Ghee Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 My daughter has read the Ramona series, Clementine series, and Henry Huggins series. She likes Nancy Drew, but there are sooo many of them. She like to take a break from Nancy, once in a while, and read another (shorter) series. I enjoyed the Ramona series as a child, and read one of the Clementine books recently to check them out. I could not *stand* Henry Huggins, but she likes them. Our reading tastes are fairly different (she doesn't like fantasy books much) so I'm at a loss here. What other books might she like? I'm looking for mind candy, twaddle, fluff, whatever you want to call it. I have a nice list of school books for her to read, this is for her to do in her own time. I don't know what to suggest for her to look at. She's also read Ivy+Bean and Bad Kitty books, but those are way, way below her reading level (the others are, too, but I'd rather she enjoy reading than worry about her reading level during leisure reading time) and she sails through them in a matter of minutes. What would be something slightly ABOVE the Ramona books, but still a similar feel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenangelcat Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 How old is she? Does she like sci-fi? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 (edited) Ronia, the Robber's Daughter, by Astrid Lindgren is the first to pop into my head. While the Ivy and Bean books might be below her grade level, she might really enjoy Rylant's series, The Light House Family. At a higher level is Rylant's The Cobble Street Cousins series. All delightful. Other authors to consider are Gail Levine, and Kathyrn Lasky. Edited September 9, 2012 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 My daughter has read the Ramona series, Clementine series, and Henry Huggins series. She likes Nancy Drew, but there are sooo many of them. She like to take a break from Nancy, once in a while, and read another (shorter) series. I enjoyed the Ramona series as a child, and read one of the Clementine books recently to check them out. I could not *stand* Henry Huggins, but she likes them. Our reading tastes are fairly different (she doesn't like fantasy books much) so I'm at a loss here. What other books might she like? I'm looking for mind candy, twaddle, fluff, whatever you want to call it. I have a nice list of school books for her to read, this is for her to do in her own time. I don't know what to suggest for her to look at. She's also read Ivy+Bean and Bad Kitty books, but those are way, way below her reading level (the others are, too, but I'd rather she enjoy reading than worry about her reading level during leisure reading time) and she sails through them in a matter of minutes. What would be something slightly ABOVE the Ramona books, but still a similar feel? I asked DD for some suggestions. She is eight but reads at about a 6-7th grade level. She LOVES all things Ramona. She also doesn't like fantasy (which I love!) and is always requesting books that are funny. Pippi Longstockings Gooney Bird Greene Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Betsy-Tacy What Happened on Fox Street (she's reading this right now) Hoboken Chicken Emergency This Can't be Happening at MacDonald Hall (whole series of these books) ETA: I see LibraryLover also recommended the Cobblestreet Cousin books. They'll be an easy read for her though. Took DD about 30 minutes to read each one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghee Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 She's 10. She doesn't like fantasy, sci fi, or really anything magical. What she likes, to me, is kind of boring :tongue_smilie: I tried to read Henry Huggins to YDS and gave up, it was sooo dated and "everyday stuff", I wanted to fall on a fork. I love SciFi and murder mystery, so I'm like her polar opposite LOL I think she liked the comedic aspect of Ramon, Clementine, and Ivy+Bean I thought I might let her try the Emily of New Moon and Anne of Green Gables books. She's perfectly *capable* of reading them, but she's gotten so used to tearing through her leisure reading in a sitting that she's resistant to something longer. Plus, we do a lot of school reading, so I like feel like she can read whatever in her free time. That said, unless I can find something else Ramona/Clementine-ish, I don't know what else to offer her. Oh, she read Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield and liked it well enough. We have a hard time finding the other "shoes" books in that series, though. I just lucked up on that one at a resale bookstore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 The Betsy-Tacy Series Anne of Green Gables series Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghee Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 I asked DD for some suggestions. She is eight but reads at about a 6-7th grade level. She LOVES all things Ramona. She also doesn't like fantasy (which I love!) and is always requesting books that are funny. Pippi Longstockings Gooney Bird Greene Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Betsy-Tacy What Happened on Fox Street (she's reading this right now) Hoboken Chicken Emergency This Can't be Happening at MacDonald Hall (whole series of these books) ETA: I see LibraryLover also recommended the Cobblestreet Cousin books. They'll be an easy read for her though. Took DD about 30 minutes to read each one of them. Oh, good list. We've read Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Hoboken Chicken Emergency and she liked them. I bet she would like Pippi. I've never read Betsy-Tacy, but she might like it. I know they have it at the library, too, so bonus points for not having to buy it to try it :tongue_smilie: I'll have to look up the McDonald Hall, Cobblestreet Cousins, and the others to see if I can find them anywhwere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Roald Dahl? There are magical and/or whimsical elements in a lot of his books, but it is not necessarily the focus of the story. Unfortunate Events are dark, melodramatic humor books. The Little Princess and The Secret Garden? Little Women? Black Beauty? Little House? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Little House on the Prairie Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing Frindle The Saturdays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalknot Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Mine likes series, too. Her favorites are: Ramona, Betsy-Tacy, Boxcar Children, The Great Brain & Encyclopedia Brown. She hated and wouldn't finish: Little House, Narnia, Pippi, & the Littles. She read through these, but didn't "love" them: Borrowers, Pippi, Paddington Bear, the Blume's Fudge series. She is currently reading: Cricket in Time Square series, Blume's Pain & The Great One series, & Time Warp Trio. Next up I've put aside: Patricia MacLachlan's Sarah, Plain & Tall series. What about poetry? Mine loves Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky. We also have a few authors whose books aren't "series" but who have a number of works available: Tomie de Paola, Allen Say, and Dick Smith. The first two are more "picture books" in terms of presentation, but are not your basic stop-start-two-syllable type of picture book. Allen Say, in particular, has great writing. Not series, but other books that went over well: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Phantom Tollbooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Anastasia Krupnik Arabel's Raven (so funny!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghee Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 I've got some Dahl, I'll pull them out. I also have Cricket in Times Square and The Saturdays, as well as the whole Time Warp Trio series. I had forgotten I had TWT, I'll dig them out too. I'm making a list of the others to try to locate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizaG Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 (edited) You might look at Bethlehem Books. They're best known for their reprints of historical fiction, but they also have several series of family stories by Rebecca Caudill, Hilda van Stockum, and others. There are previews available on their site. Here are some links: Fairchild Family Series Latsch Valley Farm Series Bantry Bay Series ETA a few more ideas: Enid Blyton's school stories (Malory Towers, St. Clare's) -- definitely mind candy! Various pony stories by Christine Pullein-Thompon, etc. -- ditto Detective series, e.g. Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden Susan Coolidge's What Katy Did, What Katy Did Next, Clover -- these aren't "fluff" (more in the Little Women line), but Katy was my favorite heroine at your daughter's age, so maybe she would like to read them just for pleasure Edited September 9, 2012 by Eleanor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Anybody suggest Trixie Belden yet? Or Malory Towers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 What about Caddie Woodlawn, Anne of Green Gables, or Pollyanna? American Girls books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Ellen Tebbits is another good book by Beverly Cleary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Remember, you asked for candy. Franny K. Stein, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Good suggestions. My 9 year old boy is the same way. He's reading the Fudge/Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing series right now and loves it. Animal fiction? Rascal Call of the Wild (unless cruelty to animals really bothers her) The Incredible Journey Where the Red Fern Grows (unless the death of an animal bothers her) The Good Dog Black Beauty (unless cruelty to animals really bothers her) Julie of the Wolves Incident at Hawk's Hill Skeezer: Dog with a Mission Socks (Beverly Cleary) My Side of the Mountain Something James Herriot The Westing Game From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler Swallows and Amazons Harriet the Spy Bobbsey Twins/Nancy Drew/Trixie Beldon/Cherry Ames, Student Nurse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 My similar daughter LOVES Judy Blume's Fudge books. Her other favorites are Franny K. Stein, Judy Moody and Stink, and a new series she just found called Marvin Beedleman. She also has recently read all of the Piggle Wiggle books and loves those as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elevee Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 The books of Eva Ibbotson are fantastic. A few of them are fantasy but many are not, like Journey to the River Sea, The Dragonfly Pool and The Star of Kazan. Also my DD was ready for The Mysterious Benedict Society at that age. I love all those books because they feature resourceful heroines, emotionally aware male characters, cooperative non-romantic relationships between children of the opposite sex and trusting relations with healthy grownups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSinNH Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Mt daughter is the same way. She enjoys what she calls "realistic fiction." She LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the Babysitters Club series. I think she read all 100+ of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 What about the Black Stallion series? I loved them when I was in elementary school. My son prefers sci fi and doesn't usually like normal fiction but even he likes them. Or maybe she would like to read more non-fiction? I used to like a lot of biographies and true stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Moon Over Manifest and Mysterious Benedict Society are a couple that came to mind. It's hard to think of middle-grade novels I like that don't have some element of fantasy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Mt daughter is the same way. She enjoys what she calls "realistic fiction." She LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the Babysitters Club series. I think she read all 100+ of them! My DD calls it "Books about things that could happen in real life". Your DD's title is a little more succinct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Meet the Austins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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