Age-appropriate books for 5 yo reading at 3-4th grade level?

[Halcyon]

I am having a lot of trouble finding books that are appropriate for my 5 yo son. He has tried Magic Treehouse books, but finds some parts of them scary, and I think the sheer amt of text on the page is daunting.

 

He placed at at 3rd grade reading level in terms of sheer reading ability, but of course, he's only 5. Basically, i'd like to find him books that challenge him, but are still geared towards a younger reader. For now, he's been reading picture books that I had read aloud to his brother at this age--meaning the subject matter is appropriate but the words were beyond his brother at that age. But he's been asking me to to find chapter books that would appeal to him. He has read some of the Step Into Reading 4-5 level books. He enjoys The Littles as well. Any other sweet chapter books without text-dense pages that might appeal to him?

[Halcyon]

sorry double post!!!

[Snickerdoodle]

Someone recommended Astrid Lindgren's Emil books and they are quite funny. Maybe too wordy? Worth a try.

[zaichiki]

Beverly Cleary has a series about a boy named Henry that is great. (Don't forget Ribsy, the book about his dog.)She has a few books about a mouse named Ralph that are equally fun.

 

Edward Eager's books are great: Half Magic is the first one.

 

McBroom's Wonderful One-Acre Farm was a huge hit here, even years after ds was reading at that grade level. It's just so FUNNY!

 

Hank the Cowdog and Encyclopedia Brown are both good series, I think.

 

Clyde Bulla has written a ton of good stuff for that reading level that is also good for the younger, more innocent crowd.

 

When my ds was that age, he enjoyed reading many of the read alouds from Sonlight's Cores K, 1, and 2. Check out their website: http://www.sonlight.com/read-alouds-k.html

 

There is a lot out there, but you have to wade through the more recent series that are, IMO, more like candy. I have found that books published 40+ years ago are often good for the younger set: they're both more substantial (better writing) and more innocent.

 

Have fuN!

[MaMa2005]

Try this site - http://www.pacinfo.com/~handley/orsig/index.html

 

You can select either reading level or interest level. Either way, there are a lot of good books listed.

 

There are also some excellent books here - http://charlottemasoneducation.wordpress.com/2007/05/30/literature-by-grade/

[EKS]

Picture books meant to be read by adults to children are wonderful for that stage. The text is age appropriate but more difficult to read, and kids that age love the pictures.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

My oldest is in a similar place. She has just started reading longer chapter books. Her favorite books to read, however, are about science. In addition to chapter books you could find non-fiction books for him on topics of interest.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

Picture books meant to be read by adults to children are wonderful for that stage. The text is age appropriate but more difficult to read, and kids that age love the pictures.

 

I agree. My just-turned-six little boy is preferring these right now. He's reading Sonlight Core P3/4 for his free reading time.

 

He loves the artwork, and there are fewer words on each page.

[charlestonmom03]

When my oldest son was 5 he loved reading all of the Thorton Burgess books (The Adventures of Buster Bear, etc.). Dover publishes these and we bought all of them, he has read them over and over. I think you can get them on Amazon with the 4 for the price of 3 deal that they frequently run. My 2nd boy loves to listen to these (he is 5 now) but he isn't quite at this reading level yet. With my oldest, we would take turns reading paragraphs aloud to each other. The chapters are very short.

[sunriseiz]

When my oldest son was 5 he loved reading all of the Thorton Burgess books (The Adventures of Buster Bear, etc.). Dover publishes these and we bought all of them, he has read them over and over. I think you can get them on Amazon with the 4 for the price of 3 deal that they frequently run. My 2nd boy loves to listen to these (he is 5 now) but he isn't quite at this reading level yet. With my oldest, we would take turns reading paragraphs aloud to each other. The chapters are very short.

 

The Thorton Burgess books are lots of fun and unique. DD loved (still does!) the Boxcar Children at that age. You might also try, Cam Jansen (mysteries), Encyclopedia Brown, Jigsaw Jones (mysteries), A-Z Mysteries (see a theme?) or Stuart Little.

