Children's Books discussion

My 8 year old third graders always loved the cat series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Once I started with the afternoon story, they would all go out and buy the books!!! The first one isThe Grand Escape. As a teacher (and cat lover) I thought these books were great too! Another series, animal, of course, is the Humphrey the hamster books by Birney. I don't know, off the top of my head, which one comes first, but it's a cute series too. The World According to Humphrey Be sure you get a chance to read Naylor's first book: The Grand Escape. You'll love it as much as your daughter.

I'd try to chill if I were you. I do empathize, though. I assume you're a good role model, leaving books 1/2 read around the house, talking about "oh, I can't wait until tonight so I can go back and spend more time with (characters)."

Lots of adults like the easy series, too - think stuff like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. I imagine that it's kind of disheartening for you to fret that she may grow up to read only stuff like that. But I do think she'll grow beyond this habit.

What she might need is something transition-y. Maybe a series that each book is two -three sittings, for example the Chronicles of Narnia or Little House on the Prairie. That way she can still have the comfort of sticking with a 'world' and a set of characters, but she'll be reading something more challenging.

I'll try to think of some more specific titles and authors.

Oh, consider Indian in the Cupboard - if you didn't know, there are now five books. They get very provocative and quite exciting.

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner is an extensive series with a bit higher reading level. Also the Anastasia Krupnik series by Lois Lowry.

The Black Stallion series by Walter Farley is a good one according to my son who has read some of the books you mentioned. There's also Encyclopedia Brown, Choose Your Own Adventure series, The Guardians of Ga'Hoole, The Spiderwick Chrnicles, The Sisters Grimm...

She's reading and that is great and she will explore other books eventually. I wouldn't worry too much yet. Its building a great foundation for her for when she does want something a bit more sophisticated. If you push her too much one of two negative things could happen a) you put her off reading altogether and b) her reading level will escalate beyond age-appropriate material leaving a void when she is another couple of years older and looking for stuff she hasn't already read. (at least that last one is what my son found).

Although, having said that I think there are more books that appeal to girls than to boys so maybe that last one is not such an issue

Freddy is a great book! Also, I second the recommendation earlier of the World According to Humphrey. My 8 year old needed to challenge herself a bit, and was intimidated by length in a book. She likes humor and animals though, so once I figured that out, it was easy to choose. We still get plenty of Geronimo Stiltons (she LOVES art embedded in abook) but she's read the first 5 books in the Humphrey series since the beginning of the year.
She also loved Guinea Dog.
Figure out what she likes about a book, and that will help. Does she like drama, comedy, books about animals, friendship? A mystery? She can always try new stuff, but having some favorite types of books is a good thing.

If she would be interested in any type of historical fiction, I would definitely recommend any of the American Girl series or even the Dear America series. I remember being that age and eating up those books. A lot of times, I ended up looking for more books on the topics or even looking for more novels about particular time periods.

You could bribe her. Not with money, but with some sort of sticker chart or something like that.

You could give her a list of books. The easier ones get fewer points than the harder ones. I know I loved challenges like that.

Is this the same little girl we talked about earlier being a perfectionist? If so, be careful with Kirei's ideas. *Terrific* ideas for some children, but probably not so good for those who already feel easily frustrated.

I *love* the Wayside school books. My son liked Geronimo Stilton. I'm off to investigate her other choices and the other rec's. :)

Oh! I loved The Five Sisters last summer, and Ruth Chew's witch books are fun. I loved the Freddy books when I was a kid.

B is for Betsy is old in a not so good way. Try to preview the racism (according to a review, in Chapter 4) before she reads it.

The others all got added to my shelves. :)

My daughter is the same age and has read a lot of the series you've mentioned. She is even reading some of them over again, much to my chagrin. In my mind there are so many books to read and so little time and she should move on. However, I just keep finding new books and suggestions from Goodreads which I check for reading level on AR BookFinder. If it is anywhere near her level then I borrow it from my local library. I was sad she didn't go for the Betsy Tacy books, but there are others she has enjoyed.
I also asked some 10/11 year old girls some of their favorites from that age and they went on and on about the Rainbow Fairies. This is an extensive series that is quite formulaic but it has girls helping others and making good choices. The reading level ranges from mid 3rd grade to low 5th grade. Daisy Meadows is the author.
I'm glad you started this thread; I got a lot of good ideas from it!

