She dislikes her new home, but one day she finds the key to a locked and neglected garden. Everyone sees her as a selfish and rude child, but she’s also terribly lonely. Since summer is now in full swing, I would recommend adding some of these books to your summer reading lists!Īlicia can be found either reading classic literature to her three busy kids or blogging over at La Famille.“At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done-then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago.”Īfter her parents’ death, sickly ten-year-old Mary Lennox is sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle. This is a great addition because you can really get some good narrations from your kids and know that they are grasping what they’re reading.

We read Treasure Island at the end of the school year as a ‘fun read’ and my boys loved this book! You can click here to see how we used this book to delved deeper into our classic literature.Īt the end of each book is a list of discussion questions, which can be read as you go along or when you’re done with the book. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (We are reading this right now and my boys are totally digging this book!).This series is very large, featuring almost any children’s classic story you can think of…like: They are also sprinkled with illustrations here are there too, adding a visual element for younger kids listening. They’re very affordable and available in hardback and audio versions. Even though they are abridged versions, not exactly like the original, they are extremely close and very well written. They are abridged versions of TONS of classics that are very easy to read and understand for little ones.

So, I was really excited to find the “Classic Starts” series. When we first started out a couple of years ago, I wasn’t sure they would be able to comprehend what we were reading, but I was so wrong! Even my then 3-year-old would sit and listen and ask questions.Īlthough I want to incorporate more classics, a 400-page book and three little kids just doesn’t seem like the best match sometimes. So, I’ve made it my goal to once again, learn right along side my kids and read tons of classic literature. I’ve always loved to read, but I feel like I wasn’t exposed to the classics as much as I should have been as a child that went to public school. Since we’ve starting homeschooling, I’ve been so surprised at how much I learn right along with my kids.

The secret garden classic starts