 

Our librarians were exceptionally helpful in finding books at DD's reading level that were appropriate for her age. We have just about exhausted our librarian friends with this and are currently having more trouble again. Anyway, the other thing I've been doing is to look for books appropriate as read alouds for her reading level and back-tracking to see if they are ok content-wise for her age.

 

Best wishes!

[ShutterBug]

I am having a lot of trouble finding books that are appropriate for my 5 yo son. He has tried Magic Treehouse books, but finds some parts of them scary, and I think the sheer amt of text on the page is daunting.

 

 

 

 

Magic Treehouse books are geared for the 1st to 2nd grade crowd and are about as light as you can get in regards to chapter books (both in content and amount of text per page). The next step down would be the leveled readers such as Frog and Toad. Nate the Great are also a lot of fun with lots of pictures and not much text per page :) .

[naturegirl7]

We are in a similiar situation with our DS - he is just barely 5 but reading on atleast a 4th grade level...if not higher (he enjoys daddy's A&P books but the writing is so small he gets frustrated after a while)

 

Finding something that is enjoyable for him and "not a baby book" (as DS would say) at the same time - it is truly daunting!

 

Magic School Bus books and especially the MSB chapter books are a HUGE hit here.

We also like the Magic Tree House books. Especially the MTH Research Guides - have you tried the Guides yet? They are sooo informational! Those are all books that DS picks to read on his own whenhe is looking for something easy.

 

Shared reading - Mouse and the Motorcyle is pretty tame and funny. But again smallish print...good for you to read with or to him though.

 

Did you try any of the small chapter books - the really thin ones 'Steps into reading" or whatever they are called? They have ones on animals, a funny phonics mouse one, Buscuit the puppy, etc. They are cute and quite mellow. Larger print and not much per page. We used those when DS was just started to read chapter books on his own last year. They sell them at all the major bookstores and at target.

[Snickerdoodle]

Jenny and the Cat Club was also a huge hit here at one time. Highly recommend.

[Annie Laurie]

This was my son when he was 5, he's now 6 and reading at about 5th grade level, so unfortunately, this seems to be a long-term search with early readers.

 

He liked the Littles series, and Andrew Lost. (Andrew Lost may be considered too fluffy for some, so maybe take a look at it first. But it kept my son busy for awhile and as a science lover, it was fun for him). He liked Hank the Cowdog until one scared him, so we haven't revisited those yet. The SL 2 regular and 2 intermediate readers might be something you'll want to look at and see if you can find some at the library.

 

My son likes non-fiction just as well as fiction, so we have also gotten a lot of use out of his Discover Kids mag subscription, and he reads his sister's Ranger Rick. He also loves books like the Usborne Time Traveler.

[TaraHen]

I second or third the nonfiction suggestion. My 5 year old (who's also an advanced reader) loves nonfiction right now-- prefers it to fiction (though I suppose he prefers nonfiction, anyway). My dd, 10, was in the same boat at 5, though. She really enjoyed biographies--written for kids a bit older, but perhaps b/c they're fact based they gave her enough to chew on without content that felt too mature. I'll list some books I remember one or both of them enjoying, but I'm in the middle of an extreme homeschool room makeover right now and almost all of our books are in boxes, so I can't look them over to see how good a fit they'd be for you. Guessing some of these will be below the level you're looking for, some maybe above.

 

Mr. Putter and Tabby

Amelia Bedelia

Catwings

Mr Popper's Penguins

Mrs Piggle Wiggle

My Father's Dragon

 

also, dd loved some of the Usborne books-- large type/illustrations: like Stories from Around the World, Greek Myths, etc. They also put out some thin paperbacks for young readers that might fit the bill-- really wish I could remember some of the titles...

 

And she loved Aesop's, Just So Stories, etc.

 

Little guy LOVES the Magic School Bus books. And things like: G is for Googol. Q is for Quark.

 

I agree with the suggestion to seek out picture books meant to be read by adults, too. Some in not so distant past: The Incredible Book Eating Boy, Do Unto Otters, Jan Brett books, Frances books (Bread and Jam for Frances).

