Between Little Bear and Magic Tree House?

[Tress]

I'm looking for some books on a level between Little Bear and Magic Tree House. English is a foreign language to us, so I'm not really familiar with these early books. I'm quiet sure that my dd would love the Magic Tree House books, I have one here already, but at the moment it still looks to intimidating to her, to much words on one page, not enough illustrations. Her vocabulary is still limited.

 

My dd likes adventurous books, children solving crimes, and she is in love with Narnia (we read that in Dutch).

 

I need to buy these books, so I would be very grateful for a list of popular/not to be missed titles.

 

Thanks.

[sagira]

Hallo, Tess. Hoe gaat het? :)

 

I would recommend Nate the Great ( a detective series), Amelia Bedelia, and the Frog and Toad series by A Lobel. Owl at Home is another one.

 

Hope this helps.

[Ali in OR]

Nate the Great was the bridge between readers and chapter books for us. And it has that mystery solving element you're looking for.

[sncstraub]

The High-Rise Private Eyes series by Cynthia Rylant are I Can Read level 2 books (I'm not sure exactly what level Little Bear is, so these may be on the easier side), but they do have the mystery element to them.

 

My boys loved them, although that was me reading to them. I should get some of them from the library again as I'm sure ds6 who can read now would enjoy reading them himself.

[FlutterbyMommy]

I second Frog & Toad and Amelia Bedelia.

 

Here is a link to some other good classics...

http://www.kidsreads.com/lists/beg-classic.asp

[daisychics]

The High-Rise Private Eyes series by Cynthia Rylant are I Can Read level 2 books (I'm not sure exactly what level Little Bear is, so these may be on the easier side), but they do have the mystery element to them.

 

There are only 8 that I know of but my daughter loved these. I started reading it out loud and then she asked if she could read some. We also like Young Cam Jansen - then we'll eventually move on to Cam Jansen.

[daisychics]

I second Frog & Toad and Amelia Bedelia.

 

Here is a link to some other good classics...

http://www.kidsreads.com/lists/beg-classic.asp

 

 

OH! Thanks for the link!!!

[robsiew]

In addition to those listed Henry and Mudge are good... they are kind of an easy "chapter" book.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I second Frog & Toad and Amelia Bedelia.

 

Here is a link to some other good classics...

http://www.kidsreads.com/lists/beg-classic.asp

 

Frog & Toad books are lovely. We have a version that has all the stories from three of the books.

 

Henry and Mudge has 3-4 chapters. Some books have unrelated stories on a theme like spring or summer. But most of them tell a story like how they built a snowman or had a birthday party.

 

Mr. Putter and Tabby is also by Cynthia Rylant and is very good.

 

Be careful with Amelia Bedelia. The plot of the stories is that Amelia is a maid who takes everything she is told literally. So when she dusts the tables, she puts dust onto them. When she is told to draw the curtains, she sits down and makes a sketch (instead of closing them, which is what drawing a curtain means). Since English isn't your first language, you might find them quite funny or you might find that you are both scratching your heads trying to figure out what the point of the story is.

 

Billy and Blaze by C. W. Anderson and the Francis books by Russell Hoban are picture books that have a long story. They are good bridge books to chapter books.

 

DK has a series of readers that are also a nice bridge to chapter books. Level 3 and 4 tend to have chapters where each chapter is a story on a theme (horses, the Antarctic, volcanos). I would stay away from the readers that are based on Star Wars, since so many of the character names don't follow phonetic rules. These were hard for my kids to read, and they aren't dealing with a second language.

 

You might even be able to find some of the DK books in Dutch. I think that a few of the readers were available in German when we lived overseas. You could also get some of the big DK Eyewitness books. They are available in several languages, so you could read a page in both Dutch and English. (Eyewitness books were Sehen Staunen Wissen books in German.)

[LibraryLover]

Milly, Molly, Mandy

The Children of Noisy Village

[Tress]

Thank you all!!!

 

I have added your recommendations to my bookdepository wishlist. I think we will start with Nate the Great, but the other books also sound wonderful.

 

Sebastian, thanks for the heads up about Amelia Bedelia, that sort of wordplay might be a bit too advanced for now.

 

Sagira, alles gaat prima hier! Hoe gaat het met jou?

Ik had geen idee dat je Nederlands sprak/schreef. Groetjes.

[Tracy]

In addition to those listed Henry and Mudge are good... they are kind of an easy "chapter" book.

