I’ve been seeing a lot homeschooling vloggers talk about back to school. I’m not quite ready for that yet. I love to hang onto summer as long as I can. One thing that helps me do that is reading books that involve childhood summer adventures. I do have a series of posts planned for back-to-school, to encourage anyone out there to embrace homeschooling, to encourage homeschoolers to continue on, and tips and tricks on making it sustainable and a lot more fun. So stay tuned for those!
I shared a bunch of summer read aloud suggestions in June, over here, and today here are more, as shown in these images above and below. They come from this post from Leila Lawler, veteran homeschooling mother of 7 and grandmother of 20+. I love reading her blog! She has so much wisdom. Go over there to read her descriptions of these books. It’s interesting that she recommends Edith Nesbitt books. I’ve seen others recommend them as well. I guess E. Nesbitt’s Fabian socialism does not appear in her children’s books, and they remain wholesome fare that Christians enjoy.
Anyway, if you have never discovered the magic of reading aloud, I encourage you to discover it before you delay. It’s the easiest, cheapest, and most brain enriching and family bonding form of family entertainment out there. So go to my June post to see more of the why and how to encourage reading aloud.
One interesting thing I learned from reading Mrs. Lawler’s post is why the Penderwicks book is not the best book to read. I had it on my list over there and just deleted it. Read her explanation here to learn why. Reading that makes me realize, oh yeah, I never did finish the book but I do remember being bugged by the character Mrs. Tifton. I’ve been recommending the book even though I didn’t finish it. It’s good to know why it’s not the best book and I’m not recommending it anymore.
If you want more summer picture book and chapter book read aloud suggestions, go to my other site, here, and just ignore the Penderwicks suggestions. (The calendar shown at that site is no longer available. I plan on having a 2026 one available by Thanksgiving.)
Happy reading aloud!
Tree of Life Mothering 
Hey, Celestia! These titles are so fun! I can’t wait to check out The Cottage at Bantry Bay! I’ve noticed Miss Q has been reading the Edward Eager books again this summer, between girls’ camp and family outings, she’s always got one in hand–they are the best for conjuring that summery feeling of freedom and childhood joy!
I haven’t read Swallows and Amazons, but some of my kids have, and we’ve all seen the movie, which I really enjoyed. My kids and I all do love E. Nesbit, so I’m sure The Wouldbegoods must be fun. Can’t wait to check it out for my girls.
And I loved The Penderwicks series, and yes, Mrs. Tifton was most annoying. I think the books were still worth reading even if she’s a controversial character. Every book needs a pesky source of conflict to keep the pages turning, right? The charming sisters and their unusual tastes and personalities, along with their father’s quirky love of Latin, and the delightful New England setting, was enough to keep me reading and listening to each title, though my own kids never would get into the series–too stuffy for them. In short, I think The Penderwicks turn out to be better mom reading than kid-reading.
Thanks for the fun recommendations! Looking forward to checking out the ones we haven’t delved into yet…
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Hey Em! Leila Lawler’s beef about Mrs. Tifton isn’t just that she’s crotchety, it’s that she represents a sad state of affairs, that of being abandoned by her husband, which Mrs. Lawler says is too heavy of a topic for a children’s book. Then Mrs. Lawler also says there’s some lying by some children that never gets a negative consequence.
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