3girls4me Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Hi ladies My 5 year old is reading super well and really wants chapter books like her older sisters. She is so young so I want appropriate content but she is past things like Amelia Bedelia and Fancy Nancy! Any suggestions for sweet chapter books that would be good for her? She found some old pony pals books and is working through them but I would rather her have better quality books! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Well, with the caveat that I'm mostly fine with her reading total crap that she enjoys, here's what my 5yo daughter has read lately, they're all series: Ivy and Bean Heidi Heckelbeck Princess in Black American Girl Cam Jansen Katie Kazoo Switcheroo Anna Hibiscus (this is awesome) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 To Jackie's list, I'd add Keena Ford The Stories Julian Tells Ling and Ting Bink and Gollie Nikki and Deja Ruby Lu Zapato Power Lulu and the Duck Get Ready for Gabi Calvin Coconut Milo and Jazz Clubhouse Mysteries Simply Sarah Babymouse (omg Babymouse!) Rapunzel's Revenge These are also all series, and you'll have to find the individual titles. But you know, I'd really encourage her to stick with picture books. Picture books will generally be written at her age level, but with a much higher reading level than she can get from chapter books suitable for five year olds. The assumption, after all, is that an adult will read them to her. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Oh, my daughter loved The Stories Julian Tells! I know there are sequels, and I should look them up. Tanaqui - tell me about your "omg Babymouse!" I've seen the book at the library and/or B&N, but haven't picked it up. Should I be loving all over it? And a giant yes to picture books. DD went through a rough period where she outgrew the "young" ones and hadn't quite been able to grasp the "older" ones, but we're now enjoying lots of picture books with complex issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara.I Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 A Little Princess The Secret Garden The Princess and the Goblin (and MacDonald's other children's stories) The Chronicles of Narnia Five Little Peppers and How They Grew Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Look for stepping stone books...Dd finished Winter Pony after Christmas and I just ordered Summer Pony, but there are all kinds of stories. If she is into Frozen dd has also really liked these, there are actually 6 books http://www.amazon.com/Anna-Elsa-Books-Disney-Frozen/dp/0736434593/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1454496512&sr=1-6&keywords=frozen Little house on the prairie books Black stallion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abba12 Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Milly Molly Mandy a lot of Enid Blytons younger stories like Amelia Jane and Bimbo and Topsy My Naughty Little Sister Madeline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sweetgum Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 We struggled with this too - something that comes after leveled readers but didn't have too many words on the page. Scholastic Branches makes great first chapter books that have a lot of pictures on every page. We also like the Wrenly series, it has a large font. We only stayed at this level for about half a year to build confidence and then moved on to real chapter books with little to no pictures. My kids liked Fancy Nancy too, and then moved to Nancy Clancy, but you will need something in between those levels. Enid Blyton writes sweet stories (I remember them from my childhood!) but it's hard to find her books in the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 I think the TumTum and Nutmeg series sounds like it could be a good fit. They are very sweet chapter books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esse Quam Videri Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Here are some quality beginning chapter books: Tornado Little House chapter books (or actual series if she's ready) The Bears on Hemlock Mountain The Courage of Sarah Noble My Father's Dragon trilogy The Boxcar Children book 1 Stone Fox Dolphin Adventure Hannah Pioneer Cat The Littles The Storm series McBroom's Wonderful One-Acre Farm Sarah, Plain and Tall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 When my girls were that age, Babymouse was like crack. They adored those books, pored over them again and again, and continued reading them long after they'd outgrown other books around that reading level. And I liked them too! They're really cute and clever books. Black stallion For a five year old who's reading Pony Pals? Isn't that a massive jump in difficulty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAttachedMama Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 (edited) Check out Sonlight and Heart of Dakota's reader packages. :) I noticed this