MrSmith Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 My DS who is six decodes at about a 5th or 6th grade level (I guess this based on his reading of Hardy Boys books with minor difficulty). The issue we are running into now is that books that are age and emotionally appropriate are too easy for him. Can anyone recommend some books (preferably a series) that provide a good reading challenge but are still appropriate for his age? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 (edited) Here's a possible list to get you started ... am sure others will post much more; we have a rather reluctant reader here ... This links to a page with a downloadable list (check near the bottom right) for "Booklist for Very Young Precocious Readers". Edited June 17, 2012 by serendipitous journey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roanna Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 My son is the same age and same reading level and even though he can read that high he is just beginning to read more chapter book style with titles like Cam Jansen series and Mr Putter and Tabby. Those are around 2nd-3.5 grade levels. He picked up Wizard of Oz recently which is more around 6th grade. I use the Scholastic Book Wizard a lot to find more books of the same reading level and/or type. It's a great resource, just google it. If he's into non-fiction there are some great books at higher levels but geared towards kids we found at Barnes and Noble about the Titanic and Harry Houdini around 4-5th grade level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy G Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 (edited) We had the same issue. My DS loved Phantom Tollbooth and The Number Devil. He also started reading some classics, Treasure Island, Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Call of the Wild. He read some biographies, but he wasn't as interested. Nonfiction was great too. Magic School bus chapter books. Narnia Series (mine didn't like those- but some do) DS read the Percy Jackson books pretty early and Harry Potter. You may want to read them yourself first to make sure you are comfortable as there is some adventure type violence that he may or may not be ready for. I am not sure it gets easier- now he is 13 and he thinks of popular books being vampires in love! ;) He still goes for different things- although Hunger Games was a hit here. (not with me as I find the whole premise offensive) As he has gotten older we have found it fun to read "banned books" and discuss why or why not we feel the banning was appropriate. Edited June 18, 2012 by Kathy G grammar error Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 (edited) Similar situation but I also considered font size of the book. Now that the library has books for us to borrow on the Kindle, I have an easier time looking for books. Also, I don't always look for books that are 5+ grades ahead, since DD enjoys picture books as well as chapter books. I don't have a child that is sensitive to violence but books with teenage characters tend to affect DD's choice of words and speech. Since you asked for series, here a few that DD read during the year as a 6 year old with a few comments. The Hobbit and LOTR, absolutely loves these Kane Chronicles, loves these because she adores Egyptian myths Spiderwick Eragon series Inkheart Trilogy 39 Clues, just audio version since these have small type, and didn't seem to like them as much as I thought she would Harry Potter Chronicles of Narnia Little House, although she just doesn't like them Wizard of Oz books, liked only some of the books Carole Marsh Mysteries American Girls, read them and didn't seemed impressed Percy Jackson and Heroes series, liked but not loved them as much as Kane Osborne's Odysseus, not really a series but separated into several books, which inspired Dd to read all the other versions friendly enough for kids Encyclopedia Brown Dragon Keepers Mrs. Piggle Wiggle Dr. Dolittle Edited June 18, 2012 by crazyforlatin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooRho Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Look for honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt and Best of Books by Bob Jones Press Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2two Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I posted a similar questions not too long ago and got some good advice: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=318273 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five More Minutes Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 My DS who is six decodes at about a 5th or 6th grade level (I guess this based on his reading of Hardy Boys books with minor difficulty). The issue we are running into now is that books that are age and emotionally appropriate are too easy for him. Can anyone recommend some books (preferably a series) that provide a good reading challenge but are still appropriate for his age? Thanks! I understand this. I recently posted the book lists that my daughters read over the past couple of years; there may be some titles there that will work. (They're young, sensitive, and advanced readers.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 There is a book out there that is the perfect solution to this that I have never actually read or purchased yet. It's called Some of My Best Friends are Books. They kept talking about it at the SENG conference last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunriseiz Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 There is a book out there that is the perfect solution to this that I have never actually read or purchased yet. It's called Some of My Best Friends are Books. They kept talking about it at the SENG conference last year. I heard so much about this one that I did buy it. It's ok, but not the end-all-be-all book. I like Honey for a Child's Heart ok and the list here: http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000.html . In all cases, I have decided that if something is ok as read-aloud, it's probably ok to be a read-alone for my dd. They are often at an appropriate interest level, but at a higher vocab level than others for the same age range. Best of all, our librarians are great. If you have a good library, I would talk to them and get their input as well. