cintinative Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 I still have my 2nd grader (8 y.o.) and 1st grader (6 y.o.) read to me out loud every school day. I pick those books but I try to pick books that they should like. I am still trying to find the perfect fit for my 8 y.o. We have read Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, The Mouse and the Motorcycle and the sequels, Half Magic (that one was too high), How to Eat Fried Worms, The Littles, Freddy Goes to Florida (his current book), etc. He really liked the Mouse and the Motorcycle books. Everything else was "okay" but I think he probably liked the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle ones second to those. So they do pick out other books to read silently and/or at night, but lately it has only been Captain Underpants and Bad Kitty. My 8 y.o. will finish one of these books in less than a day. He devours them. I am not a fan of the content, but I love the veracious reading. What books do I need to try to get him reading like this more on his own? These books tend to be heavy on illustrations which I think he likes. I need some ideas that hopefully don't involve underpants or naughty kitties. Besides he has already read through the entire series of both. :huh: Help? ETA: I feel compelled to say there were some actual learning elements to Bad Kitty for President (about the electoral process) and the latest book Bad Kitty Drawn to Trouble (about literary elements like plot and characters). So really I was not disappointed they picked them to read. =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Big hits for my 2nd grader that aren't overky girly: Clementine, Henry Huggins, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, the Indian in the Cupboard, Harry Potter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted April 29, 2014 Author Share Posted April 29, 2014 Thanks! I actually have Henry Huggins from the library! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milknhoney Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 My son is obsessed with the Three Investigators series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Based on the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle connection, my top recommendations would be: Miss Bianca books; Pippi Longstocking books; and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Also, since this is for "free reading", I'm suggesting some titles at or a little below his reading level, as that really helps build confidence and enjoyment in reading in young readers. Detective series - Jigsaw Jones (Prellar) - A to Z Mysteries (Roy) - Invisible Inc. (Levy) - Encyclopedia Brown (Sobol) - Geronimo Stilton (Stilton) - Boxcar Children (Warner) Boy Misadventures (often humorous) - Henry Huggins (Cleary) -- series - Homer Price (McCloskey) -- series - The Whipping Boy (Fleischman) - The Bears on Hemlock Mountain (Dalgliesh) - McBroom's Wonderful One-Acre Farm (Fleischman) -- and sequels Realistic Adventures - Billy and Blaze series (Anderson) - Light at Tern Rock (Sauer) - Baby Island (Brink) - Frindle (Clements) - Follow My Leader (Garfield) - Dolphin Adventure; Dolphin Treasure (Grover) - Five True Dog Stories (Davidson) - Nine True Dolphin Stories (Davidson) - Nine True Horse Stories (Davidson) - Thunder from the Sea; Star in the Storm (Harlow) Historical Adventures - Kite Fighters (Park) - The Apple and the Arrow (Buff) - Sword in the Tree (Bulla) - Viking Adventure (Bulla) - Riding the Pony Express (Bulla) - The Secret Valley (Bulla) - Twenty and Ten (Bishop) Fantasy -- or, similar to Mrs. Piggle Wiggle: - A Grain of Rice (Pittman) - Catwings series (LeGuin) - Flat Stanley series (Brown) - Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars; … And the Geiger Counter; …Goes Undersea; … On the Moon; (MacGregor) -- some of the later books get very environmentally preachy, so I left them off the list - Moomintroll series (Jansson) - Moongobble and Me series (Coville) - Dragon Slayer Academy series (McMullan) - The Borrowers series (Norton) - The Littles series (Peterson) - Pippi Longstocking series (Astrid) - Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet; Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet (Cameron) - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; The Glass Elevator (Dahl) - Oz series by Baum - Time Warp Trio series (Scieszka) -- okay, yes: some burps, armpit noises, cheesy jokes/puns; BUT, also history, decent vocabulary, and more creative than Underpants Talking Animal Adventures - The Rescuers; Miss Bianca; The Turret; Miss Bianca in the Salt Mines; Miss Bianca in the Orient (Sharp) - Basil of Baker Street series (Titus) -- OOP, but worth looking for - Varjak Paw; Outlaw Varjak (Said) - Hank the Cowdog series (Erickson) - My Father's Dragon trilogy (Gannett) - Cricket in Times Square (Selden) -- and sequels - Dog Diaries (Duffey) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink and Green Mom Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 I've seen most of these mentioned but I wanted to second (or third) the Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (and the Fudge and Superfudge books), Henry Huggins, Homer Price, Whipping Boy, and Hank the Cowdog. My kids also liked the Bunnicula books as well. McBroom series by Fleishman is always good for a laugh, as was By the Great Horn Spoon (or is it Horned Spoon? can't remember). Some others: -Horrible Histories (The Awesome Egyptians, The Groovy Greeks, The Rotten Romans) -Horrible Geography (Odious Oceans is the only one we've read but I'm sure there are others) -anything by Clements (School Story, Frindle, etc.) -Great Illustrated Classics (Around the World in 80 Days, Red Badge of Courage, Great Expectations, etc. - I was surprised at how much my kids enjoyed these) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In2why Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 The Wayside school series. Even though they are about a school it is a crazy mixed up funny school. My reluctant boy reader loved them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 Thanks!! We have tried these: - Encyclopedia Brown (Sobol) - Boxcar Children (Warner) He used to like these as a read aloud but hates them to read himself for some reason. - The Bears on Hemlock Mountain (Dalgliesh) -- read this and one other by her - Flat Stanley series (Brown) (read book one only so far) - The Littles series (Peterson) (we have read two of these so far) - My Father's Dragon trilogy (Gannett) read these last year and liked! - Time Warp Trio series (Scieszka) Come to think of it he did like these and we only read two. Thanks for the reminder! Thanks for the reminders for the series we didn't finish. I am looking forward to trying out the others you all have suggested! Oh, and I am reading these aloud. We just finished The Turret. The boys love them!! - The Rescuers; Miss Bianca; The Turret; Miss Bianca in the Salt Mines; Miss Bianca in the Orient (Sharp) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 I added a few more titles to the list above. :) Oh, and I am reading these aloud. We just finished The Turret. The boys love them!! - The Rescuers; Miss Bianca; The Turret; Miss Bianca in the Salt Mines; Miss Bianca in the Orient (Sharp) SO glad you are all enjoying these! I absolutely adore this series, and our DSs did too. We re-read these numerous times! From the first book of The Rescuers, Nils and his famous "Up the Norweigans!" :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 My 8 year old son has really enjoy a lot of the books on this list from Memoria Press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaquitita Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 My 8yo son loves boxcar children flat stanley dinosaur cove. All the various burgess animal books, the story ones not the sxhooly ones. Dr Doolittle and anything by roald dahl. I recentl got him a couple books by Michael morpurgo that are good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reign Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Tales of a fourth grade nothing and sequels. Bunnicula books House of Bunnicula books How to Train a Dragon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted May 2, 2014 Author Share Posted May 2, 2014 I'm working on updating my book list with these. I have a list from a prior thread about fantasy books/series. I am adding these and the Memoria list and possibly the IEW list. I'm also putting in reading levels. It might take me awhile but when I am done I will post a link to it for everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted May 2, 2014 Author Share Posted May 2, 2014 Here is my list. I have not added the Memoria Press Summer Reading list or the IEW List yet. This is pretty much all from board contributions. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0oUXygCNeMlNVM4TzV4MVNjUms/edit?usp=sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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