Book Suggestions for 4 Year Old

I just started reading chapter books to my two sons at bedtime too. They love it and so do I! I have only read two so far and they were Huck Fin and Tom Sawyer books. But not the original version... someone gave me condensed children's versions (with out the "N" word and stuff) that are 6 short chapters each. I haven't thought about what to do next... My little brother use to read the boxcar children books. THey are short but chapters...maybe those will be good.

Besides chapter books, you could read poetry for kids. Like Shel Silverstein.. all of his books are good and have funny nonsense poems in them. My boys love those so some nights we read several pages out of one of his books ( I have all of them!). Anyway, good luck!

Not sure of your religious preference, but my 4 yr old and I enjoy the "Gotta have God" and "God and Me" daily devotionals. "Gotta..." is the boy version. The other is for girls.

**edited: here are some series my husband thinks your son may enjoy. They're all beginning reader chapter books. Generally these beginning chapter books are recommended for ages 5-8 but depending on your son's interest he may really like them. Nathan would be glad to help you personally at the Borders in Dallas at Lovers Lane and Greenville. :) He also just said you may want to check the bargain books section of bookstores and look for the treasuries with several stories in them (the Disney Treasury, etc).

Ricky Ricotta http://tinyurl.com/29rx4s

Captain Underpants http://tinyurl.com/yofzcw

Magic Tree House http://tinyurl.com/2ekn74

My daughter LOVES the Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park. They are beginning chapter books and every other page or so has a picture. They are HILARIOUS and very simple...no involved plots to follow, only a few characters and told from Junie's very silly point of view. I don't know if he'll think it's "for girls" though. My husband works in a bookstore; I'll ask him later what he recommends and post again later!

I wanted to add, also, that the Junie B. story lines are not boring for me. We've read several over the past month and I've enjoyed every single one (and I'm no simpleton ;) ).

I know wyou prefer chapter books but my boys loved the "Froggy " books when they were your sons age. They would laugh soooooo hard at that silly little frog!
Also agree about the Junie B series. My boys loved those stories.

Usborne books has a lot of chapter books with all sorts of themes and story lines. https://www.ubah.com/ecommerce/main.asp?sid=P2042&gid...

I would like to suggest The Little Boy Who Was Born Purple. It is about a little boy born with skin as purple as an Easter egg and what he and his parents go through in life answering the question of why is he different. The message to children is that everyone is born with something different, the color of their eyes, curly hair, etc. The book sends the message that it's okay to be different, even if you're purple! I am proud to say I wrote the book and hope you will enjoy it. It is available on Amazon. My illustrator did a beautiful job also!
Peggy O'Connor

A.,
At 4-5 years old I introduced my son to Hank the Cowdog. The series is by John R. Erickson and does not have to be read in order. I read many w/ him and he also loved to fall asleep listening to them on audio tape/CD. We just got them from the library. Another favorite was Daniel Pinkwater books- http://www.pinkwater.com/pzone/books/list.html
They are a hoot!

Have fun!

D.

Uhm... they love hearing the same story over and over! But don't worry it doesn't last and they will soon kick you out of their room and their lives, so suck it up while you can.

However, when mine were young I read the classics to them. Rudyard Kipling's "Just So Stories"... or Beatrice Potter or Aesop's Fables. All of those were stories we could talk about, "wasn't it sad that the baby elephant not listen to his mommy? and the crocidile pulled on his nose till it got so long and now he will always be remind of what happens when you don't listen".

They loved those stories. Chapter books are a little too old. At least ones you would like. There are chapter books for younger kids, but those, in my opinion, are better for them to read on their own when they're 5 or 6. the story lines made me want to shoot myself they were so lame.

So I say, classics. Your children will never have heard them, they won't hear them at school, they will be special to you both and you will appreciate the alliteration, clever lessons, and dialog of the stories.

oh, i LOVE children's books! my mom used to read to my brother and i each night when we were little. look for some older series, like "the boxcar children" or "the bobsie twins." anything by judy blume is really fun, too. maybe "how to eat fried worms" or "tales of a fourth grade nothing," "superfudge," "fudge-a-mania"... any of those are so fun. i have friends whose parents read them the chronicles of narnia every night from a very young age, and they loved those too, but i'm not sure how much he would understand. "winnie the pooh" (the original big chapter book) would be great too. and one more... there is an author called shel silverstein, and he has some GREAT books that are mostly poems, but they are really silly and i LOVED them. my parents did too. they are called "where the sidewalk ends" and "a light in the attic." i'm sure anything by him would be great... he also wrote "the giving tree." and, i agree, "pee wee scouts" are great... read those as a child, too.

sorry... i'm a pre-k teacher so i adore childrens books. i hope this helps! and i think its great you are wanting to do this with your son. :)

good luck, and have fun!
S.

My sons first chapter book I read him was A Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe. And the other favorite of his was Charolette's Web.

We started reading our son the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe series. He loves them. Just to give you a heads up we did have to read him a children's book every night before we read our chapter because he was also 4 and didn't understand why the book didn't have pictures. So start slowly with maybe half and chapter and a children's book. Best of luck to you.

Henry and Mudge !! I used to teach 1st grade and these are small chapter books that young kids love and they are easy to read with small chapters. They are about a boy and his dog and their adventures together. My two year old and 5 year old both LOVE them. There are several out there at Barnes and Nobel or on ebay probably. These are our favorite.

Some series that we read for our just turned 5 year old son.

The Magic Tree House
Geronimo Stilton

Librarian suggested these series, but we haven't tried them out yet.
A - Z Mysteries
Pee Wee Scouts
Spiderwick Chronicles