the mystery and strong female character in Jo Montfort. I love the history and the exploration of female inequalities at the turn of the century America. We would eagerly climb into the car during our bi-weekly commute to ballet and linger in the car when we arrived home to just listen to one more chapter. Later she read the hard copy and then decided to read Nellie Bly's Ten Days in a Madhouse.
Our second foray into reading with our ears was Ransom Rigg's Miss Pergrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Although I had read it before, I have a rule with my daughter that she can't watch a movie related to a book unless she has read the book first. She has purchased this book earlier in the summer in anticipation of the movie release in the fall, but she stalled in her reading of the book. Listening allowed her to re-engage in the story and finish the book. We finally got to see the movie together.
Our final recommendation, The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grisson is actually a book we listened to together because it was my book club selection. I knew I would slog thru it as the setting the South, pre-Civil Story was a story that I had read many time. This telling, however, did end up liking Lavinia's story about her life as an indentured servant as it wasn't a story that we had encountered to often. Hope loved it so much she wanted to name her next pet, Lavinia. It also led us to tough tough tough car conversations.
If you find yourself too busy to actually sit and read, you might be able to build some listening time using such as Hoopla or Overdrive from your local library. That's how Hope and I are able to fund this listening habit.
Our first favorite was Jennifer Donnelly's These Shallow Graves. She loved the mystery and strong female character in Jo Montfort. I love the history and the exploration of female inequalities at the turn of the century America. We would eagerly climb into the car during our bi-weekly commute to ballet and linger in the car when we arrived home to just listen to one more chapter. Later she read the hard copy and then decided to read Nellie Bly's Ten Days in a Madhouse.
Our second foray into reading with our ears was Ransom Rigg's Miss Pergrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Although I had read it before, I have a rule with my daughter that she can't watch a movie related to a book unless she has read the book first. She has purchased this book earlier in the summer in anticipation of the movie release in the fall, but she stalled in her reading of the book. Listening allowed her to re-engage in the story and finish the book. We finally got to see the movie together.
Our final recommendation, The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grisson is actually a book we listened to together because it was my book club selection. I knew I would slog thru it as the setting the South, pre-Civil Story was a story that I had read many time. This telling, however, did end up liking Lavinia's story about her life as an indentured servant as it wasn't a story that we had encountered to often. Hope loved it so much she wanted to name her next pet, Lavinia. It also led us to tough tough tough car conversations.
If you find yourself too busy to actually sit and read, you might be able to build some listening time using such as Hoopla or Overdrive from your local library. That's how Hope and I are able to fund this listening habit.
I love reading with my children (especially my oldest, mostly because of the tough and honest conversations we have sometimes...)--and I loved reading how you enjoy reading with your daughter. And audiobooks are the BEST! Did you know of the Odyssey award? Like the Caldecott and Newbery, it is an annual award given to the best audio version of a book. I'm just finishing up this year's winner, Anna and the Swallow Man, and already listened to Ghost, one of the runners-up. Some might be a little "younger" than you and your daughter are used to, but...a good book is a good book! Sweet slice!
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of the Odyssey award, but I will check it out! Thanks! I just finished reading Anna and the Swallowman, so I bet that would be a lovely book to listen too based on the characters.
DeleteThis is so awesome. I love reading with my 2 and 4 year old and I dread those moments coming to an end. This gives me hope to continue to share books together.
ReplyDeleteDefinitively! As much as I loathed it when she didn't want me to read to her, this has been a better way.
DeleteThis sounds like a wonderful way to share books together, especially if you drive quite a lot. I also appreciate Overdrive as a resource!
ReplyDeleteYes yes yes to audiobooks!
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