nancypants Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 My oldest (will be 8 in April) is just coming to the end of the Chronicles of Narnia. He is a very strong reader -- loves reading. So, he will continue reading Hank (and similar books) in between harder books but I am not quite sure where to direct him next. I suppose he reads at about a 5th or 6th grade level (whatever that means... but from what I can glean online that is about where he falls). What do you all think would be a good "next thing?" I would love for him to get into reading more classics but I don't want something too difficult to understand because of old English or anything. Where to next? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 I live for finding series for my 6yo voracious reader so I have a bit of a breather before having to find new books. Not classic classic, but she picked up a lot from the Freddy the Pig books (Freddy Goes to Florida is the first). Swallows and Amazons is a great series. She loved the Lang coloured Fairy Books (warning, some of these are rather gruesome) and any collection of age appropriate folktales I could find (i.e. no sex, no lurid violence). Other good series are the Green Knowe series by Boston, the Hall Family Chonicles by Langton, anything by Eleanor Estes, the Moomintroll series by Jansson. She ate up everything by Edward Eager and E. Nesbit, and too many Oz books to count. Of these, Nesbit and the Fairy Books have the most "classical" language. Treasure Island is also a big favourite. There are some great suggestions on Ambleside for classic books. I see if I can find her list of books read and get back on what other classics she really enjoyed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dominion Heather Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 If he likes Narnia, you might try Susan Cooper... Over Sea, Under Stone is the first book, followed by The Dark is Rising and others. Also try Lloyd Alexander's Prydain books. The first is The Book of Three. These are "magic books", I am assuming that you are ok with that. Oh and what about Madeline L'Engle? Or Tolkien? My guys just finished The Hobbit. Numero uno could have read it on his own, but we did it as a read aloud so that G. could enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifera Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 the Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander. It starts with The Book of Three. There are 5 books in the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeanM Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 My boys loved "The Pushcart War" by Jean Merrill and the "Story of Dr. Doolittle" by Hugh Lofting. I have to second the recommendation for the Freddy the Pig series, by Walter Brooks. There are a lot of them, which I consider a good thing, and my older son just adores them. He has read them all and re-read quite a few. A few on my up-coming list that I'm pretty sure will be hits are "Twenty One Balloons" by William Pene DuBois and "The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles" by Julie Andrews. Also, this is a great list of books: http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000.html Happy reading, Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitascool Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Some books my ds has enjoyed: Ones with Asterisk are books in a series. *The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Warner (2nd-6th grade) *Homeschool Detectives Series by John Bibee (3rd-5th grade) *Mysteries in our National Parks by Gloria Skurzynski (4th & 5th grade) *A Series of Unfortunate Events (6th & 7th grade) Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (4th & 5th grade) The American Adventure by Colleen Reece (4th grade) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L "Engle (4th grade) Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne (4th grade) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (4th grade) The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton (4th grade) The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame {Abridged} (5th grade) *Star Wars: Jedi Quest by Jude Watson(5th grade) Shiloh by Phyllis Reynold's Naylor (4th & 5th grade) Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling (5th grade) Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling {Unabridged) (5th grade) *Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (5th grade) Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray (6th grade) American Fairy Tales by L. Frank Baum (6th grade) The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (6th grade) Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers (6th grade) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Lyman Frank Baum (7th grade) Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (7th grade) Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (7th grade) Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (7th grade) *The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (7th grade) *The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling II (8th grade) The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame {Unabridged} (8th grade) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I have some Amazon lists that might be useful: http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/byauthor/AJ9YYU9EDTNHJ Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseballmom Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 My son also loved the Pushcart War and the Phantom Tollbooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 In addition to many of the books above, my daughter, who is 7.5 and about the same level, has enjoyed the Happy Hollisters series, though it is harder to find (someone has some for sale on the sale/swap board, I believe). Our library doesn't have it. He might also like Terry Pratchett's juvenile comic fanstasy series, starts with "Wee Free Men", then "Hat Full of Sky" and "Wintersmith" (read these in order) about a 9 year old