Have you continued reading bedtime stories to dc once they are fairly fluent readers, and if so, what books have they enjoyed?

Alice in Wonderland (and Through the Looking Glass) are definitely good read aloud - but I won't be doing them for bedtime as I have tapes of Alan Bennett reading them (along with winnie the pooh and Wind in the Willows). Brilliant. fab for the car but unfortunately my new car doesnt have casette deck so now only in DHs car.

EB, inspired by this thread I thought I would try another "chapter a night" book (rather than my usual labour-saving short poems) - I have a nice Folio Society copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, & ds & dd chose that.

It is amazing - at eight-and-a-half and just seven (but quite a sophisticated just-seven) they are exactly the right ages for it - they get all the jokes, including the subtle parodic ones, but are not too old to delight in the story too. Dd chimes in with what somebody's likely to say next (usually correctly) and the rhymes for the poems; ds is tapping his nose with secret confidence that it's all going to have been a dream (I refuse to deny or confirm this).

I am having a lovely time!

I love reading and did as a child and DS aged 8 likes to read too. i read aloud to him every night at bedtime even though hes an excellent reader. i buy books and also use the library. we currently have a few on the go! he likes the Horrid Henry books and im also part way through one of the Harry Potter books, plus he is reading The Hogfather himself!i slso buy him books that i remember as a child and loved. i spent ages searching for Green Smoke ( a dragon book)which i adored as a kid and DS loved it too.

We love readingt in our house and do read to dd1 at bedtime (5.5 years) and will do as long as she wants us to. I really enjoy it as it a good bonding/cuddling time. Read pretty much anything - Julia Donaldson books (Princdess and the Wizard) go down well as do Charlie and Lola. Have got her Pipi Longstocking for Xmas and am looking forward to reading that. Also must dig out my Moomintroll books as I think she will like those. Don't read to dd2 (18months) at bedtime as she's too figety and won't drink her milk but read at any other time of the day as she's started bringing me books.

Read to ds (7) every night. He is a fairly fluent reader as well. We just enjoy relaxing at the end of the day, snuggled with a book. He reads to me and i read to him.

Both my dds still enjoy being read to. dd1 is 11 and enjoys Jackie wilson even though she could read it herself from the age of 8. dd2 age 9 is enjoying The Butterfly Lion (lovely book) by Mike Morporgo and we have just finished all of the Enid Blyton StClare's stories (Loved them my self as a child) and are looking for the last 3 Malory towers stories. I love reading out loud myself including all the funny voices and foreign accents. You are never too old to enjoy a story read out loud. Nice to have that special time with the dcs before they go to bed

Kids can access more advanced books than their reading ability if you read to them. Once they can read its about developing understanding, vocabulary and all the emotions of story! At 34 i still enjoy a story on the radio!

My DS is 8 and loves to have a story before bed. He reads to me first and then he has a story.

Agree with the 'How to train your dragon' books.

Michael Morpurgo has some good books too. The kind of thing they can read to themselves/you or you can read to them.

Dd1 is 6 and always want to read or listen to the rainbow fairies. I find them a bit boring but she likes them.

In that case ibble ...i wholeheartedly agree..they are not presents ...so you can buy and expect loads back...

I think puddle meant that you don't feel bad about buying your DCs loads and loads?

My DS is only 2 at the mo, but think this is a great post and can't wait till we can read older books together

Why on earth should books not count as presents???????? puddle?

We read "Wind in the Willows" to the DSs recently and even I thought it was dull. I never read it as a child and I'm glad I didn't bother .

I'm reading them "The Little Prince" at the moment, which I'm enjoying far more than they are. Next on our list is "How to twist a dragon's tail", a Moomin book and then the J M Barrie "Peter Pan" (the last is only on my list,strictly speaking, but I'm going to be allowed to read it, I am, I am......)

My mum read A Little Princess to my sister and I, I think around that age. We loved it.

Yes, DD is 7 and we are reading the "Roman Mysteries" together at bedtime. She then stays up for a bit in bed and reads to herself. DS is 4 - still likes to be read to, and no doubt will for a bit longer.

still reading to my children (7, 4, 2) and they love pippi longstocking...

have read mrs pepperpot to them but kept bursting out laughing and they couldn't understand a word.

other books they've enjoyed but the eldest 'gets-it' quicker:

famous five
narnia

puddle, I sympathise with your ds tbh. The novel has been wrecked for me by the "all the fun and 10% of the words" stage adaptation I was a weasel.

Rosa, ds has looked at A Dog So Small and said, no thanks mum
Another splendid pair of verse anthologies is Seamus Heaney's Rattle Bag and School Bag, both published by Faber, and also By Heart: 100 poems to learn and remember (I think, am typing from memory here).

I'm reading the Septimus Heap, book one: Magyk to my 2 (8 and ) years old) they love it when I read to them at bed time even though they read themselves for half an hour after I've finished. They also loved the laura Ingals-Wilder books of Little house on the prairie fame which I read to them - some ofthe expressions or words used needed explaining anyway.

Rosa, it's guting when that happens isn't it? I was SO looking forward to reading wind in the willows with ds but we had to stop when he sighed "oh no there's loads more pages and pages about the blooming river"

I have just remembered that I have bought The Phoenix and the Carpet for DS for Christmas. I remember loving that, I hope he does too.

Have to say I am of those of you whose children enjoyed Tom's Midnight Garden. I got halfway through reading it to the DD's, was enjoying myself HUGELY but they were bored and eventually asked me to change to something else.
Little Philistines.

I love reading to my DSs. It is something really special to share. I am finding that now their comprehension has increased I actually enjoy the books I read out loud to them.

Michael Morpurgo books are new to me and they are fantastic. We've just read 'On a Wide, Wide Sea' and we all shed a tear or two.

We are also about to finish 'The Adventures of The Little Wooden Horse' Ursula Moray Williams. A classic from my childhood but the DSs are absolutely loving it.

I tried the Little House books but they were too scared by them (lots of wild animals and Native Americans scalping newcomers)so we'll try again in a year or so.

Mine love the Lemony Snicket books too,but after the first I find the plots a bit turgid.

I can't wait to read them books like 'Across the Barricades' and 'when Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit'. I read them by myself but would have loved to share them with my Mum or Dad.

Dd is six and still loves her bedtime story.

Recently she's been totally captivated by Finn Family Moomintroll, and she adored Tom's Midnight Garden. She's also likes Pippi Longstocking, and we're currently reading The Borrowers.

He is fantastic about doing this. I really do take my hat off to him. Even if I slag him off in every other regard .

LOL dino your DH is very reasonable. I am not fantastic on voices tbh but DS still enjoys the snuggly time. And I think it is preferable than Hey I Forgot to Say I love you for the 75th time with DD although I have a feeling that DH has hidden that one.