BoyOBoy Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Does anyone have series they like? DS is cruising through Henry and Mudge and we will also get Frog and Toad next time we head to the library. Our library doesn't have much so I'm having trouble finding more. I thought I'd get a few days out of each book, but DS read a Henry and Mudge in one sitting. It took him an hour, but I couldn't get him to stop. A good problem to have, I suppose. I think Magic Treehouse is a bit above him; I'm not sure he could follow the plot that long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eloquacious Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Does anyone have series they like? DS is cruising through Henry and Mudge and we will also get Frog and Toad next time we head to the library. Our library doesn't have much so I'm having trouble finding more. I thought I'd get a few days out of each book, but DS read a Henry and Mudge in one sitting. It took him an hour, but I couldn't get him to stop. A good problem to have, I suppose. I think Magic Treehouse is a bit above him; I'm not sure he could follow the plot that long. My son is precisely the same age as your son, and we are in the same spot. There are of course also Mr. Putter and Tabby or Poppleton, both series by the same author as Henry and Mudge. Magic Treehouse is definitely too advanced, not in terms of text but because he doesn't like the text to be too small/ too much of it on a page / too few pictures. We've had a bit of success with Flat Stanley, and with other things - for instance he'll read a rather challenging version of Pinocchio (for younger readers, but definitely still 4th or 5th grade level) mainly because his interest level is so high. He LOVES Pinocchio! Other more challenging texts he reads we'll do side-by-side, and take turns. I used to avoid that but then I realized it wasn't so much about notches in his belt, reading-wise, as about keeping it fun and keeping the love alive. There's a real danger with one reading so young that it would become burdensome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Jo Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 The Boxcar Children? The sentences are short which makes them easier. I would also look at picture books - like FIAR has. They are a higher reading level, but not so long as a chapter book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eloquacious Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 (edited) A few other thoughts: we read a lot of older books (fables, fairy tales, etc.) and those have more advanced text, as do certain picture books, without burdening him with too much text. I've tried slightly more advanced chapter books like the Pirate School series both in paperback and on the Kindle (our library offers them digitally), and there is a certain advantage there because you can change the text size. Then again, the Kindle is definitely not his preferred method, however cool he thinks it initially. I've also recently downloaded tons of science, language arts, etc. "readers" from the links on the free curriculum thread. We do those on the iPad, and again: more challenging text, but in small quantities, with lots of full-color pictures. ETA: Also, depending on your religious views, Bibles and Bible stories for young readers are helpful. We're reading through the Early Reader's Bible, and two versions of the Beginner's Bible (an older edition in print, and the newer text on Kindle/iPad). The Beginner's Bible for Kindle is only $2.99 and offers around 90 stories, which I consider quite the bargain. :) Edited July 27, 2012 by eloquacious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 My Father's Dragon was a good one for us early on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Cynthia Rylant's Lighthouse Family has been a great bridge for us. Chapters but still pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleeplessnights Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Just a little step up are the Magic Treehouse books. I usually start out reading one page and the student reading the next. Also, anything by Clyde Robert Bulla is great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Nate The Great is a cute series, and there are a lot of very easy books of that level in Sonlight--have you seen their lists? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlisonK Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Nate The Great is a cute series, and there are a lot of very easy books of that level in Sonlight--have you seen their lists? :iagree: I was just going to add Nate the Great. Along that line is the A to Z Mysteries. They are a perfect step up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Some of the Sonlight books that might work-- The True Story of Balto THe Best Trick Little Bear Greg's Microscope Mouse Tales Owl at Home Hill of Fire The Fire Cat You might try the Harry, the Dirty Dog books (there are 3). Billy and Blaze may work, but the vocab might be too high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinsfamily Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Some of the Sonlight books that might work--The True Story of Balto THe Best Trick Little Bear Greg's Microscope Mouse Tales Owl at Home Hill of Fire The Fire Cat You might try the Harry, the Dirty Dog books (there are 3). Billy and Blaze may work, but the vocab might be too high. :iagree: and also with the Nate the Great. You might also check out Cam Jansen. Ds1 also read a lot of Dr. Seuss type books at that stage. If Magic Treehouse is too hard, Boxcar Children probably will be as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 HOD has an emerging reader set on that level to give you a few ideas. I'm sure your library would have most of the books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Henry and Mudge is an easy reader... chapter books are the books that are Magic Treehouse level - at least in publishing terms. Some of the other things suggested - Boxcar Children, My Father's Dragon, Flat Stanley... are also chapter books. I think you probably just want to keep going with easy readers. If he takes