Clementine and The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy are two more series I've been loving lately.

I think this is a great question! My gut tells me the answer is probably to let her read what she's choosing to read and be happy that she sounds like she's enjoying reading so much. That said, I have little sneaky ways of encouraging my son to try books I like. I let my son check out 10-15 books of whatever he wants -- Magic Tree House, Encyclopedia Brown, A to Z Mysteries etc. -- and then I also check out a few that look good to me. I never say anything bad about the books he chooses and never encourage him to try the books I've picked out. After he's read his choice books a couple times, he'll sometimes read the books I've chosen. I also occasionally hide Bailey School Kids and Secret of Droon books after he's read them once. I can't help myself

Yay for Chandra's dad!

Chandra, that reminds me of The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared This is on my mental to-read list, but I don't want to spend the money for it. Yay for your dad.

Thank you for sharing that relevant aside, Abigail. (I don't consider it a hijack at all. :) Your dad sounds worthy of your memories.

Hi Chandra, It's wonderful having a reader in the house, isn't it? There's a reason the library's juvenile section is full of series and often formulaic ones...kids like them. And giving kids what they like to read, makes readers. She'll branch out.

That said, as a writer, this is the area I've researched for my own series. I won't go any further into self promotion. You might want to look at Secrets of Droon (3 kids who have fantastic adventures, i.e. magic tree house, but less educational); Geronimo Stilton (see if she likes the art and illustration); and if you want to push her a bit, look for some shorter Roald Dahl books. My favorite is Fantastic Mr. Fox, but he has some even shorter ones.
Best Wishes, Lisa Ard

Chandra,

I am currently reading a really fun and easy to read fairy-like story that reads a bit like a combination of fairytale and girls' story, The Lost Secret of Fairies. I think your daughter would likely enjoy this tale. Wanda, the heroine is quite authentic and likable, her voice shines brightly as an authentic child-narrator (and a modern one at that), and there are both fairy elements and some really good ecological messages (and I love the cat wizard, Brewford). The book is not overly long, the font is large and easily readable and it's just a fun, but also thoughtful story. I hope that the second book of the series The Lost Secret of the Green Man will be equally readable (there is a supposedly a third one planned as well, which is good because the second books ends with a cliffhanger).

Thanks for the update - it seems she's doing well! :)

My daughter took my three year old grandson to the library for the first time this last week. Now, you have to understand that I was a teacher with thousands of books that I gave to my daughter before she had my two grandsons, but when Robert walked into the children's book section, it was like he had never seen a book before in his life! My daughter was surprised too because they read to him every night and several times a day. It's not like there aren't books in their house! Next to Disneyland, I guess the library will be his next favorite place. He came home that day with a stack of books that I know will be all read in a couple of days! Aren't we lucky to be able to pass on the gift of words?

Tricia wrote: "My daughter took my three year old grandson to the library for the first time this last week. Now, you have to understand that I was a teacher with thousands of books that I gave to my daughter be..."

What a cool story, the library is better than the mall or an amusement park any day (even though our local public library is usually simply too loud with more kids playing games on the computers and chatting than actually reading).

It sounds like you're describing typical kid behavior - if it comes from family, it's commonplace and ignorable, - but if comes from the wider world, it becomes noteworthy.

I know one of my sons would not understand why he should maintain a certain sense of organization over his desk supplies and homework schedule, no matter how many different ways I tried to help him see how it would help him have more free time if he wasn't always hunting for a pencil - but when a teacher did a mini-lesson on organization, boom, he believed her!

So, what I'm suggesting is, different methods of reaching kids work for different kids, and it's not just about literacy or a love of books.

I'm so happy for Robert and his family. :)

Gundula, I agree. I'm glad my library is hospitable to even the rowdier kids - but I'm also glad I can usually time my trips for the quiet times when the big kids are in school and when the little ones aren't in storytime.

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "Gundula, I agree. I'm glad my library is hospitable to even the rowdier kids - but I'm also glad I can usually time my trips for the quiet times when the big kids are in school and when the little..."

It's not the little ones that bug me so much. It's the teenagers who talk on their phones and play computer games. I usually just use the library to sign out the books I have ordered (thankfully, I can do that online). And in many case, little children who are very noisy are very noisy because their parents have problems controlling them or do not think it is necessary to do that.

