The summer months flew by and sitting down to read together just didn’t happen. We did listen to quite a few audiobooks while driving back and forth to the pool, but otherwise – well, we were having summer fun!

With the weather cooling down and having our school routine back in place, we’ve started reading together in the afternoons or evenings.

A few weeks into the our school year, Raiders from the Sea by Lois Walfrid Johnson was pulled out for one of the girls to use as her daily assigned reading. At first, there was a lot of whining and crying. There may have even been comments like, “This book is dumb!” or “Why do you make me read these books?”

After four chapters, the complaining stopped and a little girl disappeared into her room, curled up with a book that she just couldn’t put down. As soon as that book was finished, she begged and pleaded for us to get the four other books in the series.

She may have been a little hooked.

The other four books in the series were all ordered, and a little girl finished the series much to her delight. Now – since we own all five books in the series – it seemed only logical to read them together and find out what all the fuss was about.

Breeana O’Toole didn’t realize who it was that she rescued from drowning in the river. The term ‘Viking’ puts fear into the hearts of everyone. Bree’s peaceful family life is about to be disrupted in ways she never even fathomed.

Set around the year A.D. 1000, Raiders from the Sea follows the story of Bree and her brother Devin as they are captured by Vikings and taken from their home in Ireland – and into slavery.

*Note – contains faith-based elements

As a family, we’re about halfway into the story together. A few children are building LEGO Viking ships while we read, but everyone is listening and guessing what will happen next.

One thing that I love from reading out loud together is hearing how different children interpret a passage based on their age. We came across this one line that prompted a fun conversation – “At first, a thundercloud passed over his face.”

There was a puzzled look for a moment and then a ‘lightbulb’ moment – but just so fun to watch! Books and styles of writing give us so much to talk to our children about and to learn together.

If you’re interested in peeking at any of the books, just click on the widget below. They are available in both paperback format {around $7 each} or the entire series is less than $14 on the Kindle.

Books We’ve Previously Read Together

Here are a few other books that we’ve read together and blogged about. Click over to see our thoughts on them!

• The Mysterious Benedict Society
• Darien’s Rise {Adventures in Odyssey Passages}
• The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
• Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
• The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins

What book or books are you reading together right now?

Leave a comment and share a good read with us!

Each year our kids look forward to a summer reading challenge. We try to keep it fairly simple, but it is so much fun to put together some simple treats and surprises for the kids that they ‘earn’ as they reach different reading goals as they work through their reading challenge charts.

The older kids get ‘credit’ for reading to their siblings, and we modify rewards based on their ages and reading abilities. For example, older children can earn 3 points for a REALLY good {and thick} book, but our struggling reader can earn 2 points for a chapter book that is more than 60 pages. Our youngest gets 1 point for any book he reads out loud, or for books that are read to him.

As we work on read-alouds together, we mark off spots on our chart – any reading counts. And those audiobooks – they count too and are a great ‘rest time’ activity on a hot afternoons!

Prizes and treats are fairly simple and we set short goals too {i.e. for every 15 books read, etc…}: a pack of gum, an ice cream cone, a trip to the Dollar Tree, or a special breakfast with mom or dad. We make the prizes fun and an incentive to read!

If the kids finish the charts quickly – well, there is always time to do another round! Because we can make the prizes as simple as we want to, it typically isn’t a huge deal to do the challenge multiple times.

The reading challenge chart printables have a page for each season {because we love reading and decided to run the challenges year round} and also a modified version for younger children so they aren’t as overwhelmed. There are free downloads for the spring, summer, fall and winter months.

Looking for More Free Printables?

Be sure to visit the main printable hub that links to all of the free printables shared here on this site. Click on the button below to find a listing from A to Z.

Need Ideas for Summer Reading and Listening?

Here are a few of the paperback and audio books that our family has enjoyed immensely. What books do you recommend?