Read aloud for family fun this winter

The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder. Does

the idea of gathering everyone together for some quality family time

sound good? Don’t reach for that TV remote. Grab some hot chocolate

and a great book to read aloud instead. Sound like a daunting task?

Look no further than the Newport Beach Public Library.

The younger listener may enjoy “Come Along, Kitten,” by Joanne

Ryder. A big yellow dog invites a tiny kitten to come exploring. This

is a simple, rhyming picture book with endearing illustrations. With

its encouragement of independence and exploration, this title will

have broad appeal with the younger set. Another rhyming picture book

is “A Hug Goes Around,” by Laura Krauss Melmed. A cozy house set in a

valley is the scene for this whimsical story in which the mishaps of

family life are fixed by a hug.

To help ease your preschool aged child into the winter season try

“Snowmen at Night,” by Caralyn Buehner. A child wonders why a snowman

looks droopy the morning after it was made and decides that snowmen

must play all night. The rhyming text describes snowmen having

snowball fights, ice-skating and playing tricks on each other all

night long.

Planning on any holiday traveling? Read “Are We There Yet?,” by

Dandi Daley Mackall. Anyone who has ever had to sit in the backseat

for a family trip will love this story. It’s a funny look at a

driving trip that includes car claustrophobia, shrinking backseats,

books, luggage, toys and a dog.

The school age set may enjoy hearing you read “When Lightning

Comes in a Jar,” by Patricia Polacco. While attending a present day

family reunion the narrator looks back on visits to her Gramma’s

house and remembers storytelling, eating Jell-O and catching

fireflies in a jar. Need a little more humor in your household? Reach

for “Mary Had a Little Ham,” by Margie Palatini. This is the rags to

riches story of Stanley Snoutowski, a pun about a pig that moves to

New York City to become an actor. All of the struggling and hardship

pay off when Stanley appears in “Pork Chop on a Hot Tin Plate” and

Hamlet (of course). This is a laugh-out-loud read!

Longer books are great read aloud choices. Read a chapter or two

each night before bed. “The Great Googlestein Museum Mystery,” by

Jean Van Leeuwen is a funny story that follows three mice as they

take a vacation away from their home at Macy’s department store. They

discover many things about the world of humans at the famous

Guggenheim Museum of modern art. They realize that the blobs of jam

on a canvas are not food, but art! Read more to find how they get

themselves out of tricky situations.

Maybe it is time to throw a mystery into the equation. Try the

“Malted Falcon: From the Tattered Casebook of Chet Gecko,” by Bruce

Hale. Follow the antics of fourth grader Chet Gecko and his sidekick

mockingbird partner Natalie Attired as they solve two mysteries. If

you like wordplay and lots of excitement, this mystery is for you.

Ready to start reading aloud? Here are a few guidelines. Relax and

read a book that you enjoy. Be animated while you read; use different

voices for animals and characters. Interact with your child; let them

help turn the page and try to guess what happens next in the story.

Most of all enjoy this special time together. Make sharing books a

regular part of your day.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Bonnie McLaren. All titles may be

reserved from home or office computers by accessing the catalog at

https://www.newportbeach library.org. For more information on these

titles or other selections, please contact the Newport Beach Public

Library at (949) 717-3800, option 2.