girl who becomes a witch in training in the first book and her encounters with the Nac Mac Feegles ---6 inch tall "Pict-sies" in kilts, covered in blue tattoos and having Scots accents--very good and very funny. He has another, "The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents", that is a stand-alone--this one is similar to "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH". We have done these as bedtime read-alouds primarily because my husband wants to read them with her and enjoy introducing her to Terry Pratchett :). Her current passion, however, is for comics---Asterix, TinTin, Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, Foxtrot, Far Side, etc. The Paddington series is also a lot of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Country Girl Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 While they aren't exactly classics, my 6yo ds really likes the old Nancy Drew mysteries. He is currently reading The Mysterious Benedict Society and is loving it. I pre-read it before I let him go at it and I really enjoyed it as well. Thanks also to everyone else for their reading lists as well. I'm always on the lookout for good books to suggest to my son and I've written down several that were listed that I've never heard of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8mittens Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I have some Amazon lists that might be useful: http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/byauthor/AJ9YYU9EDTNHJ Laura Love those lists! I second the Freddy the Pig series. They are also great read alouds because they are fairly witty and so entertain me as well. Also, we recently read the Great Horn Spoon (a boy and his butler join the gold rush) as a read a loud. That would be a good read for your son if he wanted a break from fantasy writing. Finally, we just read a series of books featuring woodland animals--Ragweed, Poppy, Poppy and Rye and Ereth's birthday by Avi. Great books that would work for your son perhaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whybenormal Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Great thread! I'm posting so I can subscribe to it. Thanks for all the suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Someone else mentioned The Mysterious Benedict Society...he LOVED that one, too. I think the Hobbit is also a good suggestion. Cynthia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancypants Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 Thank you all for the great ideas! I really appreciate it! He finishes The Last Battle today and I think he is going to go for The Hobbit next! :D This thread has been super helpful though, so thanks a ton! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda...inOwasso Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 1. Happy Hollisters series... older, but you can find them on ebay. Must Haves!! 2. Freddy the Pig series by Walter Brooks (I read these aloud because I like them too!) 3. The Dragon Slayer's Academy series by Kate McMullan (sort of a junior version of Harry Potter) 4. Wishbone series books published by Scholastic (they follow the "classics" storylines, but star "Wishbone") 5. The Three Investigators Series (again, old but wonderful!) Enjoy!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenDV Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 My son started reading the Redwall series by Brian Jacques about that age and remains a huge fan. Here's a blog entry from when he was about that age that details almost everything he read that year: http://homeschoolblogger.com/karendv/260223/ HTH, KDV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lorna Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 'The Borrowers' by Mary Norton, and the follow up books like 'The Borrowers Afield' and 'The Borrowers Afloat'. These are stories about little people who live unknowingly in people's houses by borrowing the things that are misplaced and won't be missed, such as pins, cotton reels. You follow the story of a little girl borrower who befriends a boy human. The stories are classics and edge of your seat adventures. 'Swallows and Amazons' by Arthur Ransome. There are plenty in this series too. They are set in the Lake District, England, in a world where children get to go off sailing to their own little island and camp over night. My daughter loved 'At the Back of the North Wind', 'The Princess and the Curdie' and 'The Princess and the Goblin' at that age. I also second the Andrew Lang fairy books. They are nice and meaty and keep the wolf from the door in reading terms for a while! 'Paddington Bear' books by Michael Bond are also a great suggestion. Hugh Lofting's 'Doctor Doolittle' series is great too. I am not sure if they are still in print but they shouldn't be too hard to get second hand. If he likes funny books, our daughter found 'Professor Branestawn' books side splittingly funny at that age (as long as you don't mind being frightened by sudden shrieks of laughter). They are illustrated by W. Heath Robinson. Our two both loved the original 'Just William' series, which is actually quite fun as a read-aloud because of the silly voices of Violet-Elizabeth. Norman Juster's 'The Phantom Tollbooth' is fun if his is logically minded and likes a bit of philosophical fun. As is, of course, 'Alice in Wonderland'. Jack London's 'The Call of the Wild' and 'White Fang' were also classics that my daughter enjoyed at a young age. Consider too the Little House series. There is a lot of adventure and survival in them. I found at that age I could just give dd any of the 'Puffin Classics' and she would love them. It is worth searching Amazon by publisher sometimes. I shall probably think of many more. Happy reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Hardy Boys (and there are so many books!) Little House series. . . Huck Finn & Tom Sawyer . . . and many that have already been suggested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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