99 Classic Read-aloud Books for Read Across America Day and Everyday

Grab a book, and dive in. March 2 is Read Across America Day.

This lovely and literate occasion, originated by the National Education Association (NEA), marks the birthday of Theodor (Dr. Seuss) Geisel. Pulitzer Prize winner (1984), Dr. Seuss, perhaps the most popular children's author of all time, created The Cat in the Hat, Fox in Socks, Go Dog Go, Green Eggs and Ham, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Horton Hears a Who, If I Ran the Zoo, Yertle the Turtle and other read-aloud favorites.

Think back to your own childhood. What was your favorite read-aloud book at home, in the library or at school? What special volumes did you choose for quiet reading times?

99 Read-Aloud Books to Share

Here are 99 classic read-aloud choices for children of all ages. Some are chapter books, while others are picture books or easy readers.

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst

Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll

Amazing Grace, by Mary Hoffman

Amelia Bedelia, by Peggy Parish

Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Are You My Mother, by P.D. Eastman

Arthur, by Marc Brown

B is for Betsy, by Carolyn Haywood

Because of Winn Dixie, by Kate Dicamillo

Bedtime for Frances, by Russell Hoban

Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell

Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey

Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See, by Bill Martin, Jr.

Call of the Wild, by Jack London

Caps for Sale, by Esphyr Slobodkina

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl

Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin, Jr.

Corduroy, by Don Freeman

Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine

Frog and Toad Are Friends, by Arnold Lobel

Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown

Guess How Much I Love You, by Sam McBratney

Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson

Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh

Harry the Dirty Dog, by Gene Zion

Heidi, by Johanna Spyri

Holes, by Louis Sachar

Hoot, by Carl Hiaasen

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Joffe Numeroff

Is Your Mama a Llama, by Deborah Guarino

Jamesand the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl

Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes

Junie B. Jones, by Barbara Park

Just in Case You Ever Wonder, by Max Lucado

Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch

Madeline, by Ludwig Bemelmans

Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey

Marley a Dog Like No Other, by John Grogan

Mary Poppins, by P.L. Travers

Millions of Cats, by Wanda Gag

Misty of Chincoteague, by Marguerite Henry

Mr. Popper's Penguins, by Richard Atwater

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, by Betty MacDonald

Old Yeller, by Fred Gipson

Paddington Bear, by Michael Bond

Paddle-to-the-Sea, by Holling Clancy Holling

Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie

Pippi Longstocking, by Astrid Lindgren

Ramona, by Beverly Cleary

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, by Kate Douglas Wiggin

Rifles for Watie, by Harold Keith

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, by Jerry Pinkney

Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan

Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Stellaluna, by Janelle Cannon

Stone Soup, by Heather Forest

Strega Nona, by Tomie dePaola

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, by Barbara Robinson

The Black Stallion, by Walter Farley

The Borrowers, byMary Norton

The Boxcar Children, by Gertrude Chandler Warner

The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth George Speare

The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden

The Giver, by Lois Lowry

The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Incredible Journey, by Sheila Burnford

The Indian in the Cupboard, by Lynne Reid Banks

The Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis

The Little House, by Virginia Burton

The Mitten, by Jan Brett

The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster

The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg

The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister

The Red Pony, by John Steinbeck

The Runaway Bunny, by Margaret Wise Brown

The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats

The Story of Doctor Dolittle, by Hugh Lofting

The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate Dicamillo

The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter

The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle

The Whipping Boy, by Sid Fleischman

The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare

The Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

Trumpet of the Swan, by E.B. White

Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt

Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak

Winnie-the-Pooh, by A. A. Milne

This list of 99 read-aloud books to share may offer a starting point.

Many of these authors have published multiple titles that may be suitable for reading aloud as well. In fact, series from such popular writers as C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia) J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings) and Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House) have become read-aloud favorites for many families.

Additional excellent and classic read-aloud choices include fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen and The Brothers Grimm, Mother Goose nursery rhymes, The Bible, Aesop's fables and anything by Dr. Seuss.

How many of these 99 treasured children's books do you have in your own collection? Quite likely, the local library has most or all of these.

Why not pick a few of your favorite classic children's books and read aloud with a special youngster for Read Across America Day on March 2?

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