The Holidays can bring this heartwarming art alive, by taking an excerpt from a funny chapter book and reading it aloud at the dinner table or any Holiday party.
For extended family’s longer visits and bedtime fun with the grand kids, particularly the age 6 to 10, a group read aloud can easily be an entire chapter book, broken down into several nights' sessions.
Bill Wallace has authored many chapter books, notably on the theme of very personable dogs. Many of his books remain in reprint.
The Dog Who Thought He was Santa – Chapter Book – Read Aloud age 8 to 108
Wallace’s The Dog Who Thought… is fitting for these rough financial times that many American families face in 2008-09. The story plot grows upon the dog’s uncanny sense of understanding and worry over his family who are caught in uncertainty of job stability, as well as his awareness of the children’s Christmas dreams.
- The Dog Who Thought He was Santa, by Bill Wallace, Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, ISBN-13: 9781416948162, available at Barnes & Noble
Debbie Dadey & Marcia Thornton Jones put their heads together when they were co-workers at an elementary school and wanted to provide something fresh for students to grab their attention for reading. Their first idea was with a Halloween themed book that soon turned into the “Bailey School Kids Books” series. Curriculum lesson tie-ins are available online for many of the over fifty books now in the series.
Santa Claus Doesn’t Mop Floors – Chapter Book – Read Aloud age 8 to 108
The Christmas title, Santa Claus Doesn’t Mop Floors was the third in the series and remains one of the funniest of all the “Bailey School Kids Books.”The kids at Bailey school can’t believe their eyes when they see the new janitor, a roly-poly Mr. Jolly. Can he really be Santa?
- Santa Claus Doesn't Mop Floors by Debbie Dadey & Marcia Thornton Jones, published by Scholastic, Inc., ISBN:0-590-44477-8, Available at Amazon
Mrs. Claus Doesn’t Climb Telephone Poles – Chapter Book – Read Aloud age 8 to 108
In their book, Mrs. Claus Doesn’t Climb Telephone Poles, the suspense and laughter never stops. Like all the Bailey School Kids Books, “Mrs. Claus Doesn’t…” the hysteria and fun never stop. It is a wonderful read aloud and it is a great chapter book for those readers who want more than a picture book but are not ready for a young adult novel.
- Mrs. Claus Doesn't Climb Telephone Poles, By Debbie Dadey & Marcia Thornton-Jones, Published by Scholastic, Inc. ISBN: 0-408326 available at Amazon
The More You Read the More You Know
As Dr. Seuss said, “The more things you read, the more things you know. . . ” and reading aloud with mixed ages of children and adults listening together is a fine Christmas spiritual expression of sharing and growing together in joy and knowledge.
For more Holiday chapter book ideas, see Jodie Wells-Slowgrove's article, Christmas Novels for Primary Students.
For more Christmas-themed fun in for adults and children , see Lynn Pritchett's Editor's Choice Award winning article, Christmas Read-Aloud Books for All Ages.
Lynn Pritchett - Lynn lives in Arizona with her husband and is caretaker for a few pets left behind by their two grown daughters.
