Harry Potter or Similar

My favorite book at that age was The Secret Garden. I also read every Nancy Drew book I could get my hands on.

You're so lucky to have a child who loves to read!!!

I would wait until she can read HP herself. There are a ton of other good read together books that you can do before that. If she still wants you to read to her she may not be ready for the series. I would do Charlottes Web, the Little House on the Prairie series, Pippi Longstocking and other classics like the Little Princess, Little Women, etc.

We began reading Harry Potter when my son was 7.
By third grade he was reading them on his own.
We also enjoyed the Charlie Bone series.
Any of the Wizard of Oz books by Frank L Baum are fun to read.
The Narnia books are good too.

The books that come later in the Harry Potter series are very dark and a bit scary. We felt our 6 1/2 year old might not be ready to handle that. So, we are currently reading the Chronicles of Narnia and plan to read The Hobbit next. Hopefully he will be ready for Harry Potter when we finish those two. I have no doubt he will be interested!

Okay, these are books I read myself (they are my daughter's, who is now 10 years old) and it is similar and maybe your daughter will like it:
- "The Hound Of Rowan"
- "The Familiars"
- "Philippa Fisher's Fairy Godsister" (this whole series is good and the Author, very popular)
- "Emily Windsnap" series of books. The same author as the Philippa Fisher books.
- the "Redwall" series by Brian Jacques (these books are for 10 and over. But are about animals and very good. I loved it as a child, I read the entire series).

I would, being your daughter is 7, stay away from books that are more for "Tweens" or "Teens." Kids that are more advanced in reading, can often read these books that are more for 9 and up ages... but the topics and scenarios will sometimes deal with boy/girl stuff and topics that you may not want a 7 year old girl, reading yet. This is also per my daughter's Teacher, when she was younger.
Thus, look up these books online, to read what it is about... and what age-stage, it is geared for.

Going back to what I said earlier, I know the books I listed because, although they are my daughter's books from when she was younger, I have read them too. Not to be nosy about what she reads, but because, I ENJOY her books! And it is fun to discuss it, with her. My daughter thinks its cool, that I enjoy her books too. She even tells her friends.

Also good are the "Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew" book series, which is for this age. And age appropriate and popular. My daughter has these as well from when she was younger.

Or:
Frog and Toad
Little Bear

OH, and THIS is an EXCELLENT book:
"A Nest For Celeste." by Henry Cole
I loved this book, my daughter loved this book, and we gave it as gifts too.
Really GREAT book. For young or old. Look it up.

Your daughter MAY get scared with Harry Potter. And it is such a thick book.

Instead of reading to her, does she read her own books?
In school, don't they have to read each day for like 15-20 minutes at that age/grade?
But anyway, the books I mentioned are fun to read, or to be read to.
Get her a book light! Its so fun! My kids (who are 6 and 10) read at night in bed by themselves now. They love their book light.

Harry Potter is a good series, but it gets scary towards the end and deals with some pretty adult themes.

I liked the Percy Jackson series, which is similar to Harry Potter only about Greek Gods and demi-gods and whatnot.

What about the Little House on the Prairie books? I can't wait until my daughter's attention span can handle those books and we can read them together! Also the Chronicles of Narnia.

I would wait for Harry Potter. There are some real adult themes in this story. I would wait on The Boxcar Children as well for the same reason. Charlotte's Web is great.

Just because you think she might be ready for more "meat" doesn't mean to read too high levels to her, or themes of life that she really isn't ready for as a 7 year old. Reading things to her at night that cause her to turn stuff over in her mind can prevent her from sleeping or give her bad dreams. She may start worrying about things, even though they may not be the same thing you are reading about to her.

Talk to a librarian and explain what you have in mind. She will have a lot of good ideas for you.

Dawn

We started HP when our daughter was 8, only because that was the first year it was published in the US.

Our daughter would have loved it at 6 or 7.. My niece began reading it with her mom at 6 years old, because they could not wait to read it..

As a family, we would read HP every time anew one came out. We used to purchase 2 copies of the Books and the book on CD.. Of each book..

We look back on those times very fondly. A few weeks ago, we took my husband to Disney World and Universal Studios to see The World Of Harry Potter.. I will never forget the feeling of seeing Hogwarts for the first time.. .. Have fun..

i am holding off on harry potter because my kid reads like i go, devours a book in one big gulp not little nibbles. so i know he would want to keep reading the whole series and i know he won't like the kissing part in the second or third book, when harry has a girlfriend.

I second charlotte's web and any of the other eb white books like stuart little,

beverly cleary book like beezus and ramona or the tales of a fourth grade nothing ( they reveal that santa isns't real)

I would also go with classics like wizard of oz, the secret garden, etc.

My vote would be for the "Little House" series... there are quite a few in that list.... 7 or 8, maybe?

