Need Reading Suggestions

great suggestions before me, I'd add in addition to Ramona books, Pippi Longstocking and the Narnia books, they're such great stories!

D.

Have you tried the Geronimo Stilton series? or any of the Ramona Quimby books by Beverly Cleary? I have boys, but they also liked the Dragon Slayers Academy Series, and the Fudge Books by Judy Blume. Oh, and don't forget some of the classics like the Velveteen Rabbit, Charlotte's Web and Pippi Longstocking :-)

D.,

good for her and for you. I love boxcar children, american girl and ivy and bean. If she likes fairies, the daisy meadows series are good, quick easy and just fun. A to Z Mysteries, Clarice Bean, Judy Blume, Nancy Drew*(they have a couple of different series, and the clue crew,Girl detective series, notebooks), Nate the great, encyclopedia brown. The Quiltmaker's Gift by Jeff Brumbeau and Gail De Marcken. They have a few other books, that follow this story line.

Good luck!

K.

I love reading and so does my daughter (5). We have found the American Girls series to be fantastic. It's a little above her reading level, but I enjoy reading them to her, and will have her read paragraphs during the reading. She'll be doing it on her own, soon.

Also, why not have your daughter write her own stories? My daughter loves www.littlebirdtales.com. She can draw pictures on their art pad, or up load pictures, turning each image into a page with text and audio. She can READ what she wrote, while recording directly to the website (no downloading of software needed) and in the end have a great ebook to share with friends and family. Reading is fun, but so is creating something everyone else can read. We use LBT to send ecards, greetings, invitations, etc. It's fun, easy and very GREEN (no paper, no printing chemicals and no postage). Good luck and congratulations on having an avid reader. A love of reading is a gift.

HI
Have you tried Beverly Clearly books? Very old favorites. I read them as a child. What about Judy Blume and the Fudge Books? I am not sure of the reading level, but if she is reading that high you couls always do a read out loud and work on comprehension.

Are the Little House on the Prairie books to high for her? You could read and get the movies fromt the library. What about Mr Poppers Penguins? I loved those. Lets not forget Mrs piggly Wiggly Our library also has videos of those books. Oh Pippi Longstockign is a hoot and again, has movies.

I love to read too.

J.

Hi D.,
Have you tried the Babysitters Club and The Stories that Huey Tells? Also, look at the Scholastic Book Orders, they have a lot great choices. The kids usually bring them home from school.

Happy Holidays!

Try the Judy Moody books or try Scholastic online. They have a great selection of books by Grade level. You can find your title & author & then go to the library & check them out.

This is kind of a hard one. You need content that's ok for her, but something challenging for her to read. You might go to a local bookstore (not sure where you are) The Magic Tree Bookstore in Oak Park has great people there that can recommend books for you. I'm surprised the library didn't recommend some. Our library has lists of books they recommend for every level. Have you read any of Patricia Polacco's books? You may want to check the content first though and make sure you're comfortable with it. Some books like Pink and Say (about the civil war) are probably to much for a 4 year old. Have you read the time warp trio series? My daughter loves those - of course I'm reading to her, but still we started reading those when she was 4. Good Luck! It's great that she's a reader already and loves to read.
-I just read the other posts. I can't believe I forgot about American Girl books. We've read them all! My daughter loves them and then we explore that time period with non-fiction.

Have you heard of Barefoot Books yet? They are very well written, multicultural books with beautiful artwork. What I love about them is that they are empowering and have wonderful messages. They are harder to find, because they are not sold at Barnes & Noble or Borders, but you can find them online, and they have a 20% off sale going on this weekend, with free shipping if your order is $35 or more. Use the code word "FESTIVE" at www.ReadandGrow.com.
I would highly recommend the Barefoot Book of Princesses, as well as the Barefoot Book of Earth Tales. They are two of my favorites, and have great stories from all over the world.

T.

you could try the boxcar children. that is a great series of books. you could check out the nancy drew books. I can'
not remember the age level for those. I would think that the library would have a good range of books..if they don't have them, they can always get them from another library for you.

I wonder if she would like the Beverly Cleary books -- The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Ramona the Pest (about a Kindergartener who's funny and smart), Henry Huggins? "If I Built a Car" is a picture book that my 2nd grade kids liked a lot. Also, what about the Skippyjon Jones books? Funny and creative. Hope this helps!
L.

Try the Cul-De-Sac Kids book series by Beverly Lewis and published by Bethany House Publishers. This is a Christian books series about a group of children who live in the cul-de-sac of Bloom Hill Lane and attend Bloom Hill School. These books re really fun to read and if she is reading at third grade level she will have no problems with these books. Start with "The Crazy Angel Mystery" lots of fun to read. Check these books out on this website http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/cms_content?...
Another series that is fun to read but a little harder is the "Too Smart Jones Series." This series is about a group of children who are all home schooled. This series again is a Christian series. These books are mysteries and really fun to read. http://www.christiansupply.net/categorylist.asp?c=chapter...
Another series but again a little harder are the historical fiction series the "Trailblazer Books" bu Neta and Dave Jackson. Each book is based on a different Historical Christian Hero or Heroine in history. There are also companion guides available if you are home schooling your daughter. I use these books in a class I facilitate. Parts of each book are based on historical facts. Each book is outlined to which parts or fictional and which are historical true. Check out this web site. http://www.trailblazerbooks.com/Frame-1.html
You can try any step into reading books or I can read books. Just select the higher levels of reading. But you can get historical as well as fiction books with these series and are available at most libraries.
Keep on Reading together, it is a great way for children to learn about reading. Reading is the key to all learning.
S.

The Little House on the Prarie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. My boys were early readers and got into the Harry Potter books then too.

Could you give some advice on how you helped her with your reading?

