Chapter Book to Read 3 Yr Old

Another naysayer to those that say that a 3yo won't be interested.

My 3yo LOVED being read to from more advanced chapterbooks than he could read, and knew exactly where we were/left off.

The ones he loved to read himself were the Magic Treehouse books (lots of repetitive language). I stuck with classics; Swiss Family Robinson, Hardy Boys, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Tom Sawyer & Huck Fin, etc. to read aloud.

I would think Charlie & the Chocolate Factory or Charolottes Web would be perfect.

I used to think chapter books were too much for a 3 year old. But when my now 10 year old was 5 (and in kindergarten) I began reading the Junie B. Jones series. Her 3 year old sister was along for the ride (layed in bed with us every night, listening!) and she was pretty into the books as well. At least, she listened every single night. So, I think it's beneficial (and Junie B. Jones is cute - we read the whole series!) Have fun!

These are all really too old for a 3 year old. You need picture books...like The Velveteen Rabbit, The Giving Tree, etc. Head to the library and talk to the children's librarian...they'll have some great stuff for you.

A three year old is not going to stay interested in a chapter book because they need visual cues to understand how the works you are saying link to the story and their imagination. They are not developmentally at the point where a long story of words is going to be interesting.

We read Paddington Bear to our kids when they were little.

What about the Little House on the Prairie books?

What about some Frog & Toad books. Such classics and they're short.

I remember when my son was 4, almost 5 I read him Treasure Island & he loved it.

Have fun! What a great example you're setting!

I think you need a book with lots of pictures at that age. Their attention span and memory of what has been previously read is limited. I would find some longer stories where you can read one at a time at each sitting. There's plenty of time for chapter books when they start reading on their own.

The fairy books by Daisy Meadows. There are over 100 of them. My daughter is almost 4.5 and we started those right before she turned four. She loved them. Now she gets a bit bored of them because they are basically the same story over and over but they have some pictures and it was a good start for us.

Now she loves Ivy & Bean (I change a few of the words in this. I say silly for stupid, etc and skip all the duhs.) She loves Judy Moody and his little brother Stink.

I did read her Charlie and the chocolate factory last month. It was a little slow, but she did get into it. I am not sure how much she retained, but we watched the movie afterwards (the Johnny Depp since it actually follows the book more) and she loved that.

Oh, this is a passion of mine. Ramona books and Charlotte's web would be wonderful. Charotte's Web was the first chapter book I read to my daughter at the ripe old age of 3. Make sure you read every night (never take more than one night off at a time, and try not to do too many of those) or you will lose the child. Anne of Green Gables would be totally over her head. We recently got the book on CD for my five year old, and it was way to wordy for her. Junie B. Jones is a snot-nosed brat who uses the words dumb and stupid constantly and gets rewarded for being obnoxious. She is not welcome in our house. Some other great beginner's chapter books are as follows: anything from the Nate the Great series, Mercy Watson books (oh how I love you, Mercy Watson), Two Times the Fun by Beverly Clearly, The Hundred Dresses, My Father's Dragon.

We also love to get books on CD from the library, and between the ages of 3 and 4 my daughter listened to the whole Little House series while we were in the car, and really, really took to them. We have since listened to many other books on tape, but none have quite captivated my children the way Laura Ingalls Wilder did.

Winnie the Pooh in the book form. There are 4 to the series and I found another online. Charlotte's Web is another gentle story for a child his age. I read my daughters the Little House Series. There are 8 books plus the one her daughter did. It took about a year to get through the whole series.

Little House on the Prairie. It's what my mom read to me, and I to my son.

I think almost anything by Beverly Cleary would be okay. I instantly thought of "The Mouse and The Motorcycle." Since I read my adult books and cooking magazines/cookbooks to my one year old (distractions while I cook for instance), I don't think you have to have pictures. My little guy likes to hear the words. Obviously as he gets older I won't be able to read him just anything but for now he's happy hearing the spoken word.

My favorites when I was young were Hank The CowDog, Boxcar Children, Chronicles of Narnia (she may be too young,) Eloise, Madeline, Nancy Drew, Mouse and The Motorcycle, Magic Treehouse, and American Girl books

My son is 2.5 and enjoys chapter books, so you absolutely don't have to stay with picture books.

Whatever you do read to her now, be sure to read again when she is older. She honestly will not remember the details.

This is what we learned with our daughter. We read a few chapter books to her beginning when she was 3. Once she was older and was choosing chapter books to read herself, she came a cross some of them and read them herself. She said she really felt like she had never heard them because she had not recalled a lot of the story.

In the past, I and I know many of my daycare provider gal-pals, would read at certain points of the daycare day...like as the children ate their lunch, etc...similar books, but usually ones we could follow up with a movie version. That was the treat when we finished. Along the way we would do associated curriculum things (like with Charlottes Web, there might be farm animals in there, spiders in there, added emphasis on ABC's, something about blue ribbon, etc winning or county fair type links, etc. It would be many weeks of reading so we had to keep them "into" it and linked.

Then the BIG movie premiere day was usually a PJ day or jsut movie day. Popcorn, a treat and the works. It always worked great.

So we did ones where there was a good kid movie version. Charlottes web is good as there is a live action or cartoon version, Charlie and the choc factory (2 movie versions as well..we did the old version)....

It worked for me with a young crowd all under age 5.

Good luck!

My daughter (who is 4 now) loves 'Little House in the Big Woods', 'Little House on the Prairie', 'Charlotte's Web' and the Thomas the Tank Engine stories (which are collected in a large volume/book and arranged in order just like chapters). The 'Little House' books that I just mentioned & 'Charlotte's Web' are all available in special 'read aloud' editions (which are larger than the regular editions). These are great for reading to young children. Have fun, but remember to keep the reading materials age-appropriate (or your child may become disinterested). Have fun!

My son is really into the Flat Stanley series. There are pictures in each chapter to help with comprehension!

Most 3 yr olds will not have the attention to remember enough details from night to night to keep up with the story. When my kids were that age, we read LOTS of Frog and Toad type books. :)

My husband used to read Uncle Wiggly to my kids. They loved it. I would suggest that. I would also suggest that what your looking for might be just a big book full of stories but not necessarily a chapter book. Unless your little one is way advanced a chapter book is not going to be something she / he can follow along with and keep remembering from night to night. Shorter stories that are complete each night would be better for that age range. something with pictures that will also stimulate her vocabulary as she can ask about them.

I'll chime in with the Magic Treehouse series as well...my 3 year old and 6 yr old love them.

My son started liking the Mary Pope Osborne Series the Magic Treehouse at that age. Also, Ralph the Mouse and the Motorcycle.

And, in my kids case, it's not true that your child can't listen to a story with no pictures. All my 3 of my kids started listening to chapter books at age 3.

I just got done reading my daughter Charlotte's Web and she followed it pretty well - but she is also 4.5. At 3 I am not sure she would have had the attention span. But every child is different.

For the wee ones who tend to have a short attention span, I usually opt for short stories and poetry (children's classics) with lots of pictures. I'm a big fan of compilation books that highlight a variety of authors.

http://www.amazon.com/20th-Century-Childrens-Book-Treasur...

http://www.amazon.com/HarperCollins-Treasury-Picture-Book...

http://www.amazon.com/You-Read-Me-Ill-Stories/dp/03758108...

http://www.amazon.com/Random-House-Book-Poetry-Children/d...

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Books-Children-Preschool-Liter...

Grandma gave us Tumtum and Nutmeg for Christmas - great beginner chapter book.