Hand That Rocks the Cradle

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If you're not into lists, don't buy this book. Hand That Rocks the Cradle is one of the longest lists you'll encounter, but it's also one of the most helpful and (if you're a list lover) most fun. What's in the list? 400 classic books to read aloud with your children. It might not be a comprehensive list, and not every title will appeal to every reader, but this is a great place to start if you're looking for great books to read and discuss as a family.

There are many reasons to read out loud. Many of the reasons author Nathaniel Bluedorn offers simply relate to literature in general, whether read aloud or not—good books teach good writing, good character, and comprehension skills. But he also suggests that reading aloud as a family is a great way to build familial bonds and memories. We'd like to add that reading aloud is a great way to teach children how to be attentive.

The books in Hand That Rocks the Cradle appeal to a variety of ages (pre-K to teens) and interests (adventure novels, historical fiction, family dramas, fantasy, etc.). There is only one list, arranged alphabetically by author, with brief synopses of the selected works as well as symbols representing suggested age-range, time and geographic setting of the story, and the book's publication date.

Titles range from classics like Charlotte's Web and Ben-Hur to lesser-knowns like Beau Geste and the true-life adventure Kon-Tiki. Each book is selected for the quality of its writing and the moral character of its content; that's not to say, however, that there aren't moral dilemmas and difficult concepts in these stories to provide fodder for excellent and wide-ranging family discussions.

Every title we carry is listed below. While we'd like to carry all of them (Hand That Rocks the Cradle is an excellent list), some of them simply aren't available or are very difficult to get. If you find one you particularly want and we don't have it, let us know and we'll do our best to bring it in. The author identifies this list as one his parents compiled during years of reading aloud; we're sure it will lead to many hours of enjoyment for your family as well, and maybe you'll find your own favorites to add.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

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Hand That Rocks the Cradle

Hand That Rocks the Cradle

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	Adam of the Road Puffin Newbery Library by Elizabeth Gray from Puffin Books Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade 1943 Newbery Medal winner in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Adventures of Jerry Muskrat Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #10 by Thornton W. Burgess from Dover Publications for 2nd-4th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $4.00 $2.50 (1 in stock)
	Bambi A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten, illustrated by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher from Charles Scribner's Sons Animal Stories: Fantasy for 4th-6th grade in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB) $29.99 $18.00 (1 in stock)
	Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $15.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Ben and Me New and Astonishing Life of Ben Franklin as Written by His Very Good Mouse Amos by Robert Lawson from Little, Brown & Company Humor/historical fiction for 2nd-5th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Blind Colt by Glen Rounds from Holiday House for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Blind Colt A World Famous Horse Story Library selection by Glen Rounds from Holiday House for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Borrowers Borrowers Series #1 by Mary Norton from Harcourt Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade 1952 Carnegie Medal in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz from Puffin Books Historical fiction for 4th-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $4.00 (3 in stock)
	Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Tasha Tudor from Simon and Schuster Poetry for 1st-5th grade in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL) $19.99 $14.50 (1 in stock)
	Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh Reissue from Aladdin Paperbacks Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-6th grade 1955 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $5.99 $3.50 (2 in stock)
	Daughter of the Mountains by Louise Rankin from Puffin Books Action/Adventure Animal for 3rd-7th Grade Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
	Ersatz Elevator Series of Unfortunate Events #6 by Lemony Snicket from HarperCollins Morbid Humor for 4th-8th grade in Clearance: Fiction (Location: ZCLE-FIC) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson, illustrated by Garth Williams from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade 1959 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
	First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $18.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes from Harcourt Realistic Animal Fiction for 2nd-5th grade 1952 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Good Master Puffin Newbery Library by Kate Seredy from Puffin Books Realistic fiction for 4th-6th grade 1936 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
	Homer Price by Robert McCloskey from Puffin Books Humor for 3rd-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	House of Sixty Fathers RUC by Meindert DeJong & Maurice Sendak from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade 1957 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.00 (2 in stock)
	Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes from Harcourt, Brace & World Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade 1945 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Just So Stories Puffin Classics by Rudyard Kipling from Puffin Books Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-6th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	King of the Wind The Story of the Godolphin Arabian by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis from Aladdin Paperbacks Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade 1949 Newbery Medal winner in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $6.39 $3.20 (1 in stock)
	Last Battle Chronicles of Narnia Book 7 by C. S. Lewis from HarperCollins Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $9.99 $5.00 (4 in stock)
	Last Battle Chronicles of Narnia Book 7 by C. S. Lewis from HarperCollins Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Little House on the Prairie (pictorial hardcover) Little House Series #2 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCrest Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Little Riders by Margaretha Shemin from HarperCollins Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Long Winter Little House Series #6 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade 1941 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $21.99 $9.50 (1 in stock)
	Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds from PaperStar Books Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade 1942 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey from Puffin Books Personification story for 3rd-7th grade 1947 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $2.50 (3 in stock)
	National Velvet by Enid Bagnold from Avon Books Realistic Fiction for 4th-7th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Old-Fashioned Girl Puffin Classics by Louisa May Alcott from Puffin Books Realistic Romantic Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Pinocchio Puffin Classics by Carlo Collodi, translated by E. Hardin and illustrated by Gioia Fiammenghi from Puffin Books Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $2.50 (2 in stock)
	Rabbit Hill Puffin Modern Classics by Robert Lawson from Puffin Books for 3rd-6th grade 1945 Newbery Medal winner in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $7.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Rascal Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North from Puffin Books Biography for 4th-8th grade 1964 Newbery Honor Book in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Soft Rain A Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears by Cornelia Cornelissen from Yearling Historical fiction for 3rd-5th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Star of Light by Patricia St. John from Moody Press Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $9.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
	Story of the Treasure Seekers Puffin Classics by E. Nesbit, illustrated by Cecil Leslie from Puffin Books Family Stories for 4th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski from HarperCollins Realistic fiction for 4th-6th grade 1946 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $9.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
	Terrible Wave by Marden Dahlstedt from Richard R. Dahlstedt the Attic in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.00 (5 in stock)
	The End Series of Unfortunate Events #13 by Lemony Snicket from HarperCollins Morbid Humor for 4th-8th grade in Clearance: Fiction (Location: ZCLE-FIC) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Thee, Hannah! by Marguerite de Angeli from Herald Press Realistic Fiction for in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $19.99 $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $9.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
	Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop from Puffin Books Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois from Puffin Books Fantasy for 4th-7th grade 1948 Newbery Medal winner in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $8.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
	Two Little Confederates by Thomas Nelson Page from Sprinkle Publications Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by James Lynch from The Folio Society Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $25.00 (1 in stock)

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