5 Children’s Series to Read Out Loud to Your Kids

It's impossible to underestimate the benefits of read-alouds on a child's development

Reading out loud to children helps develop their language skills and prepares them to suceed in school. (Oscar Wong/Getty)

Reading aloud to kids has myriad benefits. Many studies have shown, for instance, that kids who are exposed to reading before preschool are more likely to succeed in their formal education. One of the reasons for this is that they will enter school with a wider vocabulary, which will enable them to pick up on more of what the teacher says. Children whose language skills have been developed by being read to will also learn to read more easily themselves. The stronger their reading skills, the more likely they’ll graduate from high school.

Reading out loud can help older kids, too, by improving and maintaining a good attention span. It’s also an advertisement for books themselves, inspiring kids to read on their own and fostering a lifetime of love for books. If children (of all ages) don’t see their parents taking time to read by themselves or with the kids, they probably won’t value reading either. Speaking from my own experience, I gained a strong appreciation for books and a feel for the rhythm and beauty of the English language by listening to books in addition to reading them on my own.

Apart from these purely developmental advantages, we can note many other benefits of reading aloud. Good children’s literature teaches moral lessons by dramatizing the conflict between good and evil and the consequences of bad choices. Children want to know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are and what makes the difference, and stories help them understand this. As J.R.R. Tolkien wrote of children: “Far more often [than asking the question ‘Is it true?’] they have asked me: ‘Was he good? Was he wicked?’ That is, they were far more concerned to get the Right side and the Wrong side clear. For that is a question equally important in History and in Faerie.” Children develop their moral sense in part through stories.

Good literature also opens up new worlds for children to explore and puts them in closer contact with this world. Great books inspire a sense of wonder that is key to all later learning and to a full, flourishing human life. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, reading together provides the opportunity for parents and children to bond.

Here are five classic series of children’s books that will allow you to enjoy many of the fruits of reading aloud outlined above.

Beatrix Potter’s Books

There are 23 original titles in Beatrix Potter's books, each instilling an appreciation of animals and nature and a sense of grace and proportion.

Helen Beatrix Potter was an illustrator, naturalist, and writer at the beginning of the 20th century. Her series of children’s books featuring anthropomorphized animals is superb and has rightly become a classic. Her iconic characters, such as Peter Rabbit and Tom Kitten, dance across the pages because of her delightful illustrations, while their exploits often teach important lessons. The naughty animal children generally pay a price for their misbehavior.

Children’s books should be attractive and tasteful in both words and art in order to form children’s memory and imagination in accordance with the beautiful, and Beatrix Potter’s series certainly fulfills this requirement. These books will help instill an appreciation of animals and nature and a sense of grace and proportion. Even children’s literature should be ennobling in its forms and messages. We do children a disservice if we think they are incapable of being inspired—at least to a limited degree—by the good, the true, and the beautiful.

These books are suitable for ages 2 to 6. I think they’re especially good bedtime stories—my sister used to ask my dad to read “The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit” every night before bed for years when she was little. With 23 original titles in the series (and if your kids like to repeat certain ones as much as my sister did), it will take you a long time to run out.

‘Winnie the Pooh’ by A.A. Milne

A.A. Milne's "Winnie the Pooh" is an innocent story about a boy and his woodland companions.

No list of children’s books would be complete without A.A. Milne’s beloved “Winnie-the-Pooh.” The stories about a boy and his stuffed animals and woodland companions, such as Winnie-the-Pooh (a bear), Piglet (a pig), and Eeyore (a donkey), form an enchanting world for young children to visit. Many of the stories are hilarious, even to adults, though there’s also a certain innocence and vulnerability—I almost said “melancholy”—to the stories that makes them touching and more than a mere comic diversion.

The illustrations by Ernest Shepard are a must. Like Potter’s illustrations, they are simple, natural, and charming, giving so much life to the stories that it’s hard to imagine the words without the pictures. These books will appeal to children ages 3 to 7, and possibly much older. Skip (or postpone) the TV show and read the original books.

The ‘Little House’ Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The "Little House" books by Laura Ingalls Wilder are both engaging and educational, teaching children about pioneer life and American history.

Largely autobiographical, these books tell the story of Laura Ingalls as she grows up as a settler and pioneer. Children will enjoy the wide array of adventures during Laura’s childhood and young adulthood on the American frontier. Particularly fascinating are the details about homesteading and everyday life during the pioneer age: hunting, gardening, tapping trees, collecting honey, smoking meat, surviving fever, calving, fiddle playing, and so on.

The books are notable for their attention to the detail of these everyday activities, which gives them a vividness and make the series a window into history, a simpler lifestyle, and the achievements of our ancestors. The mark of a good children’s book is that it holds the interest and attention of adults as well as children, and the Little House books meet that criterion—I recommend these books for readers ages 6 and up.

‘The Chronicles of Prydain’ by Lloyd Alexander

Lloyd Alexander's "The Chronicles of Prydain" is a high fantasy adventure with traditional themes of courage, love, and honor.

Inspired by Welsh mythology and folklore, “The Chronicles of Prydain” is set in the magical kingdom of Prydain, which is ruled by a high king and filled with various subkingdoms, peoples, and creatures. The stories follow Assistant Pig-Keeper Taran, who loses his charge (a magical pig) at the beginning of the first novel, “The Book of Three,” which triggers a long series of adventures involving a vivacious princess, a foolish bard, an enchantress, abductions, spells, giants, dwarfs, undead warriors, and ultimately the fate of the kingdom.

It’s high fantasy at its best and very accessible for children and teens, roughly ages 7 to 14. Traditional themes of courage, honor, and love run through the series.

‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ by C.S. Lewis

"The Chronicles of Narnia" series by C.S. Lewis is a classic fantasy story that touches on deep moral themes.

I think fairy tales are important for readers of all ages, but especially for children. That’s why the last two entries on my list are both fantasy series. Fantasy appeals particularly to the hungry imaginations of children while also awakening them to a sense of wonder and awe that will, hopefully, translate to their experience of the real world, too. Fairy tales work particularly well at embodying good and evil and their constant struggle, pointing us toward higher realities and battles that must be fought in the real world. The best fantasy incites a deep, mystery-laden longing that keeps you searching for the noble things of life.

Few series do this better than “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis. This set of seven novels tells of the travels of a group of British children between our world and the magical land of Narnia. The children play key roles in the development of Narnian history, from its creation to its apocalypse, often saving it from tyrants who seek to take it over. Narnia is a place of talking animals, mythical beasts, witches, curses, and its king, a lion named Aslan, who is both dangerous and gentle, powerful and good.

The books not only tell thrilling stories with many a battle and heroic exploit, but also touch on deep moral themes and occasionally reach a visionary height that shines a light on our own world and history, like sunlight reflected off a mirror. This series is recommended for ages 6 and up.

There are, of course, countless other classic works of children’s literature. This is just a start. But I hope the works listed here can provide many hours of healthy and enjoyable family time because of how well they lend themselves to being read aloud.