When you want your children to read books that are not based on cartoons or TV sitcoms, they may protest, but there is a wide world of books out there that parents and children can both enjoy and share. These books have not received the recognition given to those written by J.K. Rowling (The Harry Potter series), C.S. Lewis (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), and J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings series), but nevertheless, they are excellent stories and clean entertainment.

Even today, although I am long past childhood, I still re-read my favorite childhood books. When I am feverish and my head is pounding, I want something easy to read to pass time in my sickbed. I can't think clearly enough to keep track of the intricacies of a mystery or the seriousness of a biography. I reach for one of these timeless favorites. I don't think these books have won any awards other than the multitude of reprints based on their popularity over the years.

Recently, I attended the funeral for a young man for whom I used to babysit several times a week. His twin brother recalled all the books that I had read to them and said he was looking for the "Homer Price" books to read to his own nephews. It's not easy to be a "Homer Price" story lover in a Tolkien and Rowling world, but some of us are loyal to our own favorite books that we call "our classics."

I hope you and your children will enjoy these books together by taking turns reading them aloud. Even if you end up doing most of the reading, they benefit from being with you and sharing their reading skills with you.

Timeless Books for Parents & Kids to Read Together:

Homer Price
Alvin Fernald and the Homework Machine
The Great Brain, by John D. Fitzgerald
Uptown Family
Caddie Woodlawn, by Carol Ryrie Brink
All-of-a-Kind Family
Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
Redwall, by Brian Jacques
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry

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Learn more about this author, Laura Gater.
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