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House in the Big Woods
Little House on the Prairie
On the Banks of Plum Creek
By the shores of Silver Lake
The Long Winter
Little Town on the Prairie

She also wrote "Farmer Boy", which is possibly about her future husband, Almanzo Wilder

She also wrote "These Happy Golden Years", and "The First Four Years", but I don't really know where they fit in. I've not read those.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_House_on_the_Prairie

I'm reading Harry Potter to my 6 & 7 year olds. They are captivated by it, and I'm sure it's good for their vocabulary.

To know... Each book gets progressively "harder". The first book is very obviously a looooong early/mid elementary. 2nd book mid to end of elementary. 3rd middle school. 4th & 5th highschool/adult.

I would wait a few years-it might be too long for her. Charlotte's Web would be good. My 8 yr old girl is devouring The 39 Clues and next will be the Percy Jackson series. My daughter's teachers told us its not just about reading level, but maturity level. Books like The Hunger Games and Twilight are 4th grade reading level, but should 4th graders be reading them? Personally, I'd wait on Harry until 4th or 5th grade, so she can fully understand some of the deeper elements of the books.

We read the first Harry Potter book with DS when he was 6. We got 95% through it (he loved it - could not wait to read the next chapter each day) and then he decided it was too suspenseful and he wanted to wait until he was older. Your daughter may love it or she might need another year. Hard to say. She might do well with the second book as well but they do become progressively darker and more mature as Harry and his friends grow up. We read Charlotte's web when DS was 5-1/2 and he loved it as well. He totally didn't see the Charlotte dying thing coming however. Seven is old enough I think.

My son introduced himself to Harry Potter, without my expecting it, so I never got to think this through. But here are a few more suggestions, based on my son's interests and what I remember L. at that age:

Three Tales of My Father's Dragon (this was my son's first big chapter book, and he used it to teach himself to read)
All the Laura Ingalls Wilder books
All the EB White books (Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, The Trumpet of the Swan)
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Pippi Longstocking
Harriet the Spy
The Rick Riordan Percy Jackson/Camp Half Blood books. My son is over the moon about these books and talks about nothing else.
D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Mythology (a great companion to the Rick Riordan books)

Red fern seems way too sad for a 7 year old. How about little house on the prairie? Wind in the willows is good too. Harry potter is good, but each book gets darker and darker, so you might want to wait a few more years, unless you want to be dealing with nightmares.

I loved Watership Down

Shes probably old enough for Harry Potter, my dd is 3 and she loved the first movie. Also, check our the original Tarzan, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, its a great one.

My daughter was about that age when she discovered Harry Potter - go for it.

My boys, 7 and 9, just watched all the harry potter movies and loved them, I think your child will love the books.

you betcha!
it's also pretty cool how the progression grows darker and more adult. since they're long books, she'll probably want a break inbetween and it will work out just fine.
charlotte's web is wonderful.
so are the narnia books, the hobbit, the secret garden, the little princess, the wind in the willows, and alice in wonderland.
:) khairete
S.

My stand by. The Long Winter, Laura Ingles Wilder.
Have you been to the library? They have a children's librarian who can be invaluable to you.

Both of my kids started reading them by themselves at age 8, third grade. As a family, we love the books and the movies. I would say yes, it would hold her interest, but I would wait and let her read those herself.
We also really like science non fiction, so sometimes I will read stuff about animals or space to the kids. There's so hard to pronounce words in that stuff!!!

My daughter is in first grade and will turn 7 next month - like your daughter, she is an advanced reader, and we just finished reading Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone together. She LOVED it! It was wonderful seeing how excited she was to read it and how her little brain would click when she would figure out the next plot twist. She is eager to read the next in the series! It has been such a treat to read this and share this together :)

My boys are 6 and 7 (nearly 8). They love the Boxcar Children, also Charlottes Web. We have read the Ralph the Mouse and the Motorcycle series. My son (second grade - turning 8 in March) likes just about anything by Beverly Cleary (Ramona and Beezus, Henry and Ribsey, Ottis Spottfeld)

When I was 7, I loved the Little House on the Prairie books too.

We've also read the Wizard of Oz - there is a whole series that goes with that book. It's great.

We are waiting a bit for Harry Potter - although I think my son is ready to read it. I just really want him to enjoy that the way I did - and I was an adult when I read it! :) And, the books get progressively darker and more "adult" as the kids in them become teenagers. THe last few books are (IMO) meant for older kids. So - I vote for my child waiting another year or two before starting them. Are lots of kids his age reading them? Yes. But we'll wait a bit longer.

Pippi Longstocking is another good one - I don't remember a whole lot about it, but know I loved it.

I didn't read all the previous posts...so, sorry for any repeats. My 8 year old loves "The Sisters Grimm" and any Beverly Cleary book. She hasn't read Harry Potter yet, but I think that may be next, but I'll save the later part of the series for when she's a bit older (they get a bit scary)