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Freddy the Pig (first is Freddy Goes to Florida). There are 26 titles in the series. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Moomintroll series by Jannson (Comet in Moominland is the first, but Finn Family Moomintroll is a common entry point) Astrid Lindgren: Pippi, Karlsson/Karlson, Emil, Lotta, Noisy Village Paddington Nurse Matilda Beverly Cleary Dick King Smith (anything and everything) Childhood of Famous Americans series (there are dozens of these) Joan Aiken - Arabel and Mortimer books Oz books Paddington series by Bond How to Train Your Dragon series Spiderwick Chronicles series Hank the Cowdog series Eleanor Estes Jean Craighead George's books for younger readers Bunnicula series by Howe George's Secret Key to the Universe and sequels by Hawking Uncle books by J.P Martin E. Nesbit Edward Eager Mary Norton Swallows and Amazons series Comics/graphic novels: Calvin & Hobbes Tintin Asterix Bone by Jeff Smith Yotsuba&! (I always know when someone is reading Yotsuba because of the frequent bursts of laughter) Mythology, folk tales, retold epics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I heard so much about this one that I did buy it. It's ok, but not the end-all-be-all book. Well gee, now I don't feel so guilty for never having read it! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 (edited) I heard so much about this one that I did buy it. It's ok, but not the end-all-be-all book. Well gee, now I don't feel so guilty for never having read it! :) Don't feel guilty. I agree completely with this assessment. I thought it would be great, but I came away unimpressed. The book list was okay, but it didn't skew far enough to the advanced very young reader to be truly useful for us. A lot of the themes the book was emphasizing also haven't been issues with my own young readers. I don't need books about dealing with alienation at school for a 4 year old, and we've been over most of the well-known picture books (and lesser-known ones too) dozens of times. Edited June 19, 2012 by beaners Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunriseiz Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Well gee, now I don't feel so guilty for never having read it! :) LOL, glad I could help! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathwonk Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 (edited) As a kid I always liked (and still do) books and stories by Jules Verne, Alexander Dumas, Robert L. Stevenson, Mark Twain, Washington Irving, Victor Hugo, and anonymous fantasies and classic tales, such as Prince and Pauper, Rip van Winkle, Robin Hood, Iliad, Odyssey, Black Tulip, Cyrano de Bergerac, Ali Baba and the 40 thieves, Aladdin and the magic lamp, the magic Horse (carefully chosen samples from Arabian nights). http://chestofbooks.com/fairy-tale/Arabian-Nights/The-Story-Of-The-Magic-Horse.html In the 40's and early 50's many of these were available in delightfully illustrated "classic comics" versions that just magnetized me, long before I later read the originals. These comic versions made me love even books such as Moby Dick which is tedious for many adult readers in the original (but I still love it), and Count of monte Cristo, which is a bit lengthy and maybe adult for a 6 year old. The wonderful "line drawn" Classic comics were gradually replaced by more high brow "painted" versions, but I am still persuaded the early less sophisticated ones helped me develop my strong visual imagination, which was my main asset as a professional geometer. Of course today's kids, and even ours in the 70's and 80's, have Tintin and Asterix and Calvin and Hobbes, with their amazing illustrations. The classics comics were in the nineteenth century tradition of the finest editions of books such as Les Miserables, which were illustrated, and those wonderful original illustrations sometimes even formed the models for the drawings in Classic Comics. I also enjoyed attempting to read the NY Times at about 6 years, but that was to be like my dad. I had a hard time understanding the words. Your child may also enjoy this exercise in growing up. Our first young child also loved the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, probably a little older than 6, maybe 7 or 8. I think I was 7 when I read Shane and greatly enjoyed it, of course it is ultimately about a gunfight, which may detract. At not much older than that I recall it became a lot of fun to search the library shelves myself for books. True though, the children's section although harmless, wasn't very challenging. I tended to bring home 7 books at a time such as Curious George, and read them all in a few minutes. I see your problem. But I think the 19th century and earlier classics hold a lot of possibilities. Edited June 20, 2012 by mathwonk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I didn't grow up reading any comics, but DH did and probably read all the Calvin & Hobbes series. I didn't quite understand why DH insisted on buying them last week (a bunch of them were at Costco), until I read a few strips yesterday. I keep hearing Dd giggle. She also carries at least one of them with her everywhere we go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathwonk Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 tonight there was a movie of stevenson's master of ballantrae with errol flynn on AMC, and I enjoyed comparing the movie version of the story with that in both the original novel and the classic comic. they deviated a bit, but many lines were the same. maybe the ending or the hero's character are made a bit happier in hollywood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSmith Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 Thanks everyone for the great ideas! We now have some great material for summer and into next year. Now if he could sit still longer :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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