Read aloud book recommendations

[summers_off]

I still read aloud to my two daughters most nights before bed.  I want to keep up the tradition, but it is getting very difficult to find books that are appropriate and engaging as they get older.

Does anyone have any favorites that would be of interest to two kids ages 13 & 14 and their Mom?  I asked this question a few years ago on the old fora when they were about 7 & 8, and got a lot of terrific suggestions (especially the Bunnicula series, which we all enjoyed). 

One daughter likes mysteries and the other likes stories about horses, dogs & other animals, but we are very open to many different genres.   However, we are not big fans of sad stories or a lot of sex & violence. 

[Conjugate]

How are they on Greek myth? Check out Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief and see what you think. If you like that, there are four more books in that series, five others in another series about Greek Gods, and then a series set with Egyptian gods.

Brandon Sanderson has a nice trilogy beginning with Steelheart about a world in which superheroes come to have superpowers and then often tend to turn evil.  I thought it was okay, not great, and pretty lighthearted.

Have they read A Wrinkle In Time and its sequels?  If not, give the first one a try and see how it goes.  Then The Phantom Tollbooth by Juster is a classic that (in my opinion) is well worth reading; light and funny, but might be a little young for them.

Most of those have male protagonists; I'm trying to think of a good book with a female protagonist, and I'm sure there are several, but I'm blanking.  I'll check in again if I think of any.

Oh! The Tiffany Aching stories by Pratchett might be perfect. The first one, I think, is The Wee Free Men. Try it, and if they like it, you can get the other three(?) books in the series, and mourn the loss of Pratchett with the rest of us.

[Liquidambar]

Then The Phantom Tollbooth by Juster is a classic that (in my opinion) is well worth reading; light and funny, but might be a little young for them.

Yes, it's a little young, but it's a great read-aloud book.  So many puns!

[ab_grp]

Have they read A Wrinkle In Time and its sequels?  If not, give the first one a try and see how it goes.  Then The Phantom Tollbooth by Juster is a classic that (in my opinion) is well worth reading; light and funny, but might be a little young for them.

Most of those have male protagonists; I'm trying to think of a good book with a female protagonist, and I'm sure there are several, but I'm blanking.  I'll check in again if I think of any.

That's a great suggestion.  I think Meg counts as a protagonist! Plus, the kids in the book grow up through the series, so there is room to grow with some more complex scenarios introduced (but none of the stuff you're trying to avoid, from my recollection).  I read A Wrinkle In Time to my spouse last year, as he had not read it.  I thought it held up pretty well for me, maybe a little on the kiddie side at times, but still an interesting story with pretty vivid characters.  I read Many Winds in grad school again and still found it enthralling.

Another option if you haven't tried it is The Westing Game (Ellen Raskin).   Kind of a fun mystery.  I had to read it in school in 7th grade, so that seems pretty age appropriate.  I read it to my spouse last year, and we both enjoyed it quite a lot.  My 22yo also read it last year at my suggestion and found it entertaining.

[ergative]

13 & 14, and one likes horses and animals? Without a doubt, Tamora Pierce's Immortals series. Start with Wild Magic. If you like that, you can finish the quartet (Wolf Speaker, Emporer Mage and In the Realms of the Gods), and then move on to the rest of the Tortall books. Strictly speaking, this one is the second series chronologically, but it's the best entry for someone who likes horses and animals. It's also a good set of topics for 13-14 year-olds. There's some juvenile romance, which moves into sex as the characters age, and they have important conversations about consent and relationships that are a good model for adolescents.

[bibliothecula]

Peter Beagle's The Last Unicorn is essentially one huge prose poem and gorgeous to read out loud.

[Puget]

For the animal lover, have you gone through the James Herriot series yet? There are some very mild adult themes (drinking, PG rated romance) especially in the ones about his younger days, but nothing I think would be inappropriate.