Lighting the Way Through Cycle 1: A Classical Conversations Family Read-Aloud Guide
The Cycle 1 booklist for CC is full of wonderful stories about ancient history and mythology, kings and emperors, and the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Artists and composers from the Renaissance and Baroque periods bring in some more “modern” read-alouds during this period, but everything you read you can use to light the way through story and scripture.
Why Cycle 1 is Perfect for Family Read-Alouds
Cycle 1 history covers everything from Creation to the Middle Ages. That’s a lot of years! With fascinating topics like ancient history, biology, earth science, and artists and composers, you’re sure to find some new family favorites.
All Cycles
Cycle 2 Read-Alouds
Cycle 3 Read-Alouds
How to Use this List
The most difficult part of read-alouds is figuring out which book on the CC Cycle 1 booklist to read! Whether you are looking for picture books or chapter books, you can use this list to find a few great stories. Don’t stress about reading everything. Just pick 1-2 books to start.
Books with full reviews are linked. Titles with an asterisk don’t have full reviews on the blog yet, but they do have full details in the LJR database. You can sign up for access to that (as well as updates) here.
Want to see other CC Cycle 1 Resources? Check out CC’s bookstore for Foundations Cycle 1.
Table of Contents
- History Read-Alouds
- World Cultures Read-Alouds
- Picture Book Biographies
- Greek Mythology Books for Kids
- Math Read-Alouds
- English Read-Alouds
- Grammar Read-Alouds
- Fine-Arts Read-Alouds
Cycle 1 History Read-Alouds
Young Adult Novels (Ages 12+)
Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
Middle-Grade Novels (Ages 9-12)
The Ark, the Reed, and the Fire Cloud by Jenny L. Cote
A Place in the Sun by Jill Rubalcaba
Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfield*
Tales from the Odyssey, Part 1 by Mary Pope Osborne
The Secrets of Vesuvius (The Roman Mysteries) by Caroline Lawrence*
Chapter Books (Ages 6-9)
Hour of the Olympics (Magic Tree House #16) by Mary Pope Osborne*
Dragon of the Red Dawn (Magic Tree House #37) by Mary Pope Osborne*
The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls by M.J. Thomas
Picture Books (Ages 4-9)
The Gilgamesh Trilogy by Ludmila Zeman
On Noah’s Ark by Jan Brett*
Song of Creation by Paul Goble*
Cycle 1 World Cultures Read-Alouds
Middle-Grade Novels (Ages 8 – 12)
A Little Princess by Frances Hodges Burnett*
Chapter Books (Ages 6-9)
The Big Fight by Pearl S. Buck*
Shipwrecked!: The True Adventures of a Japanese Boy by Rhoda Blumberg*
Picture Books (Ages 4 – 9)
Israel ABCs: A Picture Book About the People and Places in Israel by Holly Schroeder*
The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo*
The Elephant’s Friend and Other Tales from Ancient India by Marcia Williams*
Monkey: A Trickster Tale from India by Gerald McDermott*
The Pet Dragon: A Story about Adventure, Friendship, and Chinese Characters by Christoph Niemann*
The Silk Princess by Charles Santore*
The Very First Christians by Paul L. Maier*
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale by Verna Aardema*
Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott*
Ancient Africa (Modern Rhymes about Ancient Times) by Susan Altman*
Too Much Talk: A West African Folktale by Angela Shelf Medearis*
Cycle 1 Biographies
Picture Books (Ages 4-9)
William Carey: Bearer of Good News by Renee Meloche*
The First Marathon: The Legend of Pheidippides by Susan Reynolds*
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky*
Cleopatra by Diane Stanley*
Like what you see so far? Sign up for the LJR newsletter for access to the CC booklists and updates as they come. (And remember to check your inbox or spam for the confirmation email.)
Greek Mythology Read-Alouds for Kids
Picture Books (Ages 4 – 9)
Olympians: Great Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece by Leonard Fisher*
The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus by Aliki*
The Mighty 12: Superheroes of Greek Myth by Charles R. Smith*
Math Picture Books
Picture Books (Ages 4 – 9)
Anno’s Mystery Multiplying Jar by Mitsumasa Anno*
Mummy Math: An Adventure in Geometry by Cindy Neuschwander*
Pythagoras and the Ratios: A Math Adventure by Julie Ellis*
One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale by Demi*
Multiplying Menace: The Revenge of Rumpelstiltskin by Pam Calvert*
The Flower Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta*
Cycle 1 English Read-Alouds
Picture Books (Ages 4 – 9)
Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer*
The Turn-Around, Upside-Down Alphabet Book by Lisa Campbell Ernst*
Rhythm Rescue by Vicky Weber*
Grammar Read-Alouds for Kids
Picture Books (Ages 4 – 9)
Under, Over, By the Clover by Brian Cleary*
Behind the Mask: A Book about Prepositions by Ruth Heller*
Around the House the Fox Chased the Mouse: Adventures in Prepositions by Rick Walton*
If You Were a Preposition by Nancy Loewen*
Kites Sail High: A Book About Verbs by Ruth Heller*
Cycle 1 Science Read-Alouds
Middle-Grade Novels (Ages 9 – 12)
Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bedick*
Picture Books (Ages 4 – 9)
Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is? by Robert E. Wells*
What’s Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew? by Robert E. Wells*
From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman*
The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds: A Book About How Living Things Grow by Joanna Cole*
Zinnia’s Flower Garden by Monica Wellington*
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert*
How do flowers grow? : First Questions and Answers by Katie Daynes
How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World by Faith McNulty*
The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth by Joanna Cole*
Cycle 1 Fine Arts Read-Alouds
Middle-Grade Novels (Ages 8 – 12)
Beneath the Swirling Sky by Carolyn Leiloglou
Picture Books (Ages 4 – 9)
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson*
The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds*
Not a Box by Antoinette Portis*
Not a Stick by Antoinette Portis*
When Step Met Skip by Vicky Weber*
M is for Melody: A Music Alphabet by Kathy-jo Wargin*
A Boy Named Giotto by Paolo Guarnieri*
Mario’s Angels: A Story About the Artist Giotto by Mary Arrigan*
Albrecht Durer: Art for Children by Ernest Lloyd Raboff*
There’s more where this came from. Sign up for the LJR newsletter for access to the CC booklists and updates as they come. (And remember to check your inbox or spam for the confirmation email.)
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