nature girl Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Can any of you recommend books at this level? I'm looking for both reading level, and appropriateness for younger kids (so no difficult concepts, or violence. One and Only Ivan would be at her reading level but too intense, books like Cricket in Times Square/Charlotte's Web and much of Kate DiCamillo (Tulane, Despereaux...) are okay as a read aloud, and she'd be able to read the words, but I think they'd be a little beyond her comprehension abilities if she read them to herself...) She also has trouble if there's too much text on each page...She didn't like Boxcar Children, to my chagrin, I think partly because she prefers fantasy or animal stories, and partly because there weren't enough pictures and those it had were very stylized. I've really been struggling to find books that will challenge her without challenging too much... (Bonus points if the writing is also good. :) ) Tall order, I know...Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Lots of picture books are written at that level, and since they're generally written with the idea that parents read them to kids, they are sure to be appropriate in content. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 My 2nd grader adored The Littles. She went from there to the Burgess animal stories, like Chatterer the Squirrel, Paddy the Beaver, and such. They're about the same size as a Littles book, but slightly more challenging to read. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arliemaria Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 A Toad for Tuesday 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Tales From Maple Ridge series Kingdom of Wrenly series Akimbo and the ____ series Not classics, but good low-level stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UCF612 Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 My son moved from The Littles to Geronimo Stilton. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nature girl Posted April 11, 2016 Author Share Posted April 11, 2016 My son moved from The Littles to Geronimo Stilton. I'd never heard of this series...It looks like so much fun!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My4arrows Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 If you aren't looking for classics and just fun series to read at that level, mine loved Imagination station A to Z mysteries Cam Jansen Gernomino Stilton Humphrey That's all I can think of off the top of my head. These are their fun reading they pick up at the library Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 (edited) My dd11, dd9, and dd8 will probably have some ideas. I'll try to remember to ask them tomorrow. Edited April 12, 2016 by Junie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UCF612 Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I'd never heard of this series...It looks like so much fun!!! It is my son's favorite. He got his best friend hooked on them too. And there are a TON! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 The Droon Series by Tony Abbot.https://www.scholastic.com/droon/series.htmthere is some fun bonus material here. Both dc's loved them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Cynthia Rylant's The Lighthouse Family series. George's Marvelous Medicine, Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl (my oldest didn't like the absurdity of Dahl at that age, but the others loved it) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Scholastic book wizard has a great feature called "book alike" that pulls similar books by theme, reading level, interest level, etc: http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 My daughter has similar preferences despite a high reading level. She is enjoying the Bink and Gollie books from Kate DiCamillo, which are pretty fun. She also recently gobbled up all the Anna Hibiscus books by Atinuke. She just started on the Clementine books, which are a bit of a stretch regarding the words/picture ratio, but is loving those as well. She also reads lots of picture books that honestly have more complex writing and storytelling. And piles of series books with much lower quality writing. But since I'm not sure if you're looking for either of those options, I'll spare you the lists for now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildwood Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Frogwilla A Treefrog's Story by Cheri Hallwood 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildwood Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 PS-My daughter fell in love with Frogwilla so much she emailed the author to thank her for the story and to share how much she loved it. She also asked the author if she was going to write a sequel and the author wrote back and said yes : 0 ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriciaT Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 My daughter recommends: Rescue Princesses (they rescue animals, super cute) Rainbow Fairies Disney Fairies (not the ones based on movies, the line of chapter books) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nature girl Posted April 12, 2016 Author Share Posted April 12, 2016 This is so great, thank you! Some of these I read to her awhile ago and forgot about, some she's read and some are brand new to me. I'm having fun filling up my library hold list. (I've always thought the librarians must LOVE me. *sarcasm*) She also reads lots of picture books that honestly have more complex writing and storytelling. And piles of series books with much lower quality writing. But since I'm not sure if you're looking for either of those options, I'll spare you the lists for now. Oh don't spare me! We love picture books, but for whatever reason I've always treated them as read alouds, rather than books she should pick up to read herself. (I think this just goes back to last year when she was learning through ER books, and the picture books were too hard for her, for the most part. I'd love to hear your suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesmere Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 (edited) I don't think these meet all the things you asked for, but my kids loved Catwings & My Father's Dragon. I know a lot of them have probably too much text on each page but some are illustrated.Some were more loved than others:A Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz Necklace of Raindrops by Joan AikenA Beginning, A Muddle, and an End by Avi (also, The End of the Beginning) The Cat Who Came In off the Roof by Annie M.G. Schmidt Goth Girl books by Chris RiddellDragonbreath series by Ursula Vernon 26 Fairmount Ave series by Tomie dePaola The Lighthouse books by Cynthia Rylant (Thimbleberry Stories -- also adorable, colorful) The Unicorn Secret series by Kathleen Duey Toon Tellegan booksPippi Longstocking Robin Hood by David CalcuttLady Lollipop by Dick King-Smith (actually, I think they read most of his early on)Beverly Cleary booksOddfellow's Orphanage by Emily Wingfield MartinBunnicula seriesThere's an Owl in the Shower by Jean Craighead GeorgeMercy Watson books Tumtum and Nutmeg booksThey also read tons of read alouds and story books that had a high level of writing and I count those as much as any chapter book for reading. They also enjoyed the Barefoot Books Independent Readers books. Edited April 13, 2016 by CaladwenEleniel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Oh don't spare me! We love picture books, but for whatever reason I've always treated them as read alouds, rather than books she should pick up to read herself. (I think this just goes back to last year when she was learning through ER books, and the picture books were too hard for her, for the most part. I'd love to hear your suggestions! Here are some of the lists that I've created that contain lots of picture books: Our first grade literature list Our kindergarten literature list Reading list for preschoolers at a third grade reading level (despite the "preschooler", I made these lists meaning them for a reference for books with "safe" content but higher reading levels and good writing) Reading list for preschoolers at a 4th/5th grade reading level Some of my favorites from those lists: Micawber by John Lithgow Any of the fairy tales by Paul O. Zelinsky Pretty much anything by William Steig, but especially Brave Irene Minpins by Roald Dahl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nature girl Posted April 12, 2016 Author Share Posted April 12, 2016 Caladwen and Jackie, thank you!!!! Seriously, I'm drooling looking through these and I think my heart rate just doubled. I love this level of books, when we "popcorn" read they're actually fun for me too, especially those I remember from my own childhood. (Speaking of which, my current suggestion for anyone following and at the same level, is The Witch Family, one of my favorites as a kid. SO much fun for both of us. :) We're almost done, and I'll be mourning it...) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesmere Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Caladwen and Jackie, thank you!!!! Seriously, I'm drooling looking through these and I think my heart rate just doubled. I love this level of books, when we "popcorn" read they're actually fun for me too, especially those I remember from my own childhood. (Speaking of which, my current suggestion for anyone following and at the same level, is The Witch Family, one of my favorites as a kid. SO much fun for both of us. :) We're almost done, and I'll be mourning it...) How did I forget The Witch Family? My oldest adores that book. A couple others they reminded me about -- books by Kaye Umansky, the Arabel books by Joan Aiken, The Five Sisters by Margaret Mahy, and Witch Wars by Sibéal Pounder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Puppy Place series A to Z/Calendar Mysteries/Capital Mysteries Cam Jansen/Young Cam Jansen Cul-de-Sac Kids (Christian content) American Girl Hopscotch Hill School series Puppy Friends series Magic School Bus Magic Tree House 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PagesandFields Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 (edited) BEST... THREAD... EVER! Burgess, Brambly Hedge stories sorta, we have found the Ralph mouse and some Beverly Cleary stories to be like this because of their accessibility. If you are open to Waldorf stories with fairies or gnomes there is an author named Reg Down that my kids really love, that for us fills this gap... longer chapter books for read alouds, but stories still appropriate for a 4year old to hear and be interested in... Magic tree house! The Mercy Watson books are hilarious... We have started reading them if we have had a challenging day because they make all of us smile... :) LOTS of fantastic pictures illustrated by Chris VAn Dusen who my husband actually knew, who is a really underrated author/illustrator I think... Edited April 13, 2016 by PagesandFields 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nature girl Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 If you are open to Waldorf stories with fairies or gnomes there is an author named Reg Down that my kids really love, that for us fills this gap... longer chapter books for read alouds, but stories still appropriate for a 4year old to hear and be interested in... I LOVE Reg Downs!! I still have such warm and fuzzy memories of curling up on the couch with DD and reading about Tiptoes and Jeremy mouse...Never thought of them as books for her to read to herself, but I bet they'd be perfect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 My daughter is at that level of reading now. Things she has enjoyed: My Naughty Little Sister stories Jacob Two-Two Noddy stories - some of the older editions have questionable aspects but this isn't so much an issue with newer ones. The Twits The Wednesday Witch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esse Quam Videri Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Don't miss all the Thorton Burgess books!! There is a box set of Dover Thrift versions that's really cheap on Amazon. My kids all adored these! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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