My daughter is 4.5 and LOVES books, but she is struggling with the actual words on pages besides the easy ones to sound out.

Any advice for us in the limbo stage??

the jenny and the cat club series by esther averill is really great. they won't be too mature for your daughter, either. you might also try the stories julian tells - i think the author's last name is cameron or the my father's dragon trilogy. ursula leguin also has a series called catwings for younger readers that she might like.
as far as the picture books go, why don't you let your daughter look for some that appeal to her at the library? there are some really wonderful picture books out there and if she chooses one that is below her reading level, it's not going to hurt her to read it.

This is what librarians are for! Go off line - Run, don't walk to the first floor of the Main Library in Oak Park and put the Children's librarian on this project. My favorite is Heather but they are all great. They will take your daughter in hand and open up the world to her (within age appropriate limits). She may be reading at 3rd grade but won't like and may not be mature enough for the personal and social drama in those books. And regular visits to the Library will keep you from going broke trying this book and that.

Also, get the Chinaberry Catalog. It's very detailed and will help you find the best books you do want to purchase.s

I was a reading helper when my kids were in 2nd grade. One of the big favorites was the boxcar kids. It is a series with plenty of books.

Try the Shel Silverstein books. They were some of my favorites growing up, and I plan on purchasing the 2 collections of poems (A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends) for my 6 year old niece for Christmas.
Hope that helps.
Good luck. :-)

I think just about anything by Beverly Cleary would be perfect! Also, some of the shorter/less warped books by Roald Dahl like Giraffe, the Pelly and Me. What about Magic Schoolbus? Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo might be good too. I haven't read them so it's possible they are too easy; some of her other books might be good too. The Wheel on the school by Meindert DeJong is awesome! Might be a bit long, but it is a classic. Some of the shorter books by Judy Blume. Classics like Charlottes Web, Pippi Longstocking, Cricket in Times Square, Julian books by Ann Cameron, Hundred Dresses, The Littles, Sarah, Plain, and Tall, Secret Garden. Possible Amber Brown and Judy Moody books - haven't read them so not sure if the themes are for 5 year olds.

Picture books authors with longer text - Dean Morrisey, Chris Van Allsburg, Cynthia Rylant (also writes novels),

Try the Boxcar Children series. She if she likes those.

Check out the Carol Hurst kid literature website.

www.carolhurst.com

Another thing that I do to find reading recs is look up books I have enjoyed on Amazon, and then see what other books the site recommends. I was looking for something that my 7 year old niece would like, and so I put in the Ivy and Bean series, and I found Clementine, Just Grace, and Gooney Bird Greene.

Happy Reading!

The horrible harry series is good,
ramona books are good (ramona the pest, ramona quimby age 8, ellen tebbits etc there are about20 of them.
the box car children series
hank the cow dog
the magic carpet series (along the line of treehouse but older)
my granddaughter is going thru this right now also. she is 7 but reads at about a 5th grade level.

What about topics she's interested in? Instead of fiction, try some non-fiction.
My 5-year-old is fascinated with volcanoes, weather, earthquakes, and anything to do with the solar system, so we load up on those books every week at the library.
You could try books on her favorite animals, science, different countries, sports, etc. Our children's section has all levels of reading in the youth non-fiction area.
Hopefully it will help her develop a love of learning. :)

Geronimo Stilton is an awesome series-not exactly picture books, but graphic novels with tons of pictures of the title character, an adventurous mouse. The Horrible Harry series is great, too. You may have tried, Amelia Bedelia. This series is a lot of fun, and it's great for the study of multiple word meanings, since Amelia tends to confuse word meanings. Don't forget the Little House series, as well. Finally, nonfiction might be worth a try, like National Geographic Kids. Try readingzone.com for more ideas...

My daughter loves the "Ivy + Bean" books (Annie Barrows), there are only 6 in the series but at least another option for your growing list. Hats off to your super reader :)

Series: Geronimo Stilton, Airy Fairy, Secrets of Droon, Blast to the Past (kind of like a Magic Treehouse series, the kids go back to meet historical figures)

Some "Picture" Books: Anything by Bill Peet http://www.billpeet.net/PAGES/booklist.htm
The reworked fairy tales by Mary Jane Auch http://www.mjauch.com/books

Another idea: Visit www.lexile.com Type in the names of some books that your daughter can comfortably read. After doing a few titles, you should get a general sense of her lexile score. Then, use the search feature based on her interests and her lexile score, and you can generate a list of titles to look into. I was surprised at the reading level required for many picture books. I think I had the sense that since they were picture books, the text must not be as challening as chapter books, but that's not necessarily the case.

Hi D.,
You have a very bright girl who obviously loves to learn!!

Are you familiar with Usborne Books?? They are fabulous books for children just like your daughter!

I would recommend any of the books in the Young Reading series (http://tinyurl.com/ye5jneg). Here are some great non-fiction books that would also be appropriate for her (and that I'm sure she will LOVE!) (http://tinyurl.com/yhahgvx). These books are all internet-referenced as well so there are websites to go to so that she can explore whatever she is reading about online as well as by reading the book.

I have many of these books available to share with you if you are interested and would like to see them. Usborne Books are all written to engage children in reading and learning. Bright children love the vocabulary and learning embedded in these books. All children love the bright colors and kid-friendly layout of the books.

Let me know if I can answer any questions for you,
K. Lilley

My 1st grade son who also loves reading loves Encyclopedia Brown, The Boxcar Children, Jigsaw Jones (these have more pics), and there are a few more but I can't think of them right now, I will respond again if I get the names of the other books.

YOu might want to go over to the Goodwill store, they have kids books for $.59 so I just bought a big bag of them and if he didn't like something it was no great loss...