School-Aged Children

First chapter books?

I read to my son (5yo) every night and would like to give a chapter book a try.  I'm thinking something that we could finish in 3-4 nights.

Any suggestions?  Thanks!

Re: First chapter books?

  • Try the Magic Tree House Series.  The Cam Jensen series is good too.
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  • ditto magic tree house books. my kids (4 and 5.5) love them.  they also enjoy junie b jones... they find her hilarious.  but she's a bit of a stinker.  sometimes I think... ooo.. rude... sometimes I'm laughing so hard it's tough to get through it.  lol.  (I tend to take the "rude" comments as teaching opportunities.) 

  • Ditto Magic Tree House.  Don't hesitate to work your way up to longer books, though, once he gets the hang of following a story from night to night.  A kid this age can handle listening to pretty sophisticated books.  I started reading chapter books to my kids when they were 4 or 5 as well.  I found that it helps to spend a few minutes reviewing what was happening in the previous night's reading before moving ahead with the next chapter.

    Here are some of the chapter books my son liked when he was 5:

    Catwings, by Ursula K. Leguin

    Toys Go Out & Toys Dance Party, by Emily Jenkins

    Edward, Hoppy, & Joe, by Robert Lawson

    Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.M.H., although this one was pretty complicated

    The Search For Delicious, by Natalie Babbitt

    Socks, by Beverley Cleary 

    I also found that when I switched to reading chapter books out loud instead of picture books, it helped both of my kids learn to read.  Something about hearing those more sophisticated sentences really makes language click for kids that age.   

    High School English teacher and mom of 2 kids:

    DD, born 9/06/00 -- 12th grade
    DS, born 8/25/04 -- 7th grade
  • Flat Stanley is also a good series
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  • I would highly recommend Jim Trelease's book about read-alouds.  Your nightly read-aloud is the perfect opportunity to read something much more complicated to your children to expose them to a wealth of interesting vocabulary words, something that has been shown to have a direct link to academic success.  I like reading books that have sequels to children so they can continue the story after the book is done.  

    The Ralph S. Mouse series (Beverly Cleary? I think)

    My Father's Dragon

    Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (really all Ronald Dahl is a hit!)

     

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  • Hey over here! :)

    L read the entire Magic Treehouse series to the boys last year and they loved them. They have also liked Flat Stanley (much shorter than MT books) and Magic Schoolbus books. She is reading Harry Potter now - but that is pretty long (though they are all loving it!)
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