Jump to content

Menu

Book Recommendations for a 5.5-6 year old?


Recommended Posts

Hello,

 

My son is 5.5 years old. We are doing lots of reading each day, but I am running out of books that are appropriate for him to actually start reading himself. We have BOB books, but he has gone through all of those. We also have completed all of the Hooked on Phonics Kindergarten books. Plus, we have a few Step into Reading books (some of those are still a little too hard right now).

 

I still want something on the very simple side of reading that he will enjoy. We are still learning lots of new words and continuing to work on our phonics as well.

 

I read the Burgess series to him right now, but we are about to finish those books up too.

 

What are some great books for him to read on his own, AND what are some great books for me to read to him right now? I am looking specifically for age appropriate books... early readers. However, I will read to him from chapter books that are appropriate too.

 

He does enjoy books with pictures, but can handle ones without pictures too (as long as they are very interesting or funny). Any and all suggestions are welcome as I am trying to put together a nice book list for us.

 

THANKS! :001_smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My six year olds are enjoying the Nate the Great, Oliver Pig, and the High-Rise Private Eyes series. Arnold Lobel is a favorite author, although the Frog and Toad books have been read aloud so much around here that my ds has little interest in reading them himself. My ds has recently gotten hooked on the Usborne Beginners books. We have Volcanos, Castles, Vikings, Reptiles, and Horses.

 

For read alouds, we read chapter books above his reading level. We're currently reading The Tale of Despereaux, and have recently finished The BFG and The Mouse and the Motorcycle. EB White is popular around here, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We really enjoyed the Nora Gaydos readers (here's an example). They are similar to BOB books, but slightly more difficult and much more fun. (I can't tell if these will be below his reading level or not, but you said you wanted simple.)

 

After we did readers, she read through quite a few I Can Read leveled readers. Danny the Dinosaur series, Morris and Borris, Frog and Toad, Amelia Bedelia.

 

Another series of books we found at the library was called Usborne First Reading. Lots of familiar fairy tales, and some simply fun stories. Here's an example of those.

 

Finally, we also went through the list of Sonlight readers. Readers 2 Regular, Intermediate, and Advanced. To see the list, click on Individual items.

 

For books to read aloud, here are some of our favorites from the past couple years:

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic (kids LOVED these, very funny)

E.B. White's books

Cricket in Times Square

Homer Price

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Shel Silverstein's poetry

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If he's not quite up to Henry and Mudge yet, Margaret Hillert has about 70 phonetically regular, limited text books for early readers that span a lot of traditional folk and fairy tales, non-fiction, and fiction. Some of hers are on Starfall in the "I'm reading" section if you want to see what they're like. They're rather boring if you have to listen to your excited child read them to you, but they do help a child feel enthusiastic about reading.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of the reader suggestions I thought of have already been mentioned, but the ones that get/got the most use here are/were:

Nora Gaydos readers

Dick and Jane books

easy Dr. Seuss like Hop on Pop and The Foot Book

Jolly Phonics readers (level 2 & up)

 

 

For read alouds some were more interest-led than others but a brief list:

My Father's Dragon

Misty of Chincoteague

Black Beauty (Ariel has a passion for horses)

A Treasury of Children's Literature (compilation of fairy tales/folktales w/pictures)

James Herriot's Treasury for Children

The Tale of Desperaux

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

The Catwings series

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles

James & the Giant Peach

poetry by Jack Prelutsky, Shel Silverstein and Robert Louis Stevenson

 

Okay, maybe not so brief, but it's not complete, either. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

These are the first 10 books my son started with:

 

1. Green Eggs and Ham (Excellent first book!!)

2. The Cat in the Hat

3. Mouse Soup

4. The Story of Ferdinand

5. Mouse Tales

6. Caps for Sale

7. Little Bear

8. Father Bear Comes Home

9. Pierre by Maurice Sendak

10. Frog and Toad are Friends

 

For non-fiction, these readers (level 1) from Barnes and Noble are wonderful! He reads these in bed at night.

Edited by Jumping In Puddles
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...