cassafraz Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I don't remember who it was on this board that recommended Scholastic Branches books for a reluctant chapter book reader, but THANK YOU!!! My ds is in first grade and reading at a 3rd grade level during our practice time, but I just couldn't get him to break away from early readers and picture books during free read time and he would only read when asked to. After following some great advice from the hive, I stopped pushing so hard and accepted that if I wanted him to love reading I needed to let him enjoy it and read at whatever level he enjoyed. I reeled in my expectations and stopped expecting him to read on the high end of his reading level just because he could. If he wanted to read Elephant and Piggie AGAIN, well, at least he was reading. More Fly Guy? Sure, why not. Meanwhile I kept throwing high interest chapter books in his path to see what he might be interested in. We have had a few successes along the way but nothing grand. But then, last week we picked up all four of the Looniverse series from our Library. They are part of the scholastic branches books which are targeted at kiddos that CAN read at a 2nd-3rd grade level but are intimidated by full chapter books. Oh my goodness! He flew through all 4 of them in 3 days. Every time I looked up he had his nose in a book. Every time we left the house, he had to bring his book. He has begged to go to the library today to find something else by this author. It was a beautiful week. Truly. So, thank you, whoever you were. You helped my son learn that reading is magical and made my week, maybe month or even year! For anybody that may be interested: http://www.scholastic.com/branches/looniverse.htm 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I saw a different series by scholastic branches at a bookstore this weekend. Nice pictures but not a picture book, looks like good stories, and not too overwhelming. I put some on our library list. They are above DS level but I will look into more and use them as fun bedtime read alouds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 The Branches series also fills a gap for struggling readers -- for children who need more than Frog & Toad, but aren't quite ready to read a "real" novel. My daughter loves the Dragon Masters series -- it is what finally got her reading! Another recommendation that is slightly easier (similar fantasy series, with fabulous pictures and not-so-many words/page): The Kingdom of Wrenly. We are really loving this series, as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Thanks for the kingdom of wrenly rec. I'm adding it to my list. The dragon masters series was what I saw in the bookstore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassafraz Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 I saw a different series by scholastic branches at a bookstore this weekend. Nice pictures but not a picture book, looks like good stories, and not too overwhelming. I put some on our library list. They are above DS level but I will look into more and use them as fun bedtime read alouds. There are lower level Branches books too, with fewer words and color pictures instead of black and white. It might be something to look into! If it were me, I would leave the series until your DS is ready for them. They are fabulous for grabbing an emerging reader and hooking them on reading. I think that part of the problem we encountered is that we had read aloud several series, such as Henry Huggins or Magic Tree House, when he was younger so there were fewer early chapter books to grab his attention and really get him excited about reading. That may not happen for you, but I just wanted to share what happened for us! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 There are lower level Branches books too, with fewer words and color pictures instead of black and white. It might be something to look into! If it were me, I would leave the series until your DS is ready for them. They are fabulous for grabbing an emerging reader and hooking them on reading. I think that part of the problem we encountered is that we had read aloud several series, such as Henry Huggins or Magic Tree House, when he was younger so there were fewer early chapter books to grab his attention and really get him excited about reading. That may not happen for you, but I just wanted to share what happened for us! I've thought about that, but DS has dyslexia and I'm not certain I want to keep books from him as a carrot. The scope and sequence of his learning to read will be a lot different than other kids, with many words out of reach for a while, possibly making many books too young when his skills are finally up to the levels. I also pre screen books so that he's not struggling to read when he is handed something. That being said, if he voluntarily asked to read them, I wouldn't stop him! :). I'm going to check a few out and see if we'll wait or not. That being said, I don't really need it for literature. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.