Read-Alouds for a K'er?

[Tonia]

I'm trying to make a list of books I'd like to read aloud to dd next year (she will be 5 yo). I have a long list of picture books but would like some ideas for longer books. She will listen to things like Storytime and the Millers with no difficulty, so I think she is ready for short chapter books.

 

So, any ideas for chapter books that are age appropriate for a 5 yo girl?

[kalanamak]

From there we branched into Charlotte's Web, the original Pinnochio (not Disney). For audio books with a little bit of sound effect, Island of the Blue Dolphin (Tantoo Cardinal), Just So Stories read by Boris Karloff, and an old recording (well, 70's) of The Mouse and the Motorcycle. The reason I do audiobooks on the longer pieces is that if I am reading, kiddo won't do anything else, and gets restless, but if I put it on a machine, he will assemble tinkertoys or Zoobs or some such thing while happily listening. I know he is listening because he often asks me questions.

HTH

[Tami]

I'm trying to make a list of books I'd like to read aloud to dd next year (she will be 5 yo). I have a long list of picture books but would like some ideas for longer books. She will listen to things like Storytime and the Millers with no difficulty, so I think she is ready for short chapter books.

 

So, any ideas for chapter books that are age appropriate for a 5 yo girl?

 

 

Hi Tonia!

 

I know you asked for chapter books, but may I also suggest the Five in a Row Booklist? Early childhood is so fleeting, and there is such a short window of time in which these books are truly magical! For the most part, picture books have rich vocabulary and the added advantage of a built-in art imitation lesson! Unless your dd has has experienced all the wonderful picture books that no child should miss, I wouldn't rush the chapter books. If you go the chapter book route, since your child is so young. I would use them sparingly. One source would be AmblesideOnline.org Year 1.

 

This is the FIAR list from their website:

 

FIVE IN A ROW BOOK LIST

 

 

 

Volume 1:

 

The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese

Lentil by Robert McCloskey

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

A Pair of Red Clogs by Masako Matsuno

The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills

Who Owns the Sun? by Stacy Chbosky

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

The Glorious Flight by Alice and Martin Provensen

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman

Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say

Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin

Another Celebrated Dancing Bear by Gladys Scheffrin-Falk

Papa Piccolo by Carol Talley

Very Last First Time by Jan Andrews

The Clown of God by Tomie DePaola

Storm in the Night by Mary Stoltz

Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton

Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Shasha

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost (with illustrations by Susan Jeffers)

 

 

Volume 2:

 

 

The Giraffe That Walked to Paris by Nancy Milton

Three Names by Patricia MacLachlan

Wee Gillis by Munro Leaf

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert

Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Polacco

Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully

They Were Strong and Good by Alice and Robert Lawson

Babar, To Duet or Not to Duet based on characters by DeBrunhoff

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

Down, Down the Mountain by Ellis Credle

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

The Tale of Peter Rabbit written and ill. by Beatrix Potter

Mr. Gumpy's Motor Car by John Burningham

All Those Secrets of the World by Jane Yolen

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

The Little Red LIghthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde Swift

Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant

Gramma's Walk by Anna Grossnickle Hines

 

 

Volume 3:

 

 

The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco

Andy and the Circus by Ellis Credle

The Wild Horses of Sweetbriar by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock

Paul Revere's Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ill. by Ted Rand

Henry the Castaway by Mark Taylor

The Finest Horse in Town by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

Truman's Aunt Farm by Jama Kim Rattigan

The Duchess Bakes a Cake by Virginia Kahl

Andy and the Lion by James Daugherty

Daniel's Duck by Clyde Robert Bulla

Warm as Wool by Scott Russell Sanders

The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer

Climbing Kansas Mountains by George Shannon

Amber on the Mountain by Tony Johnston

Little Nino's Pizzeria by Karen Barbour

 

 

Volume 4:

 

 

Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran

The Raft by Jim LaMarche

Mailing May by Michael O. Tunnell

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

The Gullywasher by Joyce Rossi

Arabella by Wendy Orr

Higgins Bend Song and Dance by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

Cowboy Charlie by Jeanette Winter

Grass Sandals by Dawnine Spivak

Albert by Donna Jo Napoli

The Hickory Chair by Lisa Rose Fraustino

Hanna's Cold Winter by Trish Marx

The Hatmaker's Sign Retold by Candace Fleming

The Pumpkin Runner by Marsha Diane Arnold

Angelo by David Macaulay

 

 

Enjoy!

[Hazelt"nut"]

This year I read the following to my K'er not including our history studies etc.

 

The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (original)

The Cricket in Times Square

The Campout Mystery (not my pick but a pick from bookclub)

Tons of picture books of course ,she still loves them at age 6

 

Those are the ones I can remember. Sometimes its just hard to fit it in. I still have a toddler that wants bedtime stories, tons of reading with our history program etc.

[Melissa B]

We will be doing The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter and a nicely illustrated version of Anderson's fairy tales along with a large assortment of picture books.

[prairiegirl]

I usually read all of the Beverly Cleary books (Henry Huggins, Ramona, Mouse and the Motorcycle) as well as the Thornton Burgess books to my K'er. I find that these books are a great intro to the world of chapter books.

[April in NC]

When my girls were in K, they enjoyed Winnie-the-Pooh, The Wizard of Oz, My Father's Dragon, and several of the Magic Tree House books. (Their favorites were probably either Pooh or The Wizard of Oz. They thought both of those books were hilarious.) They also enjoyed a lot of the FIAR books. We still mixed several picture books in with our chapter books to keep things fun and interesting.