thread is basically listing many of these books, so I thought I would send you to the source. ;) That will also help you better group them by reading level. Edited February 3, 2016 by TheAttachedMama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yvonne Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 My boys read & liked Wizard of Oz at six. (It's not nearly as scary as the movie. I had it on the shelf for later, but they found it, read it, and didn't have the nightmares I thought they would. Swiss Family Robinson or Voyages of Dr. Dolittle might be other possibilities. Or the first couple of Little House on the Prairie books. We really like the "Illustrated Junior Library" editions. They are unabridged, so not dumbed down like the "Great Illustrated Classics." But they have three or four full color illustrations and several black and white illustrations scattered throughout the book. They're hard cover, with nice illustrations on the cover, and the paper is better quality than some editions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esse Quam Videri Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Swiss Family would be far too difficult. DD11 is reading it as part of Ambleside Year 6 selections... Ambleside is a great resource for advanced lit that is appropriate maturity wise. If you are looking for classics, there would be many to read before Swiss Family. As mentioned above, The Little Princess, The Secret Garden, The Princess and the Goblin, etc... Also, The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle is more difficult than The Story of Dr. Dolittle. The Story of Dr. Dolittle would be a great choice though, as it's an easier chapter book that still well-written. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 book series - gr. 1-2 level Ivy and Bean series (Barrows) Daisy Dawson series (Voake) Lighthouse Family series (Rylant) Amanda Pig series / Oliver Pig series (Van Leeuwun) Catwings series (Le Guin) Billy and Blaze series (Anderson) Cam Jensen series (Adler) Flat Stanley series (Brown) Anna Hibiscus series (Atinuke) individual titles - gr. 1-2 level A Grain of Rice (Pittman) Phoebe the Spy 9griffin) The Secret Valley (Bulla) Hannah (Whelan) Pioneer Cat (Hooks) Helen Keller (Davidson) Five True Dog Stories; Seven True Horse Stories; Nine True Dolphin Stories (Davidson) The Light at Tern Rock (Sauer) The Best-Loved Doll (Caudill) Squirrel's Birthday and Other Parties (Tellegen) Mouse Tales (Lobel) Three Little Witches; Three Little Pirates (Adams) 3rd grade level Clementine (Pennypacker) Chester Cricket series (Selden) Pippi Longstockings series (Astrid) Twig (Jones) Big Susan (Jones) No Flying in the House (Brock) The Witch Family (Estes) The Saturdays (Enright) Little House in the Big Woods (Wilder) Grandma's Attic series (Richardson) There are some lovely suggestions in this thread, but many are for a grade 5 reading level and up, both in ability but also subject matter/interest level… Perhaps try some of those as read-alouds! :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upptacka Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 So many great suggestions! I will add the Mercy Watson series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Just adding Betsy-Tacy and Paddington Bear. It's hard for me to tell what reading level you're talking about. Scholastic Book Wizard suggests that Pony Pals books are at about a third grade reading level. For various reasons I try not to take reading leveling systems too seriously (for one thing, they tend to disagree with each other in weirdly inconsistent ways), but they're not a terrible place to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 OP? Has any of this been useful? Or are we all way off the mark...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 No one mentioned Mr. Putter and Tabby! They do have chapters but are short. Probably too easy, though. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3girls4me Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 (edited) Sorry for the delay in responding. We've had family in town. Thanks for all of your suggestions. Lots of these are great options!! She has been reading some Mr. Putter and Tabby and Henry and Mudge this week. They are a little easy but she is enjoying them. She also picked out some of Cynthia Rylant's books. I'm going to work through lots of these suggestions. Some are a bit too hard for her, but I have 2 older girls that might enjoy them. Thanks so much for all do your suggestions!! Edited February 6, 2016 by Pdriskell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3girls4me Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 (edited) "Swiss Family would be far too difficult. DD11 is reading it as part of Ambleside Year 6 selections... Ambleside is a great resource for advanced lit that is appropriate maturity wise." Are you saying that Ambleside 2nd grade, for instance, would have advanced books in terms of reading