My library bans cell phones. But teens can't help being noisy, it seems. Otoh, even politely enthusiastic little kids have higher-pitched voices that are extra bothersome to me. Ah, I'm getting old and crotchety, sorry!

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "My library bans cell phones. But teens can't help being noisy, it seems. Otoh, even politely enthusiastic little kids have higher-pitched voices that are extra bothersome to me. Ah, I'm getting ..."

Me too. Once I was in a bookstore, and this little kid was running around wearing shoes that loudly squeaked and sang a song every time the kid moved. Why would parents buy stuff like that?

Some parents are kids at heart and love the extra stimulation. I blame TV. ;)

Chandra wrote: "guess you just hear about all these kids who, at very young ages, are reading things like Harry Potter, etc. and you wonder 'Why isn't my very bright kid attracted to that kind of thing yet?' And not being a reading specialist myself it's hard to imagine how they get from Magic Treehouse to Dickens, Shakespeare, Austen, etc. But somehow it seems to happen! LOL! Anyway, it's been nice to commiserate with all of you here without judgment! I really feel much better! "

Chandra, I am so happy that all these wonderful posts are helping you feel better and ease out of that panic moment. If it helps, I will add my two cents and say that there was a time when I was not really that interested in reading. I think it was when I outgrew picture books (which I LOVED as a kid) but wasn't really keen to read chapter books on my own. I was about eight or nine at the time. My mom still read aloud to me pretty much every night, and I LOVED that, but I wasn't that interested in reading independently. The Choose Your Own Adventure books got me out of that slump and from there I rapidly progressed to more advanced things, even getting interested in the classics on my own, etc. So, I think it all just has to do with what kids are interested in and what part of them is developing at any given moment. I think it's great that Izzy is excited about reading, and reading independently, and it's not like what she is reading is really that rubbishy. I imagine she will soon find the appeal in more high quality stuff, and maybe it is the sense of accomplishment in reading quickly on her own that she cherishes right now since she is reading more quality stuff with you and has the exposure to good books in that way. Anyhow, I think what you are doing is great, being a good role model and dropping hints / being excited about really good stuff. Having them available to her if she just wants to "snoop" around on her own sometime, just take a peek and see if she is interested without having to feel like she is tackling something big or that she has "failed" in some way if it doesn't strike her fancy and she doesn't want to keep reading... I think that is part of the "perfectionist" in those of us who have those tendencies; we don't like to "give up" on something. Maybe she knows she will finish new books if she already liked one in the series and she is happy with that accomplishment and certainty? Anyway, I know you both have a wonderful world of reading ahead of you when the time comes :-)

Well, I guess singing shoes get different kinds of 'dirty looks' than a harness & leash, which is what we had to use on my youngest for about a year.

Has she tried the "Andrew Lost" series by J.C. Greenburg? Like "Magic Treehouse" they have the vaguely educational component mixed with fantasy, but at a slightly higher reading level. A high-quality one-off story she should try is Because of Winn-Dixie.

Don't worry about not being "advanced" enough. Every time I hear about a second grader who read The Lord of the Rings or something, I'm reminded of the line from "A Fish Called Wanda": "Apes don't read philosophy." "Yes they do. They just don't understand it."

Chandra wrote: "Lol....It's funny because I wonder if this is just one of those parenting things like babies sleeping through the night - no one actually tells the truth about what's *really* going on."

so true. I think they should read whatever tickles their fancy at that moment. They have years and years to explore other literary ventures.

Anne, love the quote from A Fish called Wanda. Very apropos.

Abigail wrote: "Tricia wrote: "My daughter took my three year old grandson to the library for the first time this last week. Now, you have to understand that I was a teacher with thousands of books that I gave to..."

I would definitely recommend the Booky trilogy. And the chapters are not overly long, either, perfect for reading together.

Odus and the Long Way Home
Disclaimer - this is my book - I just thought I would post it here as a suggestion, since it is designed for a reading level just after the Magic Tree House Series. I actually got the idea for the series after my daughter finished the Magic Tree House books and could not find anything she was excited about reading! The amazon page with reviews etc is here: http://www.amazon.com/Odus-Long-Keepe...