Favorite Childhood Books

I loved the Boxcar Children when I was really young. They're for pretty young kids and a great start into mystery!

ALLLLL of the Beverly Cleary books -Henry and Ramona and Beezus -they're all great.

She's probably a little too young for Anne of Green Gables, but look over them and read them to her at some point!

There are lots of "Beginning Reader" small chapter books at the book stores if you go look in the kids section. Not too long or with chapters that are too long, but appropriate for this age group.

We've been reading _Pippi Longstocking_, _Winnie the Pooh_, and _The Wizard of Oz_ to my 3-year-old. (She reminds me of Pippi, which is why I chose that one.) _Peter Pan_ was one that my Dad read to me early, and I'm looking for a copy now.

I've been finding that fantasy stories often work better than stories set in the real world, because a very young kid doesn't necessarily have the knowledge and experience assumed in a story set in the real world, while a fantasy story will explain all the little details. On the other hand, be very careful to explain the difference between fantasy and reality. (My daughter would have happily jumped off the roof because Pippi had no trouble jumping down that far.)

I'm also finding that it helps sometimes to read a chapter twice before going on, or summarize where the story is before reading on. And for "Wizard of Oz", my daughter wanted to open up the book and start over immediately after finishing. She's absorbing more of it this time.

My son is 5 and I have been reading chapter books to him for about a year and a half now. He loves Harry Potter, the Redwall series, and the Hobbit.

Winnie-the-pooh
Wind in the Willows
The Enormous Crocodile (Roald Dahl)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Roald Dahl)
Any of Shel Silverstein's books of poetry (A light in the attic, where the sidewalk Ends)
Magic Treehouse series

In addition, with careful hunting you can find good versions of classics such as Peter Pan, Alice and Wonderland, and anthologies of fairy tales that keep the original text and language, but add significant amounts of illustrations and shorten the amount of text per page to maintain their interest.

Another thing we do is purchase unabridged audiocassettes and/or get them from the library of the same stories. We will put them on in the car, in the house when the kids are just playing, and after I've read to them and they're just falling asleep. This helps give a bit more familiarity with the vocabulary and plot line of the story, which makes them more engaged and interested in reading.

I have a lot more recommendations, but it is hard to get too specific without knowing her interests and maturity level. For example, the above are all books that my three year old daughter will listen to with great, maintained interest (she will be four in the fall), but it has only been in the past few months that I could really get my just-turned six year old son to focus as much as his younger sister on the very same material. If you want to share what kind of story lines your daughter enjoys and what kind of focus-level you think she has, I'd be happy to add more!

charlottes web, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Ghost Horse (out of print, can order it though) Boxcar Children, Little House series, Narnia series

The Magic Treehouse series has been a hit with my kids.

I always like reading the Box Car Children series. It's about adventures these 4 children have after their parents die and they meet their rich Grandfather. They are about 3-4 grade level books. I still love to read them. J.

A Pocket for Corduroy! (And Corduroy) I LOVED those book when I was a child! Also I loved Amelia Bedelia!

my husband had a book when we got married that was from when he was a child. It was called Uncle Wiggly. He read it to my kids as they were growing up and when my daughter had her first child we bought her a copy of it. the grandkids love it as much as my kids and my husband did as a kid. its just silly bedtime stories but they love them.

Here are some of my favorites:
Bridge to Terabithia
The Hobbit
Anne of Green Gables
Definitely the Ramona books
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
The BFG (same author as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
The Black Cauldron series
Charlottes Web
Annie
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Although there is some controversy around them (for the occasional use of words like "stupid" and also for some "childish" language, which is criticized as poor grammar), we love the Junie B series. (We all laugh out loud--even my husband.) I think of Junie B. as this generation's Ramona Q.

I think Charlottes Web and Velveteen Rabbit are a little macabre for a 4 yo! LOL But James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Wind in the Willows, Frog and Toad books would be great.
The first chapter book I read to my son was Treasure Island and he LOVED it!

Wind in the Willows--you can find beautifully illustrated versions, but it is a chapter book. She might also enjoy the first or second Narnia books (later ones might be better when she is older), The Reluctant Dragon (Kenneth Grahame), Winnie-the-Pooh books, and maybe even the Little House books. Sadly, I loved reading Edgar Allen Poe when I was a kid, and looking at the illustrations before I could read, but most children would not enjoy that. :)

My favorate books as a child were the Ramona books by Beverly Clever and the Box Car Children.

"Heidi" was my favorite. There are so many great books, both my daughter's enjoyed "The Secret Garden".

Other thoughts
Charlotte's Wed
Matlinda (or anything by Roland Dahl)
Ramona / Ramona and her Mother / by Judy Blume
The Magic Tree House series (rather short, you could read a book a night)
The American Girl Series
you may want to check out the illustrated classics, shorter versions of books like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Peter Pan

Have fun reading.

Charlotte's Web is a great one!!!!

