The Best 12 Read Alouds for Younger Children

Written By: The Good and the Beautiful Published On: May 8, 2025

Today, I will be sharing with you my top 12 recommended read-aloud books for younger families with children in Grades K–3.

I’m Jenny Phillips, the founder of The Good and the Beautiful. We create resources that have been used by millions of families to help raise their children in beauty and light. Learn more on The Good and the Beautiful website and The Good and the Beautiful Book List, a searchable list of more than 1,000 parent-approved recommended books for kids of all ages. I’ll also share a few tips and ideas for making read-aloud time for your family a powerful, beautiful, and effective experience.

The 12 recommended books I’m talking about today are full-length books to read over multiple days, not picture books. Please keep in mind that it is still wonderful to read picture books to children in grades K–3, and even older students. If you have children younger than kindergarten age, I suggest picture books as your main source of read-alouds. But when children approach kindergarten, they can be ready to listen to read alouds with no pictures.

Tips for reading aloud to children in grades K–3

Keep reading sessions short and watch for cues of when children may be reaching the end of their attention span.
Stop often to talk about what just happened.
Ask the children questions to keep them engaged and focused.
Having children summarize and discuss stories are fantastic exercises for the brain and future reading comprehension skills. In fact, reading to children is one of the very best ways to improve their cognitive and academic development, and reading to children even improves their writing skills. Also, if you choose good and beautiful books to read, reading to your children can give them a strong moral foundation. Their hearts and minds are so impressionable.

In no particular order . . .

The Light at Tern Rock by Julia L. Sauer. Published in 1951, this Newbery Honor Book tells the story of Ronnie and his aunt as they become stranded at the Tern Rock lighthouse. Ronnie’s aunt is a great role model—patient, forgiving, optimistic, and cheerful. This quick and fun read features fantastic writing with illustrations on most pages, so it’s a good one to read while your child is cuddled up next to you looking at the pictures. Although it could be enjoyed any time of the year, this book has a strong Christmas theme.
The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz. This is such a fantastic book! When Anne Hamilton’s family moves to the West in 18th-century America, the area is so remote that only two families live there. Readers will love the characters, engaging plot, and vivid writing as they learn about a previous era and feel both the challenges and wonders of the new land through Anne’s eyes. Themes of this wonderful book include gratitude, adjusting to change, love of learning, hard work, strong families, and compassion. The warm family relationships are in stark contrast to many popular books today that make fun of parents and siblings and act as if family members are annoying. If this matters to you, you will love The Good and the Beautiful Book List, which does not include any books that make it look funny or acceptable to make fun of parents or siblings.
The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling. It’s an example of literature that is funny while being absolutely appropriate. There is a moral to the story (don’t be greedy), but mainly the book is just fun and wholesome reading. This is especially a good book for children who are reluctant to get started with family read alouds.
Wilma Rudolph by Jo Harper is a wonderful book to impact the hearts and minds of your children. The book tells the inspiring story of the first American athlete to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games and who has been called “The World’s Fastest Woman.” Much of the book focuses on Rudoph’s childhood, including being born premature and sickly and then triumphing over an illness after she was told she would never walk again.
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes. This Newbery Honor Book has been a beloved classic for more than 70 years. The book is 80 pages long with big print and pictures on most pages. In this touching story, readers learn about the damage caused by prejudice, racism, and teasing as the book illustrates the meaning of being understanding, standing up for what is right, and showing kindness. Readers also gain knowledge about school and daily life in the 1940s. This is a great book to spark discussion with your children after reading.
Badger Hills Farm, which is a book series that I actually wrote for younger children. It is an award-winning, best-selling book series sold exclusively in The Good and the Beautiful Bookshop. The Todd family has inherited a large farm that holds many secrets and surprises for cousins Timothy and Zoey. Readers get to follow along as Timothy and Zoey explore the mysteries of the farm in the six books of the Badger Hills Farm series. Messages about the importance of faith, family, and friends will encourage the hearts and minds of your young readers in these action-packed books.
Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins is an award-winning story with all the things to look for in a book: clean and appropriate content, good writing, good messages, good educational value, and good entertainment value. My family enjoyed reading this book and learning more about the culture in Bangladesh.
Owls in the Family written by Farley Mowat, a fantastic writer. This book, published in 1961, is still in print over 50 years later. It’s an uplifting story inspired by the author’s own life as a child. Not only is this a well-written, wholesome, funny, adventurous story, but it also teaches a lot about owls and life in rural Canada in the mid-1900s. I also love the appreciation for and connection with nature that the main character displays.
A Grain of Rice by Helena Clare Pittman is a short but very valuable and fun read set in Asia. The official description for this book reads: “A clever, cheerful, hard-working farmer’s son wins the hand of a Chinese princess by outwitting her father, the Emperor, who treasures his daughter more than all the rice in China.” This well-written, clever story contains lessons about hard work and exponential growth.
Also set in Asia is SeeSaw Girl by Linda Sue Park. This short historical fiction book features fantastic writing and great educational value as it teaches about life in 17th century Korea. The story is lively and interesting and good values are promoted.
Classic Starts: The Prince and the Pauper: While I am not a fan of abridged classics for older children or adults, I highly recommend many of the Classic Starts series for younger readers. My children have loved reading them, and they are wholesome, classic stories that will prepare and excite readers for reading the full versions one day. The series is written by different writers and includes varying levels of descriptive language, a variety and complexity of sentence structures, and elevated vocabulary. Our Book List has a list of all the books in this series that we recommend, but The Prince and the Pauper is my favorite in the series. The plotline is engaging, and there are a lot of meaningful messages to discuss with your children.
The final recommendation on my list is another Good and Beautiful original series, sold exclusively in The Good and the Beautiful Bookshop: Crooked Creek Ranch. These books have been beloved by our customers. There’s never a dull moment when you live on an isolated cattle ranch in the hills of Southern California. Crooked Creek Ranch features the characters Sara, Levi, and Tommy, who enjoy fun adventures on the ranch. Based on true events from the childhood of the author’s mother, these heartwarming stories reveal a glimpse into rural life in the early 1900s and focus on the unbreakable bond of family.

The Good and the Beautiful is passionate about helping families and children return to a love of literature that is wholesome and worthy. There is an absolutely beautiful world of books out there—old and new—that teach respect, kindness, and honesty through wonderfully written, engaging, and inspiring stories. When you immerse your children in this kind of literature, over time you will see your children become more kind, more respectful, and more positive.