brownie Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 I need some recommendations for skinny, but harder books (e.g. 80 pages but written at a 4th grade level). DS7 has made a huge leap in reading this year and is at a 5th grade level, but seems intimidated by chapter books. Or perhaps he just wants to finish them in one sitting. On the other hand, I cannot carry home enough easy readers from the library to keep him happy for 1 week and we are running out of books in that section that interest him. He has taken to reading Garfield comics to occupy his time...not at the top of my list for good literature exactly :001_huh: I recently got him to read all the CatWings books and George's Marvelous Medicine (Dahl). He's read the Enormous Crocodile(Dahl) as well. He enjoyed all of these tremendously and these books all have some pictures as well, which is perfect! Any thoughts on what to try next? I have taken to scanning the library shelves for the skinniest paperbacks I can find! Brownie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 The Whipping Boy, The Door in the Wall, The Chalkbox Kid, Sword in the Tree ( Anything by Clyde Robert Bulla is great for this age.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 Agreed with Mommyfaithe that Clyde Robert Bulla is great. My personal favorite is A Lion to Guard Us. I read this when I was younger and remember it well decades later. Others Magic Treehouse: lots of these and they are informative Jean Fritz's American Revolution books: ds loved these The Matchlock Gun My Fathers Dragon The Bears on Hemlock Mountain I'd also suggest you read aloud together a longer chapter book. E.B. White is good; I enjoyed Farmer Boy with my ds when he was making the jump to bigger books. Once your son completes his first "big" book, he may realize it's not so intimidating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinsfamily Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 The Whipping Boy, The Door in the Wall, The Chalkbox Kid, Sword in the Tree ( Anything by Clyde Robert Bulla is great for this age.) :iagree: Clyde Robert Bulla got my oldest into chapter books. Check out SL's Grade 2 (second half) and Grade 3 readers. Those two sets contain a lot of good transition books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horsellian Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 If he's enjoying Roald Dahl, then there's also "Esio Trot", "The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me" and "The Twits" that are short (all <100 pages, I think). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi @ Mt Hope Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 I HIGHLY recommend The Real Theif, Dominic, and Abel's Island all by William Steig. They are all very short chapter books. Illustrations, high interest, and phenomenal vocabulary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi @ Mt Hope Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 (edited) Some other suggestions: Alexander McCall Smith's Akimbo series (Africa) A Grain of Rice by Helena Clare Pittman (China) The 13 Clocks and The Wonderful O by James Thurber (fantastic, quirky fairy-tale-ish) The Most Beautiful Place in the World by Ann Cameron (Guatemala) One Day in the Alpine Tundra (and others in series) by Jean Craighead George (nature/outdoors) Anything by Dick King-Smith 26 Fairmount Avenue (series) by Tomie DePaola (autobiography, growing up in 1940s) All Alone by Claire Huchet Bishop (French Alps) The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck (Japan) Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop (WWII) The Little Riders by Margaretha Shemin (WWII) The Apprentice by Pilar Molina Llorente (Renaissance Italy) The Land I Lost and Water Buffalo Days by Huynh Quang Nhuong (growing up in Vietnam) Edited May 19, 2012 by Heidi @ Mt Hope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyto2 Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 You might want to look for magazines too. I think of Highlights, national geographies for kids, etc. They aren't chapter books, but they might keep your dc reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi @ Mt Hope Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 Or the Magic School Bus Chapter Books? Lots of great science topics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi @ Mt Hope Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 Sick of me, yet? :) How about The Knights Tales series by Gerald Morris? (Arthurian legends, quite hilarious) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 The Great Piratical Rumbistification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 The Ink Drinker and sequels The Best Christmas Present Ever The Hoboken Chicken Emergency Arabel's Raven and sequels by Joan Aiken, plus collections of Aiken's short stories The Wonderful O and The 13 Clocks by James Thurber Sid Fleischman Daniel Pinkwater Odd and the Frost Giants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi @ Mt Hope Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 The Great Piratical Rumbistification Thank you for your great recommendations. I just ordered this one. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandymom Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 Rikki Tikki Tavi by Kipling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 Some that I can think of: Tornado The Courage of Sarah Noble The Bears on Hemlock Mountain Balto and the Great Race The Whipping boy The Minstrel in the Tower The Matchlock Gun Phoebe the spy The Apple and the Arrow The Lighthouse family McBroom's Wonderful One Acre Farm Catwings Dolphin Adventure A Mouse Called Wolf Babe Water Horse The Story of Thomas Alva Edison, Inventor Hellen Keller (Davidson) Squanto Friend of the Pilgrims Louise Braille, the boy who invented books for the blind The Sword in the tree Stone Fox A Lion to Guard us Pioneer Cat Hannah Sarah Plain and Tall Sarah Witcher's Story Twenty and Ten The Family under the bridge The Door in the Wall Any of the Burgess animal story books there are tons such as Reddy Fox. Owls in the Family The Littles Flat Stanley The Titanic Lost and Found Tut's Mummy Lost and Found Pompeii Buried Alive Ben Franklin and the Magic Squares These all very in difficulty but they are all fairly short chapter books. HTH:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 You always have the dreamiest recommendations ever...:001_wub:Aw, thanks. :blushing: The Pirates' Mixed-Up Voyage, also by Mahy, is just as delightful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted May 20, 2012 Author Share Posted May 20, 2012 OK I'm going to have to print this thread to go to the library! There are many here I haven't heard of. We read aloud Beverly Cleary together, taking turns, but he shows no interest in picking it up on his own yet. Brownie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TundraAcademy Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Heart of Dakota has some nice lit lists we have used. My reluctant oldest really took off with chapter books in the 5th grade. We had read the Great Brain series (8 books) aloud a few years earlier. I assigned him the first book and he just took off. I know they aren't short but each chapter is a story within itself. He also really loved the Rick Riordan Lightening Thief series. Athough those were a bit longer, they captivated him. I have seen a big jump in reading ability between 4th and 5th grade with my boys. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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