ABQmom Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I know this question gets asked all the time, and by the time I got to my fourth child, you would think I'd know exactly what books I'd like to read to my dd this year! Sadly, I don't. We read the entire Little House on the Prairie series last year, and we both loved every minute of it. I want to hold off on Narnia until next year--another favorite of mine. So, I'm looking for something that we will just love for this year, and I'm out of ideas. I need something that motivates ME to read to her, so that I don't slack off and quit doing it. It doesn't have to be a series. Any great book suggestions for her would be welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I just read Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright to my second grade girl and 5th grade girl. They both loved it. Strawberry Girl is another good choice. And, of course, Charlotte's Web. :001_smile: King of the Wind, The Black Stallion, and what about The Hoboken Chicken Emergency? The Enormous Egg, Trumpet of the Swan, And then there are all the "Shoe" books. We're reading Theater Shoes right now. BTW, I smiled when you said you had read the Little House series last year; I did too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankcassiesmom Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Understood Betsy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Anything by Beverly Cleary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopeallgoeswell Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I second Understood Betsy! My dd also enjoyed All-of-a-Kind Family by Taylor and The Ordinary Princess by Kaye. HOD has a "Book Shop" with sets for Beyond and Bigger that you could pull from. AO has a great Year 2 list at the bottom of the page. Of course, there is always SL. Those three sites are where I go to compile my list each year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pahansen Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 We've greatly enjoyed The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith. You may want to pre-read and reword the chapter where they discuss exactly how to do away with the puppies. It's quite harsh (but humorously written). I have a tenderhearted 6yo and a 4yo as well, so I reworded. The 8yo would've seen the humor, but I was reading to everyone. I haven't reread it yet, but I recall enjoying Stuart Little even more than Charlotte's Web. For sheer fun, try the Down Girl and Sit books. If you've ever had cats or dogs as pets, they're a genuine delight. They're short stories, so you can start with any of the books. DH and I loved them ourselves -- we even found ourselves reading parts to our parents over the phone! Have fun! --Pamela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessieC Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Betsy-Tacy! http://www.amazon.com/Betsy-Tacy-Books-Maud-Hart-Lovelace/dp/0064400964/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312949853&sr=8-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristiana Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Have you read Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild? I love her books. My boys even enjoyed that one as a read aloud last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketgirl Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I loved reading the Ramona books to my 2nd grader :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQmom Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Thanks everyone--keep the suggestions coming. I haven't read the shoe books yet---I'll check into those. We've done everything by EB White, and I like to hold off on Cleary until my dc can read her on their own--she motivates them to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 (edited) CLASSICS - Tale of Peter Rabbit (and others) (Potter) - Black Beauty (Sewell) - The Reluctant Dragon (Grahame) - The Wind in the Willows (Grahame) - The House at Pooh Corner (Milne) - A Little Princess (Burnett) - The Secret Garden (Burnett) - The Ordinary Princess (Kaye) - Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis) - The Story of Dr. Dolittle (Lofting) - My Father's Dragon (Gannett) - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Carroll) - The Princess & the Goblins (MacDonald) REAL LIFE - Mountain Born (Yates) - The Hundred Dresses (Estes) - Kildee House (Montgomery) - Understood Betsy (Fisher) - Little Pear (Lattimore) - The Moffats (Estes) - Henry and Ribsy (McCleary) - Seven Little Australians (Turner) - Baby Island (Brink) - Frindle (Clements) FANTASY - Wizard of Oz; Land of Oz; Ozma of Oz (Baum) - Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series (Betty MacDonald) - The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Aiken) - The Book of Dragons (Nesbit) - The Father Christmas Letters (Tolkien) - The Borrowers (series) (Norton) - Charlie & the Chocolate Factory(Dahl) - Pippi Longstockings; Pippi in the South Seas (Astrid) FUN TALL TALE - The Bears on Hemlock Mountain (Dalgliesh) - The Whipping Boy (Fleischman) - McBroom's Wonderful One-Acre Farm (Fleischman) - By the Great Horn Spoon (Fleischman) - Hitty, Her First Hundred Years (Field) - The Twenty-One Balloons (DuBois) POETRY - Where the Sidewalk Ends (Silverstein) - The Dragons are Singing Tonight (Prelutsky) - Antarctica Antics (Sierra) - Poetry Speaks to Children (editor: Paschen) -- wonderfully creative and funny poems HISTORICAL FICTION - Robert Fulton, Boy Craftsman (Henry) - Skippack School (de Angeli) -- Colonial U.S. - The Courage of Sarah Noble (Dalgliesh) -- Colonial US - Sarah Whitcher's Story -- Colonial US - Caddie Woodlawn (Brink) -- pioneer times US - Naya Nuki: The Shoshone Girl Who Ran (Thomasa) ANIMALS (real) - Chucaro: Wild Pony of the Pampa (Kalney) - Daughter of the Mountains (Rankin) - Rascal (North) - Shiloh (Naylor) - Ginger Pye (Estes) - Follow My Leader (Garfield) - White Stallions of Lippiza (Henry) - Big Red (Kjelgaard) - Lassie Come Home (Knight) - Gentle Ben (Morey) ANIMALS (talking) - Mr. Popper's Penguins (Atwater) - The Cricket in Times Square (Selden) - Charlotte's Web; Trumpet of the Swan (White) - The Mouse and the Motorcycle (McCleary) - Ben and I; Mr Revere and Me (Lawson) - The Rescuers, Miss Bianca, Miss Bianca in the Orient (Sharpe) - Basil of Baker Street (and others in the series) (Titus) - Rabbit Hill (Lawson) - Catwings (series) (LeGuin) Edited August 10, 2011 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pahansen Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Ooh. Thanks Lori! More fodder for us! :) --Pamela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Some of the books that were hits here with my 2nd grade girl: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Gooney Bird Greene The Invention of Hugo Cabret Winnie the Pooh All of the short stories from What Your Second Grader Needs to Know, but especially "Pajaro Cu" Half Magic The House Above the Trees Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 The Borrowers. In time for Studio Ghibli's new movie version! Also, a lesser suggested one - Arabel's Raven. It's very funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pahansen Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Ooh. Thanks Lori! More fodder for us! :) --Pamela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I have had a horrible time finding something my to be 2nd grade dd would enjoy. She's hard to please but I seem to have stumbled on Roald Dahl. I don't personally like the stories, not my cup of tea at all, but she is actually listening without whining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQmom Posted August 11, 2011 Author Share Posted August 11, 2011 Thanks everyone for all those titles! Hopefully we'll find something here that we love and can't put down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miracleone Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 When the Mountain Meets the Moon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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