cseitter Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I have a 7 year old DD, B/G twins that are 4.5 and a 3 year old. They all LOVE Charlotte's Web but I can't find any other chapter books that hold their interest. We have tried my fathers dragon, little house on the prairie( which is a favorite of mine). We read alot of picture books but I just wanted to graduate to a little more advanced book. Thanks Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amiemac78 Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 My 6 year old DS has enjoyed Mrs. Piggy Wiggle, Mouse and the Motorcycle and Harry Potter. I think we are going to read Wizard of Oz next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 (edited) You could also try books on cd - Three Tales of My Father's Dragon on cd is AMAZING! How about smaller chapter books to get the little ones more involved? Roald Dahl has some fabulous shorter chapter books. All of his books are really wonderful and a great way to get kids to love chapter books. But we still read a TON of picture books also (I have DD8 and DS5) and DD8 reads tons of chapter books on her own. The picture books keep my son interested. All kids are different. My daughter was more than happy to sit still listening to A Little Princess and The Secret Garden when she was 3. My son still wouldn't! ETA: You could also add some longer picture books into the mix - mine both love Bill Peet books, as an example. Edited June 21, 2011 by tammyw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five More Minutes Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Uncle Wiggily is a favourite here (any book). Trumpet of the Swan was also popular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yvonne Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 (edited) Try one of the Thornton Burgess books: Old Mother West Wind, OMWW's Animal Friends, OMWW's Neighbors, The Adventures of Reddy Fox (this is one of the best!), The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel, The Adventures of Bobby Coon (another great one!), The Adventures of Billy Mink, etc. My kids loved these when they were littler! I read them aloud when the boys were 3 and 4, and, when they were 5 and 6, they read every one of them themselves, multiple times! They are such wonderful books. And they're easy read alouds. Each chapter is almost self-contained with its own little sub-plot and resolution. Just beautiful books for young children. (Oh, I also have the Burgess Animal/Flower/Bird/Seashore for Children books recommended on so many book lists. These were not nearly as fun/interesting as the OMWW and The Adventures of... books. In fact, I gave up on reading them aloud and the kids haven't picked them up on their own.) If your library does not have them (most of the libraries near me have purged them since they're older and they have to have room for Captain Underpants and whoever the latest pop star is), you can get paperback versions from Dover. I don't like the cheap paper and poorly reproduced illustrations in the Dover books, so I bought my hardcover ones off eBay. Good luck! Edited June 21, 2011 by yvonne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryTime Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 My kids (6,4,3,1) will not set for chapter books yet, but will listen to them on cd in the car or at naptime. A captive audience, one might say. I started with audio series of picture books, like Curious George, Frog and Toad, the Frances books. Then we began chapter books, like Peter Pan, A Bear named Paddington, the Little House series, All-of-a-Kind Family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 You could try E.B. White's other books, like Stuart Little. How about Roald Dahl? Ariel loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She's also been a big fan of Marguerite Henry's books like King of the Wind and Misty of Chincoteague, as well as Black Beauty, but she's been obsessed with horses since I can remember so YMMV. The Catwings series was also a hit around here. Beverly Cleary's books like Emily's Runaway Imagination and The Mouse and the Motorcycle are also good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otter Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Mine were pretty fond of the Dimwood Forest series of books by Avi. Perhaps Kate DiCamillo's books, of course Winnie the Pooh. Mine also liked some of the books by Dick King-Smith, though these we got from the library and I can't remember very well how good they were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Mr. Popper's Penguins Pippi Longstocking Stuart Little These were all hits here :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Nothing wrong with longer picture books at that age... things like One Morning in Maine or Zen Shorts. You could look at the FIAR lists for ideas - many of those are good for older read alouds. But chapter books are good too, of course. I always think The Jamie and Angus Stories is one of the very best as an early read aloud. I adore that book. And there are two sequels. It's very gentle and sweet. And I second Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and Pippi and the Dick King-Smith, which is often nice and short. I would also maybe try some Roald Dahl - maybe start with something short like George's Marvelous Medicine. Or, maybe something like Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke. We really love Arabel's Raven, so that's another idea. Or The 21 Balloons. Or The Wizard of Oz. Just try different things... I can think of a million suggestions. Just check lots of stuff out and let them choose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtbowman Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 (edited) We just started reading chapter books in April when my DS turned 5. I also have a 3 year old little girl who participates in our reading times. Most of our book choices have atleast one illustration per chapter so it was a good transition from "picture books" Here is our list so far: The Story of Doctor Dolittle (kids LOVED the animals. We celebrated finishing our first chapter book by going to an exotic animal farm.) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (I wasn't really impressed with this one) My Father's Dragon (short) Mr. Popper's Penguins (very cute and will written) The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (we are just getting into this one.....not many illustrations but the kids love it when an animal from the first book is mentioned) I think I am enjoying our reading times more than the kids. We usually read a chapter in our big book first and then we read a "picture" book that the kids choose. Edited June 21, 2011 by vtbowman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingmama Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 My DD is just starting out in Chapter books - Pippi was a little bit beyond her so we gave that up. We just finshed reading The Enchanted Wood - which she loved. Any of the Enid Blyton books are a good choice for the young ones. The first Chap. book we ever read from start to finish was Fantastic Mr Fox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 The Chronicles of Narnia (unabridged from Harper Audio) Old Mother West Wind and anything else by Julius Lester The Lang Fairy Tale books (red, blue, etc.) The Langs I read her, but the rest were recordings she listened to while playing. The Little House recordings are marvelous too. They have a violin playing for Pa, sing the songs, etc. Have you done the FIAR books yet? You have a good mix of ages for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphabetika Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 The "Magic" series by Edward Eager. Half Magic, etc. Soooo fun! And very fun to read aloud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Dahl books & The Littles work well here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miracleone Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 My dd8 and dd3 enjoyed The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I liked it a lot too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 My dd8 and dd3 enjoyed The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I liked it a lot too.This seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it book. I found it to be so emotionally manipulative it left me enraged. I'd recommend pre-reading for a young child: there is child abuse and a child's death, and that's just warming up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Roald Dahl Dick King-Smith (there's a range of reading and listening levels) My DD is just starting out in Chapter books - Pippi was a little bit beyond her so we gave that up.Astrid Lindgren has some other series for somewhat younger kids: Noisy Village, Karls(s)on, Emil, and Lotta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Lotta is hilarious. You must read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoNative Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Our kids love "Dangerous Journey", a picture book of Pilgrim's Progress. It's a chapter book, but every page has pictures. We also enjoy Lamplighter Publishing books - one of our favorites is "Sir Malcolm and the Missing Prince". Melody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.