2 Inspiring Read Alouds for Kids During COVID-19
Over the past month I have seen several Facebook posts referencing an article that talks about how Isaac Newton developed calculus while he was in quarantine. These posts are meant to encourage the reader to make the most of their time at home during our current situation. They also reminded me of two books that we have read during our time at home.
Before our library closed a few weeks ago I placed a bunch of books on hold for us to read in preparation for our (now canceled) trip to Europe in May. Prior to traveling, I like to read to the kids about the places that we are going to visit so they have some idea of where we’re going beforehand. I like to think that learning a little ahead of time helps them to get more out of their visit. I know it helps me, so I’m hoping it helps them, too.
Our first stop in Europe was supposed to be London, so I checked out several books about famous people who were from London or the United Kingdom. The first book we read was Ada Lovelace, which is part of the Little People, Big Dreams series.
At age 14, Ada was sick in bed for three years, but she didn’t let it stop her from studying and teaching herself new things. Being confined to home didn’t get her down or set her back, but instead it gave her a chance to jump-start her career by taking the opportunity to learn all she could.
Her time at home actually gave her a head start which ultimately helped further her career. Later in her life she invented code for a calculator which is what our computers use today. The book about Ada Lovelace opened up some great discussions with my kids about how we could be using our time at home.
The next book I thought of was Saving the Countryside – The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit by Linda Elovitz Marshall. As a child, Beatrix Potter sketched pictures of her pet rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, and other animals that she would catch. Over the years she continued drawing her rabbit and started to personify him, and drew him wearing clothes.
Beatrix sent her sketches to a publisher and she was hired to put her sketches on holiday cards. When a young friend of hers fell ill and she wanted to do something special to cheer him up, she wrote him a letter that included an illustrated story that she had written. That story was about a mischievous rabbit, named Peter, who got himself into some trouble. She later made the story into a small book and titled it The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
In a time of need Beatrix reached out to help someone and did what she could, which was something simple, to make someone’s day a little brighter. In her time of helping someone else she ended up creating a character that is known in homes around the world. Hollywood even produced a movie of Peter Rabbit in 2018, over 100 years after the book was written.
Beatrix Potter’s desire to help cheer up a friend pushed her to take her character out of his limitation of sketches and bring him to life in a story. What a great lesson to encourage our children to be thinking about others, and what they can do to brighten someone’s day during this unsettling time.
What books can you think of that would help teach our kids valuable lessons during this time at home? Please share them in the comments below.
Looking for more suggestions for read alouds? Check out my post about The Good Thieves and why I love junior biographies.
68 Comments
Lisa Manderino
Thanks for these recommendation I will check them out!
Douglas Jasper
Looks like great choices. Our son loves reading.
Sara W
Sometimes it’s hard to find books that kids are interested, but my kids were interested in these from the start.
Tricia Snow
I loved Peter Rabbit growing up! I need to get it for my grandkids! I forgot all about it!
Sara W
It’s such a cute story! And learning about the story behind it was so neat.
Jennifer
Children learning about time management can be a challenge. I love when book spark the interest of our children and make them question stuff they normally would not think of.
Sara W
Same here. I think it’s so important to find creative ways to teach your kids to “redeem the time” rather than squander their lives away.
Bonnie
Thanks for these book suggestions. I want to look into the Ada Lovelace book more for my daughter.
Sara W
I think her story is even more inspiring for girls.
Laura Lee
I love this! I actually learned to program in a language in the Navy, called ADA – named after Ada Lovelace!
Sara W
Love this tidbit! I’ll have to share it with my kids.
Holly
Awesome stories! Thank you for the review..I’m going to get these for my grandchildren!
Sara W
They were such great books. I hope they enjoy them.
Danielle Ardizzone
Great backstory about Peter Rabbit! I never knew Potter started with drawings.
Sara W
We actually got another book to read about her too, so we could learn more about her life. It was really interesting.
Sydney Delong
These sound both incredibly interesting!! I will have to check them out
Sara W
We knew nothing about their lives beforehand and really enjoyed learning about them.
Yvette
The Ada Lovelace story is so inspiring. Looking forward the Beatrix Potter story now too! Thank you!
Sara W
They are both very inspirational women.
leeandra
Thanks for the suggestions, I’ve never heard of these books before.
Sara W
You’re welcome. We really enjoyed them.
Charlene
How timely! I grew up on Beatrix Potter because my dad loved those stories. I did not know that was how they started!
Sara W
I always find it interesting to hear the back story of famous individuals.
Linda Egeler
I have always loved Because of Winn Dixie. I think there are valuable lessons about friendship, and not judging others simply because they are different from you. Very timely now, with all of the protests in the streets.