 

There were loads and loads of picture-story books out when we were younger-- we have all of dh's from the book club he was in as a kid, such as:

Little Bear, Frog and Toad, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, The Magic Pot, The Fire Cat, Hester the Jester, etc. etc.

 

Reading books at all different levels is pretty normal. For mine, the books all seemed to fit some need: whether it was just for pleasure, or challenge/further development, developing fluency (usu a bit below challenge level), etc. Also, some 5 year old advanced readers need bigger or less print b/c their physical ability to read chapter books lags behind their actual reading level. And some, like mine, are also highly sensitive and bothered by content (sometimes even content that others her age are ready for).

 

We keep out house stocked with lots of books, on lots of topics, in lots of genres, at lots of levels--- at all times (used bookstores where you can swap for credit are great for this). We're all like walking collections of miscellany. And my maniac kids read the weirdest stuff. The history of snowmen. Cookbooks-- my kids both LOVE to read cookbooks!

 

Also, for free, or random/weird/old etc reading, you can find loads of public domain texts online for download. I just (accidentally) found Hodgson Burnett's Little Lord Fauntleroy... you can start here: http://www.archive.org/index.php

 

The good thing about this is you can adjust font/print size if your young reader needs it bigger...

 

The early/advanced reader thing does present a challenge for a while, but it works itself out eventually :)

 

 

Tara

[kathkath]

When my oldest son was 5 he loved reading all of the Thorton Burgess books (The Adventures of Buster Bear, etc.). Dover publishes these and we bought all of them, he has read them over and over. I think you can get them on Amazon with the 4 for the price of 3 deal that they frequently run. My 2nd boy loves to listen to these (he is 5 now) but he isn't quite at this reading level yet. With my oldest, we would take turns reading paragraphs aloud to each other. The chapters are very short.

 

I was going to say this too. If the text size bothers him you can always find it free on the gutenberg site as a public domain document. Then format it how you like it and print it out. I know it's not a *book* that way. There are also audio files on librivox so he could read as he listened. FREE!

[Dinsfamily]

The Christian Liberty Nature Readers are great too. I bought the whole set. The K one is supposed to be a read-loud, but perfect for my 6yo reading at a 4th grade level. The others aren't graded by typical standards so I'd recommend starting at the beginning.

[Heidi]

The Christian Liberty Nature Readers are great too. I bought the whole set. The K one is supposed to be a read-loud, but perfect for my 6yo reading at a 4th grade level. The others aren't graded by typical standards so I'd recommend starting at the beginning.

 

:iagree: I was just going to recommend these! My dd6 is reading reader 2. I ask her to read a paragraph, then tell me what it's about (narration CM style). If she can't, then I have her read it again. We read the whole chapter this way. It's perfect for comprehension! She's learning to listen to the story as she reads. It really stretches her, but it's not above her ability.

 

I also have her read about 6 verses in the scriptures. She's doing great!

[crazyforlatin]

We're having the same "problem" here with DD5. These are probably fluffy books (in fact they are), but it keeps her busy and she loves these:

 

Secrets of the Droon

Beast Quest

Geronimo Stilton

 

These are about 2nd-3rd grade level. She finished all of the Magic Tree House books last month, so I had to find another series. She started the Time Warp Trio series, which is similar to Magic Tree House but a grade level higher. Even though the Scholastic books are not classic in any sense, these books got DD to read very quickly. She's able to go back and forth between good books and these fluffy books.

 

Good books that she has read in the last few months were:

 

Charlotte's Web

Stuart Little

Trumpet of the Swan

Little Bo

Little Bo in France

Paddington series

Tales from the Odyssey (Osborne)

Greek Myths (Osborne)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Paddle-to-the-Sea

Harry Potter books 1, 2, and 3

Burgess books

 

Another "problem" with an advanced reader is that the books are read through rather quickly (comprehension is another issue), so I'm always on the hunt for new books each week. With Scholastic books, I have to borrow about 25 each time to make sure she has enough to read throughout the week. At the rate we're going, I'm afraid I won't be able to find anymore age-appropriate Scholastic books.

 

Oh yes, I just remembered I have another series I can borrow for the next month - Hank the Cowdog.

