wendyroo Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 My son is almost 4 and half and is a very sensitive, anxious kid. He refuses to listen to Curious George picture books because they are too scary. The naughtiness in The Cat in the Hat freaks him out. He pretty much can't handle ANY "peril" no matter how momentary or insignificant. However, he has no problem hearing about carnivores eating herbivores or even people dying as long as it is handled very matter-of-factly without any suspense or drama. He is incredibly intelligent, loves being read to (and reading BOB books and beginning readers to himself), and can understand and remember huge amounts of information he hears. I am due to have my third son next week and I was hoping to have a few chapter books on hand to read to the four year old while nursing the baby (primarily while my toddler is napping). I was hoping for chapter books so I could just read from a small paperback without having to holdit in such a way that he could see a lot of pictures. We have had two chapter book success - Winnie the Pooh and Cynthia Rylant's Thimbleberry Stories. And one huge failure - a Thornton Burgess animal book that had DS sobbing after only a few pages because it was too scary. What other books do you think he might like? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 What about some non-fiction animal or science type books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicMama Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Maybe sticking with non-fiction would help? Getting books about animals, places, and people that interest him may help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Amelia Bedelia? These are funny, though some of the humor may go over his head. You can explain as you go. I think they are funny and sweet books and don't recall anything bothersome or disturbing about them. Along those lines - Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Elliot Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Books by Carolyn Haywood -- Here's a Penny, Penny and Peter, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4peanuts Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 It's hard to think of something that meets all the criteria, but as far as content appropriateness I'd recommend the Henry and Mudge series by Cynthia Rylant. At least some of them are available on kindle if that helps. My library carries loads of them; they are short chapter books but they do have lots of illustration. You might also consider the Frog and Toad anthology....it's been a while since I read them; you might want to preview it but the library should definitely have some of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Love Frog and Toad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4peanuts Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 One more thought...perhaps you could try getting a lower grade reader from a program like Bju or CLE. I don't know about Bju but the stories in cle are very gentle and all about real people-- no fantasy. It would take you a lot of time to get through a whole reader ;). The book would be a hardback, but if you have a boppy you should be able to prop it up ok :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Don't know if you want/mind CC, but the Nature Readers from Christian Liberty Press might be an option if he likes reading about animals & such. There are some "natural truths" (ie. the spider being afraid of a man coming near; the man leaves). And there is some personification of animals. But these are enjoyed by my 5 and 7 yr olds. You can view pretty good samples at cbd.com. I haven't yet read these, but what about the "In Grandma's Attic" series? Maybe someone can give feedback on them, whether or not they are gentle and appropriate for this situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 My kids loved the books by Beverly Cleary...Ramona is a big favorite, and so were Ralph S. Mouse, etc. They always have happy endings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I highly recommend Colliers Jr Classic series. The stories are wonderful. I haven't had a little boy in a long time, but stories that I can think of that meet your criteria that I read out of the books to my little girls are When Molly was Six and Nelly's Hospital. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=collier+junior+classics Here's Nelly's Hospital so you can see the types of stories. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Nelly%27s_Hospital Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Maybe the Milly Molly Mandy stories? My sons loved them when they were 4. They are very sweet books set in pastoral England all about a little girl named Milly Molly Mandy, and occasionally about Little Friend Susan. Her big adventures are things like her dress gets dirty or remembering what items to buy at the store. There are also the Uncle Wiggly stories Now some have a 'bad guy' like the skillery skallery aligator (or something like that) who wants to nibble on Uncle Wiggly's ears, but there are So Many stories that there are plenty that don't have any ear nibbling. Each story is only a couple pages at most, so it is look them over before reading out loud. And check out books by Shirley Hughes. Her Alfie books might work well. I have a couple large Alfie (and his sister Annie Rose) collections by her and they were a huge, huge hit. Your library might have them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyroo Posted July 23, 2013 Author Share Posted July 23, 2013 Thank you for all the recommendations. I'm going to see which of them our library has. Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 I haven't yet read these, but what about the "In Grandma's Attic" series? Maybe someone can give feedback on them, whether or not they are gentle and appropriate for this situation. This series is really funny, but most of the humor is based on the kids' poor choices or disobedience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 DD was like that. At that age, she liked: The Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook Eloise Wilkin Stories (not chapter books, but all in one volume) Raggedy Ann Stories (there is a second book, Raggedy Andy Stories, too) Winnie-the-Pooh, which you could follow with The House at Pooh Corner Twig Toys Go Out Emily's Runaway Imagination Others I'm not sure about, because I can't remember the plot exactly: No Flying in the House Homer Price Laddie, a True Blue Story (may be over his head) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 A Bear Called Paddington might work. If he is willing to try again some of the Burgess books would be fine. Let me know which one you are going to read and I'll let you know the plot line. I know those books very - very well. Some of the things by Dick King Smith. But I'm not an expert of those books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Condessa Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 When I faced a similar delemma with my daughter, I found that the Boxcar Children and Mr. Popper's Penguins worked great. She loved the Ramona books, but then she began to emulate Ramona. