Comments on: Our first chapter book

By: Julie

Julie — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 04:18:26 +0000

Thank you Candice! I will try out some old favorites on him and look into the titles that aren’t familiar to me. We have now read eight of the Magic Tree House books and he loves them. He wants to read them in one sitting. However, it takes a lot of ‘work’ to have him tell me about what we just read.

Back on the story book front, but ones with a lot of words per page, my sister turned me on to Alfie and Annie Rose. Alfie is 4-5 and his sister Annie Rose is around 2. Great stuff for young ones with a little sibling. We have a compilation of several stories and several pages are 1/4 picture to 3/4 words.

By: Gina

Gina — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 04:29:25 +0000

Heather – My Father’s Dragon was our first chapter book too, at the suggestion of a dear friend. Patrick and I really enjoyed reading the stories each night together and I, too, was surprised that he didn’t miss the pictures. The other books in the trilogy are just as wonderful.

We’ve also enjoyed Frog & Toad series, and now he’s onto Magic Tree House books. It’s great to follow their lead in terms of interests – and fun to see where they take us.

By: Candice

Candice — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:20:59 +0000

I’m posting a follow-up comment mostly in response to Julie wondering about classics and if her child is perhaps too young. First, full disclosure: I’m a teacher supervisor for a company that offers nationwide summer reading programs for children and adults of all ages. I’m commenting here as a private individual who loves books, loves kids and has spent a lot of time working with parents (and their children) on reading. I posted the titles I did specifically because “My Father’s Dragon” was the original book in question. Now I want to back up a little. Rule of thumb: read what you love / what they love. As long as you’re reading with them, you’re doing something amazing for them. Follow their lead but have some fun introducing them to things *you* loved as a kid. If they lose interest, put the book away and try again in a few months. Be ready for tons of re-reading as they decide on favorites – repetition is good. Watch your child’s story-stamina … if s/he’s 3-4 years old, has had a lot of exposure to books, is starting to re-tell stories and can stay focused for a while, by all means introduce early chapter books, like the Magic Treehouse series. However, for most children under 5, sticking to great picture books like Little Bear, Caps for Sale, Frog and Toad etc is appropriate. Reading should be a zero-pressure activity for everyone concerned.

By: Kristina

Kristina — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 05:49:34 +0000

My daughter, Emma, just turned 4 in December. We started with the Rainbow Magic series about 6 months ago. She really liked them. We were at Gramma’s one day and she wanted me to read a book she had found that had dolphins on it. It was a Magic Tree House book. Now she is hooked. We love to both read and listen to the books. We drove from Iowa to Arizona and back over the New Year and listened, almost non-stop, to some of the Magic Tree House books.

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:26:18 +0000

We started reading the I Can Read Books, levels of pre-reader and 1, at age 18 months when my aunt sent us a Little Bear Treasury. They have been great – usually three to four stories per book, though sometimes only one. He loves them and will have them memorized by the time he can read them.

I’m fascinated to see the Mouse and the Motorcycle, The Borrowers, and other classics listed (my 2nd grade teacher read us M&M, usually outside under a tree). I adored these books as a kid, but as a 5 – 8 year old (I had trouble learning to read). My son is 3 1/2 – too early or just right? We have read books #1 and #2 of the Magic Treehouse series and he loved them. We got #2 yesterday and read the whole thing with the last five chapters in one sitting.

By: mayberry

mayberry — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 04:25:17 +0000

For the early reader, pseudo-chapter stories Whitney is referring to, we like the Poppleton books. Both of my kids also love Horrid Henry right now, although I think a lot of it is sailing over my 4-year-old’s head.

By: Elyse

Elyse — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:25:07 +0000

We are huge fans of the “Rainbow Magic Fairy” series. I bought one about a guinea pig fairy for my daughter when she was about 4 because she loved fairies and guinea pigs. I thought she might be too young but she made me finish the entire book that night. We have since read every other one written and have moved on to some new series … “Ivy and Bean” and “Sister Magic”. And now my 3 year old insists on reading these chapter books with us a night instead of the usual picture books!

By: Melitsa

Melitsa — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:15:52 +0000

Mouse and the motorcycle was our first and a favourite. We read and listened too. It seemed to keep everyone happy.

I read a few of the smaller books we have as chapter books using Audacity. The boys could go and find which one to listen to and here me
We found the cartoon captain underpants series the baby one…..dh got that pleasure ( Potty humour)
We are now trying the Roald Dahl series- currently James and Giant peach.

By: Wendy Copley

Wendy Copley — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:43:27 +0000

Thanks for all the great suggestions, guys! A lot of old favorites have popped up on this list along with some others that I’ve not heard of before. My 5yo really enjoys the Geronimo Stilton books and always pick a couple when we go to the library, but my husband and I find them torturous to read. I can’t wait to bring some of these home and dig in.

By: Whitney

Whitney — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:08:10 +0000

I think there’s a place on the reading continuum before chapter books where we have been resting. Early Readers is the heading on this shelf at the library. Frog and Toad and Amelia Bedelia both live there. As does Little Bear (so not scary or funny, it’s boring, but for some reason well-loved.) There are some pigs named Oliver and Amanda, too.

These are all series of soft-cover books that have stand alone 4-6 stories per book. Not exactly chapters. There is an illustration on each page. Maybe a good first step for those who are ready to venture out of picture books.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:05:13 +0000

Mr. Popper’s Penguins is great.
Charolette’s Web

There is a series my son enjoys listening to as he falls asleep…they are longer books on cd/tape..but not so long. He can listen to the whole story. They are Mercy Watson…by the author of Winn Dixie…Kate DeCamillo or something like that.

By: Candice

Candice — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:00:10 +0000

I second all of Mindy’s suggestions! And if Ramona is a hit, don’t forget Henry Huggins. There are four books about toad brothers named Warton and Morton – they are wonderful. Start with “A Toad for Tuesday” (Russell Erickson). Some others your boys might like: “The Book of Three” (Lloyd), “Mr Popper’s Penguins” (Atwater), “The Half-a-Moon Inn” (Fleischman), “Mrs Piggle-Wiggle (MacDonald), “Five Children and It” (Nesbit), “The Borrowers” (Norton), “The Hoboken Chicken Emergency” (Pinkwater) and “Abel’s Island” (Steig).