Edited August 18, 2010 by crazyforlatin
Added "Stilton" to Geronimo

[sunriseiz]

Another "problem" with an advanced reader is that the books are read through rather quickly (comprehension is another issue), so I'm always on the hunt for new books each week. .

 

This is definitely our (my) biggest problem. I try to find series or authors that are ok and go that route just because of the sheer volume dd reads. I would love to hear some other suggestions if anyone has some. DD and I both have a 20 book limit on our library cards and if the books are short, it's just not enough! :(

[babysparkler]

A-Z Mysteries

 

:iagree:My ds loved these when he was 5.

[Dobela]

My oldest is in a similar place. She has just started reading longer chapter books. Her favorite books to read, however, are about science. In addition to chapter books you could find non-fiction books for him on topics of interest.

I was going to suggest nonfiction as well. There are lots of great history, social studies, science, how-to, biographies, and more for kids that may appeal to him. I was an advanced reader as a child and often turned to nonfiction for reading after becoming bored with age appropriate fiction.

[MissKNG]

Arthur chapter books (like the PBS show) are cute.

[Embassy]

I compiled a list of 2nd-4th grader reading books here. I designed the list for a boy, but some of those books may appeal to your daughter as well.

[Jamee]

what about Paddington Bear?

[kathkath]

This is definitely our (my) biggest problem. I try to find series or authors that are ok and go that route just because of the sheer volume dd reads. I would love to hear some other suggestions if anyone has some. DD and I both have a 20 book limit on our library cards and if the books are short, it's just not enough! :(

 

A good reminder though is that despite reading ability, children this age love repetition. Reading the same books over and over is a good thing. Just like you play with the same friend over and over, a good book is a good friend that you read over and over.

[Sasharowan]

Bobbsey Twins and The Happy Hollisters are older mysteries for kids that aren't too scary. HH is easier than BT. I usually look among the books published pre-1960 for harder material that is content appropriate.

[sunriseiz]

A good reminder though is that despite reading ability, children this age love repetition. Reading the same books over and over is a good thing. Just like you play with the same friend over and over, a good book is a good friend that you read over and over.

 

Thanks. You are absolutely right and DD does love to read the same ones over and over. We have most of the Boxcar Children, old Hardy Boys and Narnia at home, and she will go to them again and again.

[sunriseiz]

Bobbsey Twins and The Happy Hollisters are older mysteries for kids that aren't too scary. HH is easier than BT. I usually look among the books published pre-1960 for harder material that is content appropriate.

 

The HH are great. Also I remembered last night at the library about a series of mysteries by Carole Marsh that are historical fiction-ish. You can check them out here: http://www.gallopade.com/client/client_pages/carolemarshmysteries2.html

Most of the ones DD has read are from the 'Real Kids' series, but also 'Around the World'.

Edited August 17, 2010 by sunriseiz
add more info

[skaterbabs]

last year, Dot really loved reading "The Wizard of Oz" over the summer. :)

[kmacnchs]

Beverly Cleary books?

Boxcar children?

[Dolphin]

Have you tried/heard of Enid Blyton? She is known throughout the world, other than America. She does books at all ages, really mild adventures. I would recommend The Secret Seven series, they are really good, and my soon was reading them in 1st grade. (He is now going into 3rd grade with a 7th grade reading level)

[weddell]

Thanks for these lists! My dd (turning 5 next week!) has just breezed through both the Nate the Great and Cam Jansen series. I can't believe it because just 1 or 2 months ago she was at the Henry and Mudge level and I thought it would take a little longer to get where we are now. Her reading has improved a ton in no time. She still does better with the larger text size but wants longer books. I think she can do Magic Tree House or will be able to quite soon. I'm definitely going to check out some of these suggestions.

 

Has anyone gotten their child a ebook reader? DH has a kindle and I downloaded some free things like the Thornton Burgess books and The Secret Garden. I figured when she is ready to read them, I could up the print size to make it easier to read. But I was thinking that maybe it would be easier if DD had her own. Our library has ebook downloads and it looks like a ton of older stuff is free or cheap. Plus you can adjust print size for younger readers. I don't know if it is worth it or not though.

