Great Read Alouds on the new MSBA List

It has been so fun getting feedback this past week from readers of all ages about the new MSBA list.  I love that so many people are passionate about both the list and the books that they were really hoping to see on the list.

Quite a few people have asked me which books I would especially recommend as read alouds, so I'd like to highlight a few here that I think will work well in the classroom or library in that capacity.  Of course, the best books for reading aloud are the ones that the reader loves the most!  So, I hope you will read the list widely and let me know which ones you are excited to share aloud.


I have a weekly lunch read aloud, and Wicked Nix by Lena Coakley is my May pick.  It's short (which is necessary for a once a week read aloud this time of the year), quirky, funny and full of the mischief of an unlikely fairy hero.  It's a perfect pick for middle elementary readers (as is Bob, another fantasy title on the 4-6 list).








Any book that starts with two brothers trading their sister for a bag of fireworks is going to be a read aloud hit.  The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon is full of rich, unpredictable characters and also questions.  I think that as students read this book, their questions about the enigmatic Styx will grow and deepen, as they try to solve the mystery of who he is, and why he acts the way he does. This is a funny story, but it's humor tinged with some real-life, well-earned sorrow.  It will lead to rich classroom conversations.






I mentioned this one in my post last week, but it's worth highlighting again.  Class Action would be a fantastic read aloud for middle grade classrooms in conjunction with a social studies unit on civics and/or the American judicial system.  This is a book that kids will beg you to keep reading, and they'll learn a great deal about how laws are made. 









These are just a few possibilities of many.  I'd love to hear about which MSBA titles you are excited to read aloud!