Jump to content

Menu

Quality book series for girls at 2nd-3rd grade reading level


Recommended Posts

My 2 daughters both read at a mid-third grade level.  I would love to find a few book series for the girls to read through during quiet reading time.  I want to avoid junky stuff like the Frozen chapter books (ugh) if possible.  My almost 9 year old has enjoyed the Kingdom of Wrenly series and we are buddy-reading the Ramona books.  My 6 year old loves funny or strange stories.  She and I are reading an abridged version of Dr. Dolittle and she really likes it.  Anyone have suggestions?  Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It can be hard to find chapter books that are suitable for a six year old. Either they contain heavier material than the parents want, or they simply contain material that goes over the child's head. I have said it before, and I will certainly say it again - the best thing to do with an advanced reader at this age is to simply stick with a higher level of chapter books. Since chapter books are generally written with the assumption that an adult is reading to a child, they generally include more unusual vocabulary and more complex sentence structure than chapter books for kids in the same age range, and yet, the material is definitely age appropriate. Plus, they have pictures!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What about some magazine subscriptions:

 

Stories +
Humpty Dumpty (gr. 1-2)
Jack and Jill (gr. 3-5)
Stone Soup (gr. 3+) -- stories written by children

Spider (age 6-9) -- stories and literature

Cricket (age 9-14) -- contemporary and historical fiction

 

Nature/Animals
Ranger Rick Jr. (ages 4-7)
Ranger Rick (ages 7-12)

Current Events
Scholastic News (secular) gr. 1-6
God's World: World Kids (Christian) -- gr. 2-5
Time for Kids (secular) -- gr. 3-6

History, Culture, Inventions, etc.
Appleseeds (ages 6-9) -- history, art, science

Click (ages 3-6) -- science, art, nature

Ask (ages 6-9) -- scientists, inventors, artists

Muse and Odyssey have merged (age 9-14) -- science, tech, arts

Cobblestone (age 9-14) - American history

Dig and Calliope have merged (age 9-14) -- archaeology and world history

Faces (age 9-14) -- cultures around the world

Kids Discover (ages 10-14) -- science/history -- can purchase as stand-alone back issues

 

 

Also, don't discard the idea of solo/independent reading with books at a level that is a bit below the student's reading level, as that definitely builds reading confidence and fluency, too. :)

 

These are all book series:

 

mystery/detective:

gr. 1 reading level:

- Nate the Great (Sharmat)

 

gr. 2-3 reading level:

- Cam Jensen (Adler)

- Jigsaw Jones (Prellar)

- A to Z Mysteries (Roy)

- High Rise Private Eyes (Rylant)

 

gr. 3 reading level:

- Third Grade Detectives (Stanley)

- Invisible Inc (Levy)

- Einstein Anderson (Simon)

 

gr. 3-4 reading level:

- Boxcar Children (Warner)

- Encyclopedia Brown (Sobol)

 

adventure/misadventure

gr. 1-2 reading level:

- Billy and Blaze series

 

gr. 3 reading level:

- Grandma's Attic (Richardson)

- The Moffats (Estes)

 

fantasy/fantastical adventure

gr. 1-2 reading level:

- The Littles (Peterson)

- Flat Stanley (Brown)

 

gr. 2 reading level:

- Cat Wings (Le Guin)

 

gr. 2-3 reading level:

- Dragonslayer Academy (McMullan)

- The Unicorn's Secret (Duey)

 

gr. 3 reading level:

- Pippi Longstockings (Lindgren)

- Chester Cricket (Seldon)

- My Father's Dragon (Gannett)

- Mrs. Pickerell (MacGregor) -- the 1960s books are best; the ones written after 1975 are not so good

 

gr. 3-4 reading level:

- The Rescuers, Miss Bianca, The Turret, Miss Bianca in the Salt Mines, Miss Bianca in the Orient (Sharp)

- Wizard of Oz (Baum) -- Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz were favorites here

- The Borrowers (Norton)

- Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (MacDonald)

Edited by Lori D.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I second Nate the Great, Cam Jansen, the Boxcar Children, and Beverly Cleary's Ramona series. Dd has also enjoyed the Littles, Flat Stanley, Pippi Longstocking, and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. She did binge-read a ton of Geronimo Stilton books and Magic Tree House books.

 

Dd (7) is reading over my shoulder and suggests Rainbow Magic and Scooby Doo, but I wouldn't consider them "quality literature." Lol

 

Try Sonlight's reading lists for ideas.

Click on their reader packages by grade (2 and/or 3) and you can see the titles.

https://www.sonlight.com/homeschool/subjects/readers/readers-2/

 

Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe not what you are looking for, but my 9 year old loved:

 

My father's dragon-but to be fair, that lasted a week

Stories from Grandma's attic, and sequels

Ivy and Bean

Fancy Clancy

"Who was" series. (All the kids have enjoyed this biographical series. It's a favorite)

Scientists in the Field series

Bad Kitty

 

 

Some of those are more "quality" than others. But all were enjoyed :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks so much everyone!  I think we may go with a bunch of Cynthia Rylant books.  I love those!  I also really like the idea of magazines.   My 6 year old would like those Bad Kitty ones as well.  Oh, in case this helps anyone reading with a younger advanced reader, the Little Golden Books were perfect for my 5 year old this year--more difficult language and lots of pictures :)

 

Thanks again everyone!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Because you said funny, maybe Amelia Bedelia books. What confuses me is that when I was in a book store the other day the ones on display seemed to star Amelia as a child. I remember them being about an employee that mixed up commands. So, I don't know what's up with that... I may have to do some research lol. But in any case, they might both be geared toward that age group.

 

Edited: oh, guess they are about the childhood Amelia. Haven't read any of those versions.

Edited by heartlikealion
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...