9 Whimsical Read Alouds

For nearly 14 years, I’ve read aloud to one or more of my children almost every night. That’s a lot of books.

I realized the other night — while half-way through Edgar Eager’s Half Magic for the 3rd time in five years — that when my kids want me to reread a book, it’s almost always one that’s whimsical. You know…

Fanciful

Playful

Imaginative

Here are nine books that have put in repeat performances in my home.

Five Whimsical Picture Books

1. The Elephant Who Liked to Smash Small Cars

My father-in-law sent me this one years ago, and my kids could not stop their shock-faced laughter as I read about an elephant who, well, like to smash small cars. Think of it as rage room without the rage — capturing a small child’s compulsion to squish and smashs. It’s bizarre! It’s delightful! It’s from 1964 but was reprinted in 2015. And it’s now a permanent family inside joke.

2. The Book With No Pictures, by B.J. Novak

When I read this to my then-four-year-old son, he laughed so hard he doubled over wheezing — that full body giggle that rarely follows us out of early childhood. “BLAGGITY BLAGGITY … GLIBBITY GLOBBITY …. I am a ROBOT MONKEY.”

3. There’s a Monster at the End of This Book

I’m convinced that this is THE perfect read aloud book. It breaks the fourth wall and allows kids to become part of the story, hastening the fate of poor lovable silly old Grover. If you want to read an homage from author’s to this book’s enduring impact, check out this WaPo article.

4. Stuck, by Oliver Jeffries

How do you get a stuck kite out of a tree? Throw a shoe to knock it down, of course! And if that gets stuck too? Don’t give up! Try throwing up a boat, or an orangutan, or a door, or a whale, or a...

[I couldn’t decide whether to highlight this one or our other favorite Jeffers book “The Moose Belongs to Me” — because my teenager will still sometimes blurt out “Roderigo, come back!” When picture books for preschoolers become inside jokes for teens, you know it was a good one.]

5. Beautiful Oops, by Barney Saltzberg

I love all of Barney’s books (and I’m comfortable calling him Barney because I had a chance to interview him once — and he is every bit as delightful as his books!). This one is a magical, interactive ode to creativity and how we can transform our oops-es into wonders.

Four+ Whimsical Middle Grade Books

1. The Great Hoboken Chicken Emergency, by Daniel Pinkwater

First published in 1977, you can’t improve upon this description: “When Arthur Bobowicz is sent out to bring home the family's Thanksgiving turkey, he returns instead with Henrietta -- a 266 pound chicken with a mind of her own. Feathers fly when this colossal clucker descends upon Hoboken, New Jersey.”

2. Skinny Bones, by Barbara Park

I once started laughing so hard while reading this to a fourth grade class in New Jersey that my students sent me into the hallway to collect myself. Barbara Park is better know for her Junie B. Jones books — but this is my favorite of her works.

3. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, by Judy Blume

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read this whole Judy Blume series aloud. I feel like we often reread it in the winter — when we need something funny and cozy on dark, cold nights. ‘

4. All Of Edward Eager

Inspired by Edith Nesbit, Edward Eager wrote about magic finding ordinary children in ordinary places and turning their lives upside down. He wrote seven books between 1952 and his death in 1964.

1. Half Magic (1954)

2. Knight's Castle (1956)

3. Magic by the Lake (1957)

4. The Time Garden (1958)

5. Magic or Not? (1959)

6. The Well-Wishers (1960)

7. Seven-Day Magic (1962)

I read them over and over when I was young — and spent long summer days hoping I’d come across a magic talisman or check out a book from the library that would send me into its pages.

Cheers,
Deborah