[sunriseiz]

Has anyone gotten their child a ebook reader? DH has a kindle and I downloaded some free things like the Thornton Burgess books and The Secret Garden. I figured when she is ready to read them, I could up the print size to make it easier to read. But I was thinking that maybe it would be easier if DD had her own. Our library has ebook downloads and it looks like a ton of older stuff is free or cheap. Plus you can adjust print size for younger readers. I don't know if it is worth it or not though.

 

At the rate DD goes through books, I have sure thought about it! Haven't figured out how to justify the $$, but I keep browsing used ones just for her.

 

ETA: I don't have one yet, but would looove one! Sadly, DD probably needs it more than I do, lol!

Edited August 25, 2010 by sunriseiz
more info

[Laurel]

Has anyone gotten their child a ebook reader? DH has a kindle and I downloaded some free things like the Thornton Burgess books and The Secret Garden. I figured when she is ready to read them, I could up the print size to make it easier to read. But I was thinking that maybe it would be easier if DD had her own. Our library has ebook downloads and it looks like a ton of older stuff is free or cheap. Plus you can adjust print size for younger readers. I don't know if it is worth it or not though.

 

Not yet. But when I treat myself to a new Kindle, I'll be passing on my old one to the 7 yo. For me, it will be worth it because it's justification to buy a 3rd generation Kindle. :tongue_smilie: I've got quite a few (mostly free) books loaded on there for her - lots of fairy tales and classics - and as I plan for the new year, some of her "required" reading books will be on the Kindle.

[Halcyon]

Thanks for all these ideas. My DS5 is loving Rainbow Magic series put out by Scholastic. There are tons of them, so we'll keep going through them. Just another idea!

[psychgal]

My daughter was a HUGE fan of Magic School Bus books at that age. They have 3 different levels and the content is great (meaning very educational while being interesting) if you have a science enthusiast. I'm bummed we've gone through them all.

[skaterbabs]

Thanks for all these ideas. My DS5 is loving Rainbow Magic series put out by Scholastic. There are tons of them, so we'll keep going through them. Just another idea!

Dot loves those too - for her they helped her get over the idea that she "couldn't" read chapter books because they're "too hard" (even though she'd been reading picture books on a far higher level for ages.)

[scrapbookbuzz]

I have a 6yo who is reading chapter books and, while he does like Magic Tree House (and even Narnia!) chapter books, he's also enjoyed Magic School Bus chapter books, which are less "text dense". You might also look into the Geronimo Stilton books. The author inserts text in color and different fonts throughout making it easier to read, I think. HTH!

[Halcyon]

Dot loves those too - for her they helped her get over the idea that she "couldn't" read chapter books because they're "too hard" (even though she'd been reading picture books on a far higher level for ages.)

 

 

Do you know of any other books that are similar to this? DS loves the fairy themes, princesses, etc.

[easygoer]

I share my Kindle with DD, and I promised her about a year ago that when she was reading regularly the level of books you can get for the Kindle I would get her one. She is, now, and I'm thinking Christmas if we can (especially now that they put out the lower priced WiFi ones.)

 

The Kindle store is such a pain to browse the kids books, honestly that's one thing that's slowing me down.

 

They are nice for itty bitty readers IMHO because you can mitigate the text size/words-per-page issue, because neither are fixed. DD enjoys using mine quite a bit.

[skaterbabs]

Do you know of any other books that are similar to this? DS loves the fairy themes, princesses, etc.

 

 

Her current favorite is a series about ponies, I think it's called "Pony Pals", there is another princess series in which each princess has the name of a gemstone. Look for "The Diamond Princess", "The Emerald Princess" and so on. :001_smile:

[Halcyon]

Her current favorite is a series about ponies, I think it's called "Pony Pals", there is another princess series in which each princess has the name of a gemstone. Look for "The Diamond Princess", "The Emerald Princess" and so on. :001_smile:

 

 

Perfect! these sound right up his alley.

[mammaofbean]

Do you know of any other books that are similar to this? DS loves the fairy themes, princesses, etc.

 

the disney fairies chapter books are good also. and there is the my secret unicorn series.