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 I saw someone mention "Toys go out". I would recommend skipping that. One of the characters dies in the beginning of the book and it's discussed that he isn't coming back with an oh well attitude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 How about Mr. Popper's Penguins? Perhaps a book of biographies, say about US Presidents, explorers, inventors, artists? There is a really good series called the Famous Children series by Ann Rachlin that tells about the childhoods of famous composers. Mike Venezia also has a several series (Presidents, composers, artists) that are silly and light-hearted. There is a book called Some of My Best Friends Are Books that contains lists of books for gifted children, who are often extremely sensitive. You might want to see if you can get a hold of a copy and see what it recommends for sensitive readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 PICTURE BOOKS - Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go (Scarry) - Richard Scarry Busytown books - Richard Scarry's A Story a Day: 365 Stories and Rhymes (Scarry) - Where's Waldo series (Handford) - The Big Bug Search (Young) - The Great Animal Search (Young) - Eye Spy series (Marzallo) - Animalia (Base) - Chicka Chick Boom Boom (Martin) - Jamberry (Degen) - Strega Nona (dePaola) - The Christmas Knight (Curry) - Jan Brett's Christmas Treasury (Brett) - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Barrett) - Switch on the Night (Bradbury) -- this one might help DS see he can be in control -- but preview first to see if it would be a help or not STEPPED READERS - Detective Dinosaur (and sequel) (Skofield) - Inspector Hopper (Cushman) - Aunt Eater Detective series (Cushman) - Amelia Bedelia series (Parish) - Commander Toad series (Yolan) - Frog and Toad series (Lobel) - Mouse Tales (Lobel) - Owl At Home (Lobel) - ".... Riddles" series (Hall and Eisenberg) -- Puppy, Ribbit, - Nate the Great series (Sharmat) - A Grain of Rice (Pittman) - Poppleton series (Rylant) - Henry and Mudge series (Rylant) - Mr. Putter and Tabby series (Rylant) - Frances series (Hoban) CHAPTER BOOKS - The Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook (Brisley) - Twig (Jones) - Moomintroll series (Jaanson) - The Moffats series (Estes) - B is for Betsy (Haywood) - Grandma's Attic series (Richardson) - Henry Huggins (series) (McCleary) - Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series (Betty MacDonald) - Miss Pickerell (series -- the ones written in the 1950s/60s) (MacGregor) - The Ordinary Princess (Kaye) - The Year at Maple Hill Farm (Provensen) NON-FICTION - Reptiles Do the Strangest Things (Hornblow) - Insects Do the Strangest Things (Hornblow) - Animals Do the Strangest Things (Hornblow) - Birds Do the Strangest Things (Hornblow) - Fish Do the Strangest Things (Hornblow) - Greg's Microscope (Selsam) - Usborne first books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 My kids loved the books by Beverly Cleary...Ramona is a big favorite, and so were Ralph S. Mouse, etc. They always have happy endings. I always loved Ralph, BUT... My sensitive one was completely freaked out by Ralph falling into the trash can and the fear he would be thrown away; and later he is nearly vacuumed up; and then he caught in the laundry and has to chew his way out. WAAYY too much small animal in peril for sensitive young DS -- he would not let me finish the book. Also, I'd preview Raggedy Ann -- she keeps getting dirty or torn and has to be washed and run through the wringer which completely flattens her, and then she has to be remade. And while she smiles all the while, a sensitive little one may be upset by that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deee Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Definitely Milly Molly Mandy. AA Milne's poetry The younger Enid Blyton books (ditch anything with gollywogs if that's a sensitive topic) Else Beskow books - not chapter books but wonderfully illustrated and complex stories. Preread them: I remember one freaked DS out. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Uncle Wiggily and the Thornton Burgess books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyroo Posted July 25, 2013 Author Share Posted July 25, 2013 I think the problem is not the books. I would begin to talk to him about his feelings of anxiety. I wish I knew how to help him with his anxiety. He has been to a pediatric developmental behavior specialist who diagnosed anxiety, OCD and some autistic tendencies (though neither the doctor nor I feel DS is on the spectrum, he just exhibits some similar behaviors). DS also goes to a counselor who is trying to help him deal with his feelings and problematic behaviors...trying being the key word because there has been very little progress since he started going 6ish months ago. I know it would be ideal for him to be able to read and enjoy more books...books that "normal" 4 year olds would enjoy...but that just doesn't seem to be in the cards right now. For the time being I am just thrilled that he enjoys books and being read to. I'm definitely going to look into many of the suggested titles. DS loves repetition, so if I can just find a few books that he likes and doesn't find too scary then I can just read and reread them to get us through the coming newborn weeks. Thanks, Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 oops! never mind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheriwe Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 My DS was the same way at 4. He loved to read, but was super sensitive. There were a lot of books he wouldn't read and movies he wouldn't watch. I bought all of the step reader books I could. He loved Thomas the Train, so I bought a bunch of those. There were some good level 1 and level 2 books for him. He is 7 now and is just getting over the anxiety over anything in peril thing. Now he wants to read the whole Harry Potter series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RocCityMom Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 My seven-year old is also very sensitive. Like your son, he has never minded "scenes of predation", but suspenseful scenes in which an animal or person is in danger or in which people are being mean to animals or people, are really traumatic for him. I think he views the former as part of the nature of things and the latter as unnatural and just plain wrong so the one is acceptable and the other is frightening in its unpredictability. You may wish to learn a few stories to tell him while you nurse the baby. I would stick with simple, sequential stories, like The Enormous Turnip or Grimm's Sweet Porridge, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Louse and Little Flea, The Little Red Hen, etc. You may also want to try some picture books by Sibylle von Olffers or the Tiptoes Lightly books by Reg Down. We also read the Clare Dillingham Pierson series of "Among the . . . People" books and my boys enjoyed them. House at Pooh Corner, Mr. Popper's Penguins were enjoyed here by my sensitive boys. ETA: We are also fans of Frog and Toad and the Burgess books. Perhaps there are some of the Burgess books that he would like better than others? The Burgess Bird Book, Animal Book and Seashore Book are pretty straightforward and more "just the facts" than the "Adventures" books, so they may work better for your little man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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