Getting Kids to Read: Top Tips
for Raising Life Long Readers

As we unpack our world travel
memories and roadschooling books
while we revamp our vintage RV 

Favorite Medieval Tales
A fine book from a prolific writer of children's books, Mary Pope Osborne. Great medieval stories like "Beowulf" and "The Sword in the Stone" that brings this period more alive for a young child and opens discussions.

The Boy Who Held Back the Sea
We bought this book to prepare for the Netherlands and it is a beautiful retelling of the famous story of the little boy who held back the sea by putting his finger in the dike. The illustrations are visually stunning and done in the style of the 17th century Dutch landscape painters like Rembrandt and Vermeer. It also opens the way for discussions on the low land geography of Holland. It is skinny and portable too.

The Child's Gift of Art
This was a very smart set to bring with us as Mozart loves them and rereads them over and over. There are actually four books in this set, one each about DaVinci, Picasso, Degas and Van Gogh. In a fun, child centric way they teach a lot about the artist and their art. They are also tiny books, so great for travel. I just happened to buy these at a museum a few years before leaving, so glad I did now.

Around the World with Phineas Frog
Another fun geography puzzle book cleverly done in an entertaining fashion so kids do not even know that they are learning. Mozart loves this one and it adds to the places we have been as well as prepares her for places that we will go to. It is a skinny paperback, so great for our tight spaces too. Good for a round the world kid or any interested in geography or traveling the world.

Tatterhood and other Tales
A dazzling collection of traditional folk tales from around the world where the female central characters are strong, clever, resourceful, brave and successful. Mozart enjoys these and I enjoy knowing that she is being filled with positive images when she is reading it.

I Believe in Me
This is a beautiful and empowering book full of wonderful affirmations like "I love and care for myself", "I am one with all life" and "I turn within, and I am in peace". We have positive quality angel cards that we like to start the day with (picking one each) and Mozart likes to use this book in the same way. We often randomly pick a page without looking and use it as our affirmation for the day.

Saint George and the Dragon
This has always been my favorite read aloud book with it's beautiful words and gorgeous illustrations. Mozart has always loved it too and it is skinny and fits in with the medieval theme, so we had to bring it with us. Not surprisingly, it is a Caldecott Medal winner.

The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
Mozart has had a lot of fun with this book this past winter in Spain doing reading out loud sessions with our 11 year old neighbor who is here often on play dates. It is a large book so is only available to her in the winter. We had lots of poetry books at home, but had to trim them down and I picked this one mainly because it was edited by Jack Prelutsky who was her favorite poet when she was little.

Tales from the Odyssey
No child should take an ancient tour of the world without a copy of the Odyssey and this one by Mary Pope Osborne was just perfect for Mozart and she loved it! There are five or six small chapter books in this series and they are very portable for reading on buses or trains. We combined this with reading some of the actual poem online.