We LOVE Barefoot Books at our house. They weren't around when I was a kid, but I wish they had been, and I'm so thankful they are around now!
My son is a little younger than your daughter, but Barefoot has some GREAT story books like The Tear Thief (LOVE the illustrations!), The Boy Who Grew Flowers, and The Prince's Bedtime. They also have a great books of Earth Tales (perfect for reading one at a time before bedtime), and many others with stories from different cultures. I love that my son gets a little taste of other cultures, and I love that the books are so well illustrated. You can find them at www.ReadandGrow.com. They are unlike any other books you'll find out there. :)

T.

I really liked the Velveteen Rabbit. I'm not sure if it's a chapter book, but it is a longer book. Besides that, the Laura Ingalls Wilder books are great.

My children - including my 4 year old daughter - love books & audiobooks from the "Hank the Cowdog" series. They also like "The Littles" , Arthur books, or Berenstein Bears.

You have alot of answers and I didn't read through them but my kids love the Magic school bus and the Magic Tree House series and they are not related, they really love the Junie B Jones books and if you want to go older look for the Romona Quimbly books and Mrs Pigglewiggle those were my favorites! I personally like series books because it allows the kids to get to know a character and then they can start making predictions about what might happen next. We have conversations while we read. I ask questions like, "do you think that was a good idea? What could they have done instead? WHat do you think will happen next? Why do you think they made that decision?" and it gets the kids thinking about the stories and they remember them better. ANyway good luck hope you enjoy these!!

C. C

My dad used to read 1001 Arabian Nights to us. I haven't read it since, so I don't know how age appropriate, but I liked it.

Magic Treehouse books are popular at that age, my daughter loved them. Also the American Girl series. Both of these series are historically based.
Little House on the Prarie books are great too.

'The Little White Horse' was a great book I read to my DD in 3rd grade, but afterward realized it would have been better for around 6th grade. It is a must read. Put it on your 6th grade reading list.

My almost 4yo loves Little House on the prairie books! And the full Winnie the Pooh book.

I loved (and actually still do) the book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. I realize they made it into a movie recently but it is not the same. I believe there are 6 or 7 books in the series. I have them all and will read them to my toddler when he is ready. They also have a version for children that is more animated.

No time to read the answers but I LOVED:

Goodnight Moon (my 2.5 yr old already can recite a lot of it, easy for kids that age:)

The Giving Tree (Shel Silverstein) a little older than infant level but SUCH a sweet theme story!

'On The Night You Were Born'-
Super sweet story and my toddler also loves this too.

The Velveteen Rabbit

So many good responses! I really like the Mrs. PiggleWiggle series. Also, Winne the Pooh, Raggedy Ann and Andy, and Fairy Tales books (we have a big anthology that we read 1 or 2 stories from a night. Plus Aesop's Tales are another good collection of stories.

My daughter is now 5 and we've been reading chapter books for the past year. Some of our favorites have been the Little House on the Prairie series, Charlotte's Web and James and the Giant Peach. We also read a book called The Doll People by Ann Martin that my daughter loved. There were 2 sequels to that. They are about dolls that come alive so just be careful that your daughter is old enough to understand that her dolls are not *really* alive ;) Right now, we are about 4 books into the Wizard of Oz series (there are 14 written by Baum) and we are both really enjoying them.

I was just at the library last week and saw a reference book called "1001 Books to Read Before You Grow Up." It has books listed by age from infant all the way through to teens. Very interesting as it suggests lots of books that I've never heard of.

Have fun reading!

I didn't see anyone mention Mr. Popper's Penguins, which is a great book! We are reading a shorter version of the Secret Garden to my 3 y/o now and then might hop over to Mr. Popper's Penguins. Also Mary Poppins is great. A Castle in the Attic...not sure age but I think its a 6th grade level so I don't know if there's any language or situations in it. As they get older, check out Dragon's Milk and Ratha's Creature, two of my most favorite books ever. I can't wait to read them to my girls!

Don't forget to check out
The Trumpet of the Swan
Stuart Little
Matilda
The "Fudge" series by Judy Blume

The "Frog & Toad" series
Three Billy Goats Gruff
No list would be complete without "Where Did I Come From?"
The stories of Beatrix Potter

:)

there is an awesome book called the read-aloud handbook that I checked out from the library- it lists books by age and developmental level, and has recommended lists. It also tells the why of reading aloud.
Have fun!

I loved the box car children series, and Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. all the Ramona Quimby books...
with my 4 yo right now we read smaller chapter books at night she loves Thumbaline, the Princess and the Pea and the Frog Prince. Some nights we get through the whole book other nights just part--I hadn't thought about doing a longer chapter book with my daughter what a great idea! thanks!!

The adventures of Paddington Bear by Michael Bond. They are individual stories, but you can also find them all together in a collection. I loved these as a child. They are all about a silly little bear from darkest Peru who loves marmalade and gets into all kinds of mischief.

Winnie the Pooh - the original, not the picture books... the Ramona books, Ralph S. Mouse books... the Magic Treehouse books (a little boring and simplistic for grown-ups, but mesmerized my kids when they were about 4-6 years old)... the Boxcar children... the Littles books... Charlotte's Web... I could go on and on, being a bibliophile myself. I am interested to see what others suggest.

Enjoy your reading adventure with her.