Sara W
I’ve heard of this one but never read it. I’ll have to check it out.
Kate
Really great idea to help our kids look at the time at home in a different way. Thanks for the recommendations!
Sara W
Yes, especially when it’s a time that our kids don’t understand.
Barbara
Great ideas
Sara W
Thank you.
Suz
Loved Beatrix Potter’s drawings, and, of course, Peter the Rabbit. I’ve visited her grave in England, and her adorable little cottage–looks just like her drawings!
Sara W
Oooh that sounds like a wonderful place to visit.
Jessica
We don’t have these yet but will have to check them out, thanks for the suggestion!
Sara W
You’re welcome. Hope you enjoy them.
Lora
Sorry your trip got cancelled! hope you are able to go in the future! By then you will need new books. Great reading suggestions for making the most of the time in quarentine!
Sara W
I know! I’m probably going to end up re-reading the same books to the kids before we go to Europe next year.
Stephanie Veach
Thank you for sharing. We are always looking for new books for our kids and some are a hit and some are a miss. It is hard to decide especially with library’s closed right now.
Sara W
I totally agree. We’ve gotten a few duds from the library and it’s been disappointing. We have definitely run across some gems though too.
Jaci
Thank you for the great suggestions! Reading books is so important for kiddos!
Sara W
You’re welcome.
Erica
We love to read! We have been reading a lot more now! I will definitely check these books out!
Sara W
We’ve been doing a lot more reading over the past few months too. I’m so glad our library drive-thru has stayed open most of the past few months.
Cindy
These look like great reads. I love that you pick out related books ahead of trips. And I hope you get to take your European trip as soon as possible.
Sara W
Thank you, we hope so too.
Debbie
I think this is a great way to learn more about the places you are heading to.
Sara W
I enjoy learning about the places as much as my kids do.
Suzan | It's My Sustainable Life
Wonderful tidbits of info on the stories! Beatrix was always our favorite here.
Sara W
She has such great books and a great personal story too.
Annette
Such a great idea to build background knowledge before those trips. It certainly is disappointing your trip was postponed, but it is great to see how you made lemonade out of those lemons. Great ideas for others!
Sara W
I feel like we get more out of our travels when we know a little bit about where we’re going.
KENDRA
Fantastic books! Thanks for sharing these with us! I’m always looking for great reading material for the kiddo.
Sara W
These are two good ones!
Carrie Beaton
Great suggestions and a great way to keep your kids reading while they are out of school!
Sara W
Don’t want to fall victim to the summer slide!
Marianne
Great choices! I loved Beatrix Potter as a kid.
My kids love to read, and I try to buy them books related to our travels either beforehand, or during the trip. We found some great kid friendly books in Greece at gift shops! All related to what we had just seen. Made our suitcases heavy, but hey, definitely worth it.
Sara W
We are heading to Europe next year and I am going to try to take an extra suitcase just to bring home all of our souvenirs!
Melissa Jones
I love book recommendations
Jennifer Van Haitsma
I loved peter rabbit as a kid! And I love teaching my kids about inspirational women, so these sound great.
Sara W
Glad you found the post helpful.
Live Love Mom
What a great reading list! Thank you for the wonderful suggestions!
Sara W
You’re welcome! Enjoy!
Kelly Marie
I love that these books prompted great conversations with your kids. I will check them out.
Sara W
These are the best kinds of books!
Kristie | Girl Mom Chaos
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I really enjoyed reading the history of how Beatrix Potter came to write Peter Rabbit stories. So interesting!
Sara W
We love reading about how people became famous, and what their lives were like.
Mamie
We love read alouds. I have used them in my classroom too.
Sara W
I think I enjoy them just as much as the kids do.
Kale @ steakandkale.com
Ah, you were the smart mom. You got the books BEFORE the library closed. Our state was one of the first ones to shut down, we were literally in the MIDDLE of a move, and we didn’t have a single library book. And we are a family that easily grabs 30-40 books and reads all of them!!
I will be prepared before the next lockdown…
Sara W
First of all let’s hope there’s never another lockdown. Ha! But seriously, I’m sorry that you had to go without library books. That’s one of the things that saved my sanity during quarantine. I had a feeling our library was getting ready to shut down and put about 100 books on hold (that is our limit per card). When they opened the drive thru back up a month later I immediately started putting more books on hold. Thankfully they are waiving all fines and have temporarily waived the 100 book limit, so I think at one point we hit 255 books checked out. They are finally accepting returns, so I think we’re back down under 100. We do a lot of reading too. Hopefully you guys are settling in now and can enjoy your new library.