an hour to do a single Henry and Mudge, but enjoys himself, then that's his perfect level and you just want more, not more challenging, at least not for a couple of months. ;) In addition to Chris's good list, and the idea to seek out Rylant's other easy reader series (Poppleton, Mr. Putter and Tabby and High Rise Private Eyes) I'll add... Dodsworth Mouse and Mole Amelia Bedelia Bink and Gollie Fly Guy (that one is a little easy, but good) George and Martha Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa Then, if he needs what I think of as "in between books" then move slightly up to... Mercy Watson Lighthouse Family Nate the Great Commander Toad Lulu and the Brontosaurus And after that comes all those Magic Treehouse, A to Z Mysteries, Secrets of Droon, Boxcar Children, etc. etc. I think some kids spend a long time on the easy readers. Others are done in a matter of a few months and ready for the chapter books, without even needed this in between step of things like Mercy Watson. Likewise, some kids fly through the chapter book stage in less than a year and dive into Harry Potter, while others spend a couple of years or more there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyrobynne Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Mercy Watson I love the Mercy Watson books! (by Kate diCamillo, I believe) Those were the first chapter books my middle son was willing to read. There are gorgeous illustrations on each page. They're about 50 pages long and split into maybe 6-7 chapters. They have a large font but multiple sentences per page. It was just what my son needed to gain the patience for something beyond pure picture books. They only take 20 minutes or so to read all the way through. Last time I checked, there were about 6 of them on the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoyOBoy Posted July 27, 2012 Author Share Posted July 27, 2012 I think you probably just want to keep going with easy readers. If he takes an hour to do a single Henry and Mudge, but enjoys himself, then that's his perfect level and you just want more, not more challenging, at least not for a couple of months. ;) Yes, I think you are right about that. He gets pretty fixated on things, so I want to be careful about giving him too much. I call them chapter books in the sense that they are divided into shorter chapters/stories, and he likes that sense of reading a longer, more involved book. I like the idea of also having him read short passages of more challenging books, for some variety. Thank you all for your suggestions! I'll start looking for these in my library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 My son loved the Fly Guy series when he was younger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebereid Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 oops... tried to quote some of you but it didn't work. I'd agree that you'll want to stay at Early Readers for now. My ds is at the same point. Although he is physically ABLE to read The Magic Treehouse and other chapter books, he is far too overwhelmed with the amount of words on each page. Besides the fact that there are not enough pictures (he is only 4, he likes pictures!). Keep reading Henry and Mudge and the other books mentioned by Farrar. It may be a long time before he's ready for chapter books. But of course YOU could read aloud chapter books that are more challenging. Sometimes my ds wants to take a turn and read a page to ME. He can do it, and if I'm acting all surprised he thinks it's a hoot to "surprise" me every now and then by reading some of our read aloud to ME. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Hen Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Easy readers we're enjoying at our house include the Morris The Moose books. Assorted SL readers: Balto, Wagon Wheels, The Titanic Lost...and Found, The Long Way To A New Land (and its two sequels.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trishhoward Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 we love Clara Pierson! we print them from the Gutenberg project Among the Forest People http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34971 There is a complete collection of her books. we get a lot of our reading list from http://www.oldfashionededucation.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HootyTooty Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Other series my ds enjoyed when he was first learning to read was the Bones mystery books by David A Alder Break Out At the Bug Lab by Ruth Horowitz Surprise in the Bug Tank by Ruth Horowitz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanikit Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 I am also using many of the books listed above for my DD (about the same age as your DS) - Nate the Great, Balto, Amelia Bedelia. When I want more similar stories I just look for books at the same level in the Early Reader series - so I Can Read, Step into Reading and also Usborne Early Reading Series which bridges to other chapter books though level 4 has stories that I do not think are suitable even in abridged form for 4 year olds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoyOBoy Posted July 27, 2012 Author Share Posted July 27, 2012 we get a lot of our reading list from www.oldfashionededucation.com Thanks for pointing me to this resource. I've briefly looked at it before but was overwhelmed. Seeing the full curriculum by grade level is helpful for a starting point for reading lists. I hate reading (or having him read) off the computer, but I think we'll end up doing a lot. I can't get over how much is available for free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eloquacious Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Incidentally, in addition to the longer easy readers/ early chapter books like Nate the Great, we do TONS of non-fiction reading. The library no doubt has more than a few animal books in the 2nd grade level, and most of the help you'd have to provide would be with more challenging technical terms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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