AimeeM Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Which of the Magic Treehouse series did your K-1st grader enjoy? Any other favorite chapter book read alouds, for a kiddo who is new to being read to from chapter books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underthebridge Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 All the Roald Dahl books! James and the Giant Peach, the BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, George's Marvellous Medicine Also Babe the Gallant Pig Mrs. Piggle Wiggle Ramona the Pest Charlotte's Web Catwings The Magic Faraway Tree My Father's Dragon Just So Stories All of a Kind Family We are in the middle of Mary Pope Osborne's Tales from the Odyssey which is going down very well. I am following advice I have read on this board to save the easy to read and formulaic chapter books (such as the Magic Treehouse series) for kids to read on their own when they are able. There are so many great lists on this board, just search for "read aloud kindergarten"! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 I am following advice I have read on this board to save the easy to read and formulaic chapter books (such as the Magic Treehouse series) for kids to read on their own when they are able. There are so many great lists on this board, just search for "read aloud kindergarten"! :iagree: Also, The Magic Treehouse has a storyline, so you wouldn't want to read the books out of order. We started reading the books together (C reading out loud, me helping with the difficult words), and now he reads them on his own. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 DS loved Nate the Great this year - every time we went to Barnes and Noble he wanted a new Nate book. Boxcar children Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner were big hits Henry Huggins (and Henry and Ribsy, Henry and Beezus, etc) Charlotte's Web (although I got teary at the end) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 I'd recommend saving the Magic Tree House books for your child to read on his own. My kids when they were 6-7 years old loved: Roald Dahl books Narnia books Oz books Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little Little House books Beverly Cleary books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah0000 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 So far my son has liked Black Beauty and Stuart Little. Charlotte's Web and Magic Tree House were not liked. Next we'll do Mrs Piggle Wiggle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 The Lighthouse Family The Ramona Series Tashi It was a Dark and Stormy Night Mercy Watson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 My DS6 doesn't like read aloud chapter books very much yet, but we've had good luck with the following: Freckle Juice Mercy Watson Captain Awesome books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue daisy Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Charlotte's Web and Trumpet of the Swan My Father's Dragon James Herriot's Treasury for Children Little House books Winnie the Pooh Wind in the Willows Just So Stories I agree with others, that I'd save Magic Treehouse for them to read on their own. They are fairly easy and will give your child confidence once he is able ready to read longer stories on his own. To be honest, the few that I read aloud, I couldn't wait to be done with - we did not find them engaging at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternallytired Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 I, too, chose more complicated books to read to them and left the simpler ones for them to read by themselves. I think all of these have been mentioned, but I thought I'd give them another vote and pitch in my two cents on each. My Father's Dragon was a lot of fun, but they never would have picked it up on their own because of the small font size. (I also read Elmer and the Dragon, which they liked but I didn't think was quite as well written. I tried to convince them to read it on their own, but the crowded text was a no-go.) Little House in the Big Woods was easy for them to relate to because Laura was about their age, but the book is long for a kid to read (though DS loved it so much that he plowed through it on his own after I read it aloud). I actually read the first several books of the series to them, but by Silver Lake Laura is really too old for them to relate to her perspective (though they still loved the book). Charlotte's Web and Trumpet of the Swan were big hits at our house. Winnie the Pooh is hilarious, and his humor is perfect for about five or six, but the language is really quite difficult, so it's a much better read-aloud at this age. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 (edited) Charlotte's Web and the classic Winnie the Pooh are the traditional kindy read alouds in my house. Edited September 23, 2023 by SilverMoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 … aargh! misread the original post! never mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 We are on a Kate Decamillo kick at the moment. ds8 and ds6 have enjoyed The tale of Despereaux, Because of Wine Dixie and now The Adventures of Edward Tullane. Ds6 has liked Because of Wine Dixie best though. I read Magic Tree House aloud sometimes especially when it matches our history but mostly I think the kids should read them their selves. The first chapter books I read them (at 3 and 5) where Horrid Henry and Winnie the Pooh where each chapter is a self contained story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Jamie and Angus were my boys' first real favorite read alouds when they were little. I agree with the save the early chapter books to be independent reads advice. There's plenty of other options not to have to subject yourself to the poor writing in MTH. (And I say that with affection for how MTH can move kids forward as independent readers.