The
Treasury of Read-Alouds
SHORT NOVELS page
3 of 3
These
books represent a brief portion of the hundreds
cited in The-Read-Aloud Handbook.
THE SOS FILE
by Betsy Byars, Betsy Duffey, & Laurie
Myers Gr.
1-3 72 pages Holt,
2004
Placing a folder at the front
of the classroom, the teacher gives his students a chance
for extra credit: all they have to do is write an essay
or story about a traumatic moment—the time they had
to call 911 or were so frightened they could barely speak
or walk. Each of his eleven students accept the challenge,
writing tales that are entirely believable for primary-grade
students. Some raise the hairs on the neck (like the pair
who meet a black bear on their hike), some make you laugh
(like the student with the ungoverned appetite who ate
the candy bars instead of selling them for fundraising),
and several are quite poignant (like the student attempting
to find the traveling salesman who discovered her in a
dumpster when she was one day old). Each tale runs an average
of three pages and collectively are excellent examples
of short narrative.
Stone Fox
by John R. Gardiner Gr.
1–7 96pages Crowell,
1980
Here is a story that, like its
ten-year-old orphan hero, never stands still. Since it
has sold more than one million copies in twenty-five years
with little or no corporate advertising, there must be
great word-of-mouth out there for this book about the love
of a child for his grandfather, and the loyalty of a dog
for his young master. Based on a Rocky Mountain legend,
the story recounts the valiant efforts of young Willy to
save his grandfather’s farm by attempting to win
the purse in a local bobsled race.
The Stories Julian Tells (series)
by Ann Cameron K–3 72
pages Pantheon, 1981
The author takes six short stories
involving Julian and his brother and weaves them into a
fabric that glows with the mischief, magic, and imagination
of childhood. Though centered on commonplace subjects like
desserts, gardens, loose teeth, and new neighbors, these
stories of family life are written in an uncommon way that
will both amuse and touch young listeners. Sequels: Julian’s
Glorious Summer; Julian Secret Agent; More Stories Julian
Tells; and The Stories Huey Tells.
The Stray
by Dick King-Smith
Gr. 1–4 139 pages Dell, 2002
One day, on a nearly deserted beach, an old woman (Henny Hickathrift) who had walked away from an old age home and hopped a train to the seaside, took her cane and wrote in the sand: “I am a stray old woman.” That inscription soon leads five red-headed siblings to the old woman. It’s Henny’s seventy-fifth birthday and the children insist she come home with them to celebrate in style. The afternoon visit stretches into a week, then a month, and finally becomes permanent as the family grows to love her. In the style the author has made his trademark in books like Babe: The Gallant Pig, this is a warm celebration of family and aging. Also by the author: The Invisible Dog; A Mouse Called Wolf; Pigs Might Fly; The School Mouse; and The Water Horse (s).
Two Times the Fun
by Beverly Cleary PreK-K 92
pages Harper, 2005
Beverly Cleary raised a set
of twins, so she knows the breed well. Couple that with
her witty insight to the workings of family life and you’ve
got everything that makes this collection of four stories
work so well. Jimmy and Janet are four-year-olds with two
distinct approaches to things like dog biscuits, new boots,
holes in the ground, and personal possessions. Originally
separate picture books, these four tales work perfectly
in the short novel category for preschoolers.
The
Water Horse
by Dick King-Smith K-2 120
pages Dell Yearling, 2001
When eight-year-old Kirstie
and her five-year-old brother Angus discover a purse-size
object washed up on the Scottish coast after a storm, they
thinks it's some kind of egg and needs to be saved in the
bathtub. Their guess is more than correct. With the head
and neck that look somewhat like a horse's, the body of
a turtle, and the tail of a crocodile, the creature is
about the size of a newborn kitten. But it won't stay that
size for long. What they have inadvertently hatched is
the future Loch Ness monster.
Dick King-Smith, author of the popular Babe: the Gallant
Pig, gives us not a monster story here but an affectionate
look at what might have been if there really was a Loch
Ness monster and if it had been raised by two affectionate
children, a cooperative mom, a seafaring father, and
a once grumpy but now knowledgeable grandfather. Each
short chapter deals with the increasing challenges faced
by the family as the creature grows larger, requires
increasing amounts of food, and needs to learn that not
all people are its friends. But how to train a "monster"?
Also by the author: Stray; and Babe the
Gallant Pig.
The 2007 Walden Media movie does
not stay very faithful to the book's plot but it does catch
the feel of the original story before taking it
to new places—which doesn't make it either a bad
thing or a bad movie. It's just a different story. The
movie is based upon about five percent of the book — which
means the book is preserved from being spoiled by the movie.
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Novels: p.1 p.2 p.3 p.4 |
Anthologies: p.1 |
Fairy
& Folk Tales : p.1 |
Poetry: p.1 |
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