Mandarinmom Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 I am being terribly criticized by my husband for what we used to take from the library to read for 5.5 y.o. 1st grade daughter. She is very advanced reader and reads chapter books in tiny fonts, all with great comprehension, but there are still limitations of what kind of literature would be interested to her 5+ only. He said mostly all the books are junk, except Pipi Longstocking (though I think he accepted this one because we both her and me just love it, and she does lots of drawings on it). My husband is very literate, and has a great command of language, and he is a writer, while English is not even my native language, and I suppose he has a point, but he mostly gives general advises or directions, and not doing any schooling by himself. We have started to read Cider with Rosie yesterday, and it was certainly not her level, too advanced for her, so she got destructed and he got angry. He thinks I hold her back. Please tell me what do you read with 1st grader, do you have any list of good or sofisticated for this matter book, or maybe use some great literature curriculum, I am not sure. Only secular, not religious in any way. Please help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland_Mom Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Here are some books I like: Charlotte's Web Stuart Little The Trumpet and the Swan Encyclopedia Brown (many in this series) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Boxcar Children (many in this series) The Little House on the Prairie (many in this series) Magic Tree House, by Mary Pope Osbourne (many in this series) Whinie the Pooh Pinnochio Tales of Peter Rabbit Night of the Moonjellies Nate the Great (many in this series) Lentil Who Owns the Sun You could try these websites: www.fiveinarow.com Click on the "After 5 in a Row" link. They have some fabulous fiction and a neat guide that you could use to bring it to life. www.veritaspress.com I select the second grade liturature link. They have a lot of very good books. They also have comprehension guides if you wanted them. www.classical-homeschooling.org Select the grammar stage link and then go to 2nd grade literature. They have lots of good books listed too. www.sonlight.com They are known for their good books! You should probably select the their literature from sonlight 2 Advanced or sonlight3 would possibly be a good fit. They are a christian company, but they sell many excellent fiction books. Good luck~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Here are some authors and titles of good classics to read aloud, independently and together. My 2 boys read or listened to all of these at a young age: By EB White: Trumpet of the Swan Stuart Little Charlotte's Web By E Nesbit: Five Children and It The Railway Children and other titles I can't remember, but they are all good by Lynn Reid Banks: I, Houdini Indian in the Cupboard and many other good titles by Frances Hogsden Burnett Secret Garden and others (?) Beatrix Potter stories (some may think they are too babyish, but they are great classics) AA Milne's Pooh stories and poetry books Now we are 6 and When We Were Very Young Rudyard Kipling's Just so Stories Roald Dahl books like James and the Giant Peach Rascal, by Sterling North Tale of Desperaux by Kate diCamillo Mr. Popper's Penguins Mrs. Piggle Wiggle Black Beauty The Wizard of Oz and the other books in the series: Land of Oz Ozma of Oz and others The Hobbit Harry Potter, books 1-3 (my youngest was 5 when we read the first 4 books) The Secret of NIMH Beverly Cleary books One last idea is to make a family day at the library or at your local bookstore and have your husband and daughter pick out some books together, perhaps something they would like to read together at bedtime. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 The Well Trained Mind has lists of authors and books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trivium Academy Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 I'm sure everyone will provide wonderful titles but my suggestion is to read fairy tales, myths and folklore- your dh will probably be satisfied and you can have your dd read the other titles people are suggesting on her own. I would also get an anthology of poetry to read aloud. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Well, I think there's a place for simpler, on-her-level books no matter what level she's reading at, honestly. DD and I read lots of chapter books, and we have to work through them a bit. When we go back to a book that's easier for her to understand, we both enjoy it a lot and it's nice break from working. That said, I do try to pick books at a level slightly higher than her current reading level to do as readalouds, because we're working through them together. Books that she's comfortable reading to herself right now are definitely the easier books, like Magic Treehouse and Magic Schoolbus, The Secrets of Droon, etc. That might be something to take into consideration. I also believe in working at a level she's comfortable with. If you're trying to read books at the next level with her and she's getting frustrated, she just might not be ready yet. I know that we have to stop at least once per page for a vocabulary discussion with most of the chapter books I pick, so that might be too much to cultivate enjoyment for some kids. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Dear Mandarinmom, My heart went out to you after reading your post! First of all: Sonlight Curriculum might be just for your family! http://www.sonlight.com - Check it out. Secondly, I was going to post the classical christian home schooling link but Pylegang already did it. Do not mind the "christian" part. It is a great book list. Pylegang's links are great! Purchase if you possibly can or borrow some resources from the library to arm yourself with great reading lists for your daughter. Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt Books Children Love Most of the book lists I know are in Christian books- such as A Landscape with Dragons. It doesn't mean that every book in the list is religious or christian. Anyway, I hope some of this helps, Sincerely, Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilesonly Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 That is such a hard reading age!:) For wonderful content,but easier reads, so many of the classics have the "Step into Reading" series. For nice chapter books,that I find my dds enjoyed...the first that came to mind are the series,"Betsy and Tacy" and "All of a Kind"(I hope I have that right.) Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tricia Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Oh totally try this. http://www.oldfashioneducation.com You can click on first grade curriculum and it is all free. Tricia http://www.mommyx12.blogspot.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 I would add to that: The Little Princess The Little Prince Little Lord Fauntleroy Follow my Leader Maybe she could even try Black Beauty. A great chance to read the classics! Andrew Lang's fairy tale series (Blue, Red, Green) are top-notch as well. :grouphug: I would suggest dh write down some of his own suggestions. Also gently remind him that keeping reading fun is important, and too many hard books too fast may kill the love of reading for some. I agree with a PP about using the Boxcar Children and the Magic Treehouse for some lighter reading, but I'm not sure dh would agree.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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