 

It seems that many people have the impression that picture books aren't "worth it". I actually find them to be very worthwhile in terms of creating memorable impressions and developing emotional bonds and positive associations with books, partly because of the visual element, as well as the opportunity to read them more than once. We mix in both so that dc get a chance to develop their listening skills and attention span with the chapter books, as well as enjoying the visual pleasure and repetition of good picture books. One of my 7 year olds still reads "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" all the time. She saved her allowance to pay for half of the pop-up version!

 

I will say that I don't think they remember many of the chapter books we read during the K year. They served a valuable purpose in training their brains/attention spans/vocabulary and giving them things to think about, but the chapter books didn't really create a lasting memory for them. I'm glad I waited until they were a little older to share some of my favorite books with them.

 

Have fun!:001_smile:

[Laurie in VA]

Hi Tonia!

 

I know you asked for chapter books, but may I also suggest the Five in a Row Booklist?

 

ITA! We actually used FIAR for K and it was a huge, huge hit! The books are just wonderful and I can't wait to do another 36 weeks with DD#2 when she hits K-age!

 

Also AO has a good list for the K years (Called Year 0).

[KarenNC]

We used a lot of chapter books for playing in the car as we ran around town (we still do).

[Susie in MS]

I agree with the Thorton Burgess books.

http://search.store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/nsearch?follow-pro=1&vwcatalog=doverpublications&catalog=doverpublications&query=burgess

[Tami]

ITA! We actually used FIAR for K and it was a huge, huge hit! The books are just wonderful and I can't wait to do another 36 weeks with DD#2 when she hits K-age!

 

Also AO has a good list for the K years (Called Year 0).

 

Yes! The other problem I have seen is that some children do not like reading books for themselves that have already been read to them. So, reading chapter books meant for early readers aloud will mean that you have to look long and HARD to find appropriate early chapter books the child has not already read. Because of that, I save books like My Father's Dragon, Magic Tree House, and Little House books for independent reading when the child can read them for themselves. There seems to be a shortage of worthy, early chapter books, so I save them!

[Lenora in MD]

I would add the James Herriot book of animal stories. Also, Winnie the Pooh, Beatrix Potter, Classic Children's Stories, by Volland

[earthmother]

My kids loved My Father's Dragon, The Tale of Despereux, Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Magic Tree House, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, charlotte's web, stuart little, the trumpet of the swan, and my one son loved Jonathan Rand books (Michigan and American chillers). The Rand books are NOT great literature, but he taught himself to read them in kindergarten so I can't complain.

earthmother

[TheCoffeeChick]

Here is the list of books we started reading aloud to my ds, who just turned 5 this month. We typically do 1 chapter a night, but longer chapters like in Prince Caspian we took 2 nights to read and quick chapters like in Edward Tulane we did 2 or 3 a night. Since he is still young we can only read aloud from these type of chapter books for about 10 - 15 minutes before he can't sit still anymore :)

 

 

• Oct 2007: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
  
• Nov 2007: Freckle Juice by Judy Blume
  
• Nov 2007: Stuart Little by E. B. White
  
• Dec 2007: Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
  
• Jan 2008: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
  
• Jan 2008: Fudge-a-Mania by Judy Blume
  
• Feb 2008: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
  
• Mar 2008: Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis
  
• Apr 2008: Poppy by AVI

He loved Prince Caspian, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, and especially Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (the laughter was constant for this book:)).

 

Good luck with your list.

[chiguirre]

I'd look at the Sonlight PK 4/5 list. Most of these are short, but Milly Molly Mandy was a huge hit here. There are 2 volumes, SL only uses the first. Beatrix Potter books are also great and some are quite a bit longer than the average picture book.

 

If you're willing to do read-aloud combined with an activity, I'd highly recommend FIAR too. This has been the highlight of our school year and the kids have learned a lot of science and geography with very little planning time on my part.

[Didache Academy]

I spent a lot of time reading aloud to my older two when they were 6 and 4 while I would nurse their colicky baby sister. I was amazed at what they were able to sit and listen to (I think it may have been because that was the only sane part of our day at that time!) They really enjoyed:

Little House on the Prairie series

Great Illustrated Classics (they loved to look at the pictures)

Anne of Green Gables series

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series

 

I'm sure there were others, but those are the ones I can think of right now.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

Our favorites for K:

 

The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh

James Herriot's Treasury for Children

Three Tales of My Father's Dragon

Raggedy Anne Stories and Raggedy Andy Stories

The Boxcar Children

[Tonia]

You gals are wonderful! :grouphug: Thanks for such great suggestions - I am adding them to our reading list - thanks so much!

 

I know you asked for chapter books, but may I also suggest the Five in a Row Booklist?

 

We love the FIAR book lists and have many of them on our bookshelves. They are read and reread quite often. We tried using BFIAR but it wasn't really our cup of tea - is there much difference between BFIAR and the other volumes?

 

 

It seems that many people have the impression that picture books aren't "worth it". I actually find them to be very worthwhile in terms of creating memorable impressions and developing emotional bonds and positive associations with books, partly because of the visual element, as well as the opportunity to read them more than once.

 

We read lots of picture books - the librarians know us by sight and have given us our own shelf in the reserved books section because we sign out so many! :D

[asher]

We often go to this list http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000-primary.html

 

for ideas! :) Many have already been mentioned by PPs.