Great Books to Read to Your Big Kids, even when your kids get older you can still have quality reading time together…

Before my girls 8th birthday, I was shocked to be told by them that they were “not little girls anymore.” But, even though they are “big kids”, and old enough to read by themselves, we ALL still love our time together when I read them stories before bed.

For a long time now I’ve been wanting to highlight some of the great books we’ve read together on this blog. So, today I will start with a book that we’re been reading lately, and will follow up in in the near future with other great books I’d recommend.

Great Books to Read to Your Big Kids: Exactly

Exactly is a collection of 56 children’s stories written by students of Wallenberg’s Traditional High School in San Francisco in collaboration with 826 Valencia (If you are looking for a great place to volunteer, this is an amazing non-profit that works in SF schools.)

My daughters can’t get enough of these unique stories written by local teens. Not all the stories in the collection are perfectly written–and that’s on reason this collection so compelling. Children spend the majority of their time reading texts almost entirely written by adults. When children are not exposed to the writing of their peers and those just beyond their level, they can begin to feel like their writing is inferior in comparison. Hearing stories written by kids not much older than them gives my girls the confidence to write more themselves.

The fact that these stories were written for younger children by older children also makes my girls feel special. And the wacky and imaginative themes, settings, and characters contained in them challenges us to think outside the box and question our ideas about our preconceived ideas about what makes good storytelling.

For example: here is a quote from one of our favorite stories titled, “My Hair Fred” by Jonathan Jeung:

“My hair on the other hand is far from ordinary. Ever since I can remember, it has looked like an explosion on top of my head… That’s why I named my hair. I call it Frederick Hairican III—Fred for short. But he still doesn’t listen to me. We’ve had a few adventures though.”

After reading this story we all took turns naming our hair our hair. 🙂

What books do you love to read to your older children? Share your suggestions below!

Related Reads: Favorite Fall Children’s Books, Books that Ease the Transition, Books that Get the Conversation Started