Classically Minded Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 We didn't start OPGTR until K, so we will finish it this month mid-1st grade year. She has also read about 150 readers since K. She is ready for the big books - i.e. chapter books. What are some of the MUST reads that you would recommend for a 1st grader? Not asking for a huge list, just a few that she can read between now and 2nd grade. She has "fun" books for the evening as those are easy to pick out - I'm looking for the books that would count towards the 20-30m reading slot during our school day. Thank in advance! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_JWM Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Probably because we're currently reading one at our house, B is for Betsy and the other Betsy books by Caroline Haywood come to mind. They're sweet, funny, and have a nicely-sized font that's not so big that it screams "BABYISH!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classically Minded Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Anyone else :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 How about Winnie the Pooh and poetry by A.A. Milne? Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little Magic Treehouse books. These are good as they incorporate history. My dd retained a lot of what she learned from these. You could use this list for some more ideas: http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I just asked about chapter books recently for my first grader (reads around a 4th grade level, but needs work on reading stamina) and got a lot of great suggestions, many of them coming off the Sonlight readers' list. You might check that out. The 2nd grade intermediate list has "easy chapter books" on it. My son just finished Tornado by Betsy Byars, and he started The Chalk Box Kid by Clyde Robert Bulla. You can look at he first grade list and the earlier second grade list to get more ideas, depending on where your child is. I found those lists *very* helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gratia271 Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 In addition to AA Milne, Beatrix Potter selections were some of our favorites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeldaRules Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Chronicles of Narnia. We will be starting book 3 here soon. Great series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Seconding Charlotte's Web and The Complete Winnie the Pooh. Expressing caution about The Magic Treehouse - they're excellent beginning chapter books for independent reading - they'll bore you as the reader... though they tie in nicely with history and can be high interest, so... just a warning. In general, my advice is to be careful about reading aloud those early chapter books, at least too much. They're fun and I read aloud some of them, but I'm aware now that the ones I did are now sort of off limits somehow to my kid who is beginning to read chapter books - as if I ruined them for it. D'oh. Live and learn. Many people like to start with the My Father's Dragon series and that's a good one. I really like The Jamie and Angus Stories by Penny Dale. The third volume just came out a few months ago and I think they may be the perfect first read aloud - very gentle stories about a boy and his stuffed sheep. Once you've done a few, I think you'll find that there are lots of possibilities. Here's a few thoughts for other books to try... The BFG by Roald Dahl (or anything else...) The 21 Balloons by William Pene du Bois Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Mr. Popper's Penguins Babe - or nearly anything else by Dick King-Smith You said not a long list, so I'll stop there :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyz Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Well my reading K'er is a boy so yours may not be as interested in the same books. However, my guy likes to read Nate The Great, My Father's Dragon, The Littles and Mr. Popper's Penguins. I've also found it helpful to get the audio book versions and let him follow along with the book. It allows him to gain some confidence with reading it and then eventually he moves on to reading it on his own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinswife Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I found this book at my library and loved it because it lists the book by ages and gives a description of each book. Title1001 children's books you must read before you grow up / general editor, Julia Eccleshare ; preface by Quentin Blake. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlcc Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 The Cam Jansen mystery series by David Adler would most likely interest your little girl. Also, Peggy Parish's Amelia Bedelia series and the Liza, Bill and Jed mystery series. The Courage of Sarah Noble, Sarah Plain and Tall, Next Spring an Oriole, and The White Stallion are excellent too. My son is reading Animal Adventures by Laura Ingalls Wilder for his school reader and is reading ahead in it even though he says he doesn't enjoy Little House books. :lol: I second the suggestions for Tornado, Chalk Box Kid, The Littles and My Father's Dragon ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeldaRules Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 The Cam Jansen mystery series by David Adler would most likely interest your little girl.Also, Peggy Parish's Amelia Bedelia series and the Liza, Bill and Jed mystery series. The Courage of Sarah Noble, Sarah Plain and Tall, Next Spring an Oriole, and The White Stallion are excellent too. My son is reading Animal Adventures by Laura Ingalls Wilder for his school reader and is reading ahead in it even though he says he doesn't enjoy Little House books. :lol: I