The 15 Books I Read Aloud to My Kids in 2022

By Laura Martin

When I asked my kids what their favorite read aloud book of the year was, they unanimously picked this one! It's the sequel to another book we loved, Float, and this one absolutely lived up to its predecessor.

The series is about a summer camp for kids with RISK factors (Reoccurring Incidents of the Strange Kind). Everyone at the camp has a strange, but not actually helpful, super power - like spontaneously bursting into flames, or being partially invisible. The story is fast-paced, laugh out loud funny, and full of wild adventures. We highly recommend both books in the series!

By Betsy Bird

This was such a fun family read aloud set in 1920s Michigan. It looks like Suzy's summer is going to be full of nothing but chores on her family's farm until she follows her "lag-about" uncle to a nearby farm one morning and ends up bargaining her way into training an ornery ostrich named Gaucho to pull a surrey at the county fair.

Not only is this book charming and hilarious, I loved how the author seamlessly weaved in both history and ostrich facts to the story. We especially enjoyed finding out in the afterword which parts of the story were true - it will surprise you!

By Natasha Farrant

This was a charming historical fiction story set in England and France during World War I.

Sam and Ben were orphans until a kind older gentleman adopted them and raised them as his own on a narrowboat docked in an English village. But after Sam is injured as a soldier in the war, Ben's father leaves him behind to go visit Sam at a French field hospital. During the visit the hospital is bombed. Ben's father is found dead, but Sam is missing. Though everyone presumes Sam is also dead, Ben decides to go find out for himself. He is accompanied by a fellow orphan, Lotti, who wants to escape her cruel uncle and is hoping to solve a mystery of her own in France.

By Eugene Yelchin

This is a wonderful non-fiction memoir that reads like fiction. It's a very compelling story about what it was like growing up under the iron curtain in the Soviet Union. This is laugh-out-loud funny even as it shares a heartbreaking history.

It is an excellent read aloud!

By A.F. Steadman

We love reading aloud fantasy series together and this was an excellent beginning to what I hope ends up being a new favorite series at our house.

In this story, wild unicorns are hideous, dangerous creatures. But there is a secretive Island where a select few are chosen at the age of 13 to train to become unicorn riders.

It's a fast-paced, thrilling story set in a completely unique world. We can't wait to read more.

By Erin Entrada Kelly

I don't know how she does it, but Erin Entrada Kelly is so good at writing realistic child characters. I'm always blown away by her books!

My girls especially enjoyed this one about a class of seventh graders in a small town. It deals with bullying, self-acceptance, and ultimately the power of kindness. Well done!

By Margaret Peterson Haddix

My kids love this author and have read nearly all of her books. This one was very compelling and had interesting things to say about the power of privilege.

Max and Josie have been inseparable since they met in kindergarten. But when fifth grade ends, Josie disappears after whispering something to Max about "whatnot rules." Nobody seems concerned about Josie's disappearance but Max and he's determined to figure out what happened to her.

By Zack Loran Clark

Overall we enjoyed this book, but it was maybe just a little too weird for me by the end (but hoo boy, I could never ever have seen that ending coming).

Melanie has grown up at the Merrytrails Orphanage for Girls but she thinks it's her lucky break when a magical clockwork traveler shows up to accompany her to a witch who wants Melanie to be her apprentice. It's only after they've left the safety of the city walls that the traveler tells her that there is no witch and that he's escaped from a laboratory and needs Melanie to help hide him from the wizards out to destroy him. Cool story, very weird.

By Gary Paulsen

This is the last book Gary Paulsen wrote before he died in 2021, and since I've been a huge Gary Paulsen fan since I was a kid, I had to read this with my own kids.

It's a beautiful (although sometimes a little gruesome) book about a young boy's solitary travel through the wilderness after everyone in his community dies of cholera.

If you've enjoyed other books by Paulsen, you'll probably enjoy this too and it's all the more poignant knowing it's the last story he shared.

By Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

This was a really fun middle school mystery and we loved learning more about the history of the Nancy Drew books!

Maizy thought she knew her grandmother well, but when she finds an old photo of her grandmother and two other women in a box of vintage Nancy Drew books left at the thrift store, she's curious and wants to find out more. As she digs deeper she uncovers an intergenerational mystery and family secrets.

By Ben Guterson

This was a fun puzzle mystery! We'll probably read more in the series.

When orphan Elizabeth Somers is shipped off to the Winterhouse Hotel for the winter holiday, she quickly discovers both its charm and its mysteries. There's a magical book, some very sinister characters, and a lot of exciting secrets in this magnificent hotel. A very fun read!

By B.B. Alston

This is the second book in a series and we loved it just as much as the first one! It's a fantasy series about a magical world with a special magic academy.

I normally roll my eyes when people compare books to Harry Potter, but this is one of the few comparisons that I wholeheartedly agree with.

By Kate Milford

This is the fourth book in the Greenglass House series and I think it's my favorite so far! Aside from Hogwarts, I have never wanted to visit a fictional place as much as I want to go to Nagspeake and the Liberty of Gammerbund.

We've been reading these mysteries for a few years now. I want to zoom through the whole twisty series at once, but my kids (often wiser than me) have pushed for a slower pace because they just don't want the series to end. I'll probably devote an entire post to the series when we do finish because it's absolutely brilliant!

by Diana Wynne Jones

We've read this before, but the kids really wanted to read it again. Obviously a favorite.

When Sophie, the eldest of three daughters, is turned into an old woman by the Witch of the Waste, she has to strike a bargain with a fire demon and hope that Howl, a magician with a bad reputation, will be able to help her.

This brief description does not even begin to to do this magical story justice.

By Lauren Child

We adore Clarice Bean and always will. This was the perfect Christmas read-aloud in December. Funny, sweet, and oh so charming. I want to read it again next Christmas.