 

And the Annie and Snowball series is the "girl version." (Annie is Henry's cousin who lives across the street, and Snowball is her rabbit.) My dd likes both series.

 

Also,

The Littles (series)

Chewie Louie

Dr. Seuss books

Froggy Gets Dressed (series)

Madeline (series)

 

You might also consider the You Read to Me, I'll Read to You series and the We Both Read series, in which the child reads a part, and the adult reads a part.

[Tress]

You might also consider the You Read to Me, I'll Read to You series and the We Both Read series, in which the child reads a part, and the adult reads a part.

 

I have never heard of these, sound like a nice idea, off to look at Amazon :auto:. Your other titles I have added to the list, thanks!

[Carol in Cal.]

...Frog and Toad.

 

Also, the more difficult Dr. Suess books would be great for this stage. These include "Horton Hears a Who," "The Sneetches," "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins," and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

 

If you have SOTW1's AG, the recommended IR books fit nicely into this niche as well.

[Tress]

...Frog and Toad.

 

Also, the more difficult Dr. Suess books would be great for this stage. These include "Horton Hears a Who," "The Sneetches," "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins," and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

 

If you have SOTW1's AG, the recommended IR books fit nicely into this niche as well.

 

Adding to the list :001_smile:.

 

Carol, I have the AG for SOTW1, we are not using SOTW ..yet. When you say 'IR books' you mean independent reading books? I would never have thought to use the AG as a reading list. I have paged through it more for the creative projects, because I always assume that I can't use those books because I do not have access to an American library :(, but now I'm buying books I might as well combine it with history. Cool idea. Thanks.

[sagira]

Thank you all!!!

 

Sebastian, thanks for the heads up about Amelia Bedelia, that sort of wordplay might be a bit too advanced for now.

 

Sagira, alles gaat prima hier! Hoe gaat het met jou?

Ik had geen idee dat je Nederlands sprak/schreef. Groetjes.

 

I didn't think about the word play in Amelia Bedelia at all. I was merely thinking about the level. Oops. My son didn't get a lot of the jokes either, but I explained them to him and he learned to appreciate them and reread it many times. English is his native language, but despite himself he understands a lot of Papiamento.

 

Hier gaat het ook prima! Sinds ik van VWO ben geslaagd 13 jaren geleden heb ik Nederlands niet geoefend.

 

I was so happy to see that Thea Beckman's Kruistocht in Spijkerbroek, or in English Crusade in Jeans, was made into a movie! This was my favorite book growing up! :)

[Tress]

Hier gaat het ook prima! Sinds ik van VWO ben geslaagd 13 jaren geleden heb ik Nederlands niet geoefend.

 

I was so happy to see that Thea Beckman's Kruistocht in Spijkerbroek, or in English Crusade in Jeans, was made into a movie! This was my favorite book growing up! :)

 

Ondanks 13 jaar niet oefenen, gaat het nog prima!

Papiamento....uhm, is dat Suriname of Nederlandse Antillen? :blushing:

I should know this...but...I have not slept really well..yes,that is it :D .

 

Kruistocht in Spijkerbroek is great! All Thea Beckmans books are great, her history novels, but I also have fond memories of her Thule series (women dominated society after some sort of world disaster).

[sagira]

Aruba :)

 

I loved De Gouden Dolk too, en Het Rad van Fortuin. Ah, memories.

[Tress]

Aruba! I should have known.... :blushing:

 

I can't remember De Gouden Dolk, but Rad van Fortuin...I remember the title, but have no recollection of the story.

 

Can't wait until my daughter can read these kind of books! She probably could now as far as her technical reading ability, but she is not ready emotionally.

[celticmom]

Another series that I remember from my childhood is Encyclopedia Brown. The Bobsey twins books are long but fairly easy. They might be a good early chapter book when you are ready for that stage.

[Carol in Cal.]

Adding to the list :001_smile:.

 

Carol, I have the AG for SOTW1, we are not using SOTW ..yet. When you say 'IR books' you mean independent reading books? I would never have thought to use the AG as a reading list. I have paged through it more for the creative projects, because I always assume that I can't use those books because I do not have access to an American library :(, but now I'm buying books I might as well combine it with history. Cool idea. Thanks.

 

Yes, IR stands for Independent Reader, and RA stands for Read Aloud in the Activity Guide. When DD was learning to read, it was really nice to occasionally skip her regular reading book in favor of a book that was a simplified version of a story that she already liked from history. The IR books recommended in the SOTW1 AG are for very early readers. SOTW2, 3, and 4 IR books are much more difficult.