second the suggestions for Tornado, Chalk Box Kid, The Littles and My Father's Dragon ... I tried reading "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder to my son and it didn't last long. He got pretty bored. I'll save that for my girl when she is old enough to sit there and listen to it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Boxcar Children, and another vote for My Father's Dragon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarrieF Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Didn't get a chance to read all the posts, so sorry if this is a repeat . . . Even if you are not a Sonlight "person" I think their choices for readers are really good, so you could just look at their catalog and use it as a checklist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the4Rs Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I have a huge list I have compiled from various resources with varying levels of difficulty for my first grader who also finished OPGTR. It is quite long so if you'd be interested, please pm me and I'll get it to you. Don't want to clog this post with my list. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 When my oldest daughter was younger she had a lot of favorite books and series of books. Here's some that I can remember: The Boxcar Children, Encyclopedia Brown, Saddle Club, Animal Ark, The Littles. Two books written by Julie Andrews Edwards (the actress) that she loved: The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles and Mandy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Since you are ClassicallyMinded, I am going to recommend only classics. :) Of those already recommended, Charlotte's Web Stuart Little "B" is for Betsy Mrs. Piggle Wiggle Mr. Popper's Penguins The Courage of Sarah Noble Winnie the Pooh I would add: Betsy-Tacy Owls in the Family The Hundred Dresses In Grandma's Attic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammaofbean Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 we like a lot of what has been listed, here are more, not "must-read" but not junk: the whipping boy saint george and the dragon abel's island misty of chincoteague ribsy ellen tebbits the mouse and the motorcycle homer price rascal not classic, but not too bad: american girl novels my america books books by bruce colville (he has fantasy books for many reading levels) childhood of famous americans biographies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 (edited) . Edited July 12, 2022 by SilverMoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 It looks like people are recommending a mix of readers and read-alouds. Which are you looking for, or are you looking for both? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A home for their hearts Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Some just off the top of my head Amelia Bedelia Henry and Mudge Frog and Toad The Berenstain Bears chapter books My dd has really loved the fairy magic books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classically Minded Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 It looks like people are recommending a mix of readers and read-alouds. Which are you looking for, or are you looking for both? I'm looking for books she can read on her own for the 20-30m reading time in the morning, not read-alouds. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classically Minded Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 I'm wondering as I'm looking through your replies if they are "fun" books because most of them seem like they would count in the evening time reading that SWB talked about in the WTM. What I'm looking for is some must reads for the school-time 20-30m challenging reading. I looked yesterday in TWTM and found a list in the reading section for 1st Grade and she is recommending these for that reading time: Trojan Horse - DK beginner reader The Odyssey - McCaughrean The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus - Aliki Pandora - Burleigh Atalanta's Race: A Greek Myth - Climo D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths King Midas: The Golden Touch - Demi Pegasus - Mayer Myths and Legends - Verniero Favorite Greek Myths - Osborne Aesop's Fables and on and on........ So, this is how I understand it: books like Amelia Bedalia, Winnie the Pooh and all of those would count as FUN books right? Or do I have this wrong? And then the school-time reading slot should be books relating to myths, legends, and ancient history related like the above list. Thanks for all the replies!! WOW, lots of rec's just have to figure out what is fun books and what is the challenging morning reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I personally don't have *just* history books in my school time reading for my son. I have some history and science books in there, but I'm picking books that are going to encourage reading, because I think that's more important at this stage than history reading. Now if the history books encourage reading, great! But I really expect a lot of the history books to be read alouds anyway. I came across this list that I hadn't seen before. It looks like a good list: http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/easychapter.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlcc Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 If you're looking for ancient history, this book on Cleopatra is on my list. Also, Ingri and Edgar d'Aulaire have some great books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leila Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 My son enjoyed reading Henry and Mudge books Mr. Putter Series Charlotte's Web and now he is reading Little House in the Big Woods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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