level but content ok for a 2nd grader? I've never used their lists. Edited February 6, 2016 by Pdriskell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nature girl Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 It sounds like she's probably at around the Branches level that someone suggested above, which are meant for kids moving from Easy Readers like Mr. Putter and Tabby into chapter books. My DD especially loved the Franny K. Stein, Dragon Masters and Looniverse series, all Branches books. The Wrenly series is also fantastic for this level, as are the My Father's Dragon and Catwings series. I don't think anyone mentioned Magic Treehouse...Personally I hated them, but they're great easy, high-interest chapter books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 (edited) On 2/6/2016 at 5:10 AM, Pdriskell said: Are you saying that Ambleside 2nd grade, for instance, would have advanced books in terms of reading level but content ok for a 2nd grader? Yes, this. When you compare where Ambleside and other curricula place the same books, Ambleside places many of their books in a younger grade whereas other programs use the same books 2-4 grades later due to reading level, but also due to subject interest level. Ambleside uses all older books (over half of the titles were written over 50-60 years ago), and many classics. So while the content does not include adult subjects, often the interest level of the books are above a younger reader's head, and the older vocabulary and sentence structure might not click for a younger reader. I do love the Ambleside book lists, but I use their lists just for ideas of titles, and do not rely on their suggested grade levels. For example, below is the Free Reading list for 2nd grade. The last two sections look to be on grade-level, but quite a few of the books in the first section are titles that would be better as a read-aloud, or wait until about grade 5-6 to use as a solo-read. JMO. ? That is tough having a student who has the ability to read far their emotional age or maturity level, so many of the books that might be at the student's reading level may still be better to wait on until the student grows up a bit and is a better fit age-wise emotionally and experience-wise. Good luck as you sort through all the booklists in finding what is a good fit for DD! Warmest regards, Lori D. _______________________________ AMBLESIDE - YEAR 2 Additional Books for Free Reading Heidi (Spryi) Wonder Book (Hawthorne) Tanglewood Tales (Hawthorne) Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (Sidney) Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales Pied Piper of Hamelin (Browning) Abraham Lincoln (D'Aulaire) Five Children and It (Nesbit) Little House on the Prairie (Wilder) Doctor Dolittle (Lofting) Mary Poppins (Travers) Brighty of the Grand Canyon (Henry) Mr. Popper's Penguins (Atwater) Otto of the Silver Hand (Pyle) Chanticleer and the Fox (Cooney) Along Came A Dog (De Jong) The Door in the Wall (De Angeli) If your year one-two children need some additional reading practice, we suggest choosing three or four books from the following: Millicent Selsam's easy readers The Boxcar Children (just the first one) (Warner) A Lion to Guard Us (and others) (Bulla) Frog and Toad books (Lobel) A Toad for Tuesday (Erickson) If you would like some easier, but still excellent, living books, for a year 2/3 student to read independently for free reading, consider: The Bears on Hemlock Mountain (Dalgliesh) The Hundred Dresses (Estes) Betsy-Tacy books (Lovelace) Billy and Blaze books (Anderson) Impunity Jane (Godden) Holly and Ivy (Godden) Fairchild Family series (Happy Little Family) (Caudill) The Enormous Egg (Butterworth) _______________________________ If you like looking through booklists for ideas, here are more for you: Reading Lists of Good Books from Curriculum Vendors (by age range or grade level)Five in a RowHeart of DakotaSonlightAmbleside OnsideVeritas PressTapestry of GraceTruth QuestMy Father's WorldBiblioplanBeautiful FeetCenter for LitClassical Christian Homeschooling Catalog Reading List Websites (by age range or grade level)The Great Books Academy - classics, by grade level1000 Good books - good books, by age rangeA Book in Time - historical fiction / non-fiction, by age rangeBook Girl (K-8) - historical fiction, by grade levelTanglewood School (K-8) - good books, by grade level (access by Internet Wayback Machine)Home's Cool - SL books in WTM 4-year cycle, by grammar/logic/rhetoric stageCharlotte Mason Home Education: Twaddle Free Literature - good books, by grade levelCharlotte Mason Help: Books and Schedules - good books, by grade levelAn Old Fashioned Education: Classic Literature - classics, by grade levelPenny Gardener's Readable Science - list by science topic Book Resources Honey for a Child's HeartBooks Children Love Edited October 26, 2018 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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