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilajoy Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 My son loved all of the Magic Tree House books, 1-28. (We read them in order.) Similar in feel is The Secrets of Droon series; we recently read the first two, and it was a hit. Like the Magic Tree House, the writing is very stilted and the plot oversimplified and implausible -- but hey, it works for a 5 or 6-year-old. My Father's Dragon was also well received, though not its sequels. The original is the best. If you can handle "gross" humor (boogers, vomit, bugs, etc.) check out the Grunt and Grouch books. I forget who the author is, but they're British books about two trolls who are roommates and constantly getting into disgusting messes. Naturally, they were a big hit with my son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted June 7, 2015 Author Share Posted June 7, 2015 I hope this doesn't sound terrible... but I really enjoy MTH, which is why I wanted to share them with DS6, lol. I don't think the books are poor writing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PamJBA Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 I'd read them in order. DD lost interest after a while, so we didn't make it very far into the series. The same thing happened with Junie B books, although I do have a favorite of those. I actually read a lot of easy books to DD in addition to the more traditional read-alouds. As she became more confident she'd ask to read a sentence or paragraph or even a page. Sometimes she'd even want to practice reading the page I'd just read. We eventually alternated chapters. We still do that from time to time because her reading level far exceeds her reading stamina. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahjokim Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 When we first started books without many pictures these worked really well for us: http://www.wellreadkid.com/top-10-first-chapter-books-for-preschoolers/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 I hope this doesn't sound terrible... but I really enjoy MTH, which is why I wanted to share them with DS6, lol. I don't think the books are poor writing... The first one is full of sentence fragments. (Go look. I'll wait. See?) It drives me crazy. I think they are awful read alouds, but my kids loved to read them. YMMV! Dd loved Mary Pope Osborne's Odyssey series, though--much better writing and much better for reading aloud! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 I hope this doesn't sound terrible... but I really enjoy MTH, which is why I wanted to share them with DS6, lol. I don't think the books are poor writing... It doesn't sound terrible. I think they're great storytelling. They're genuinely fun. They're super educational. But I agree with Chris above about the sentence fragments, especially in the earlier books (I haven't read much of the later ones, but I'm told they get slightly more sophisticated). Also, they are just so darn repetitive after awhile. Take a drink every time Jack misses something because he was trying to write something in that notebook. Take a swig every time Annie runs off when she shouldn't... I feel like the best books to read aloud are the ones where the kids will appreciate the story but won't be able to read them themselves for awhile. So there's also this element of rich vocabulary and great sentences which MTH doesn't have. That said, sometimes we break up the more heavy read alouds with a lighter, more plot driven one. And if reading MTH works for you guys, then you should do it. Totally. Just save some of the other series like it for independent reading. And maybe work in some of the more complex stuff as well once there's an appreciation of longer stories and fewer pictures. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Read the first MTH first then just read them as you find them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underthebridge Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 I posted on the site news board that we might have a separate book sub forum since so many of us are interested in these lists - if you agree, please post here! http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/551953-separate-book-subforum/?hl=read+aloud ------ Here are some past threads with similar lists of read alouds http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/549427-best-read-aloud-chapter-books-for-kindergarten-or-other-read-alouds/?hl=+kindergarten%20+read%20+aloud http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/536862-talk-to-me-about-read-alouds/?hl=kindergarten+read+aloud&do=findComment&comment=6088344 http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/552632-favorite-hidden-gem-read-alouds-for-k-3/?hl=%2Bhidden+%2Bgem+%2Bread+%2Baloud http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/551128-top-3-read-alouds/?hl=read+aloud&do=findComment&comment=6350812 http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/545232-what-are-the-read-alouds-that-you-want-everyone-to-hear/?hl=read+aloud&do=findComment&comment=6241223 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwilk Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 My DD and I are working our way through the fiction and non-fiction (we are just hitting number 51---High Time for Heroes), so we've made it through most of the series. Personally, I can't wait to be done. I agree with other posters that (especially after 50 books), it starts to get a bit formulaic. We stumbled across the series almost by accident when we were looking for stories about dinos, and the kid was hooked. Favorite fiction stories included Winter of the Ice Wizard, Monday with a Mad Genius, and Abe Lincoln at Last. Favorite non-fiction ones included the dinosaurs book (obviously), ancient Rome, and ancient Greece. I will say that even though the books get a bit dull for me to read after a while, they have started some really interesting bunny trails. We've explored jazz when we read about Louis Armstrong, classical music when we read about Mozart, and the relationship between people and animals when we read about pandas. I've enjoyed the rabbit trails. I hope you enjoy the series. I do really like how it's helped my DD get interested in a whole lot of different subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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