I'd like to start reading some chapter books to my 4.5 & three (next week) year olds. I'm trying to remember books I read as a kid, but I can't remember them enough to know if they are appropriate for these ages. Here are the ones I can think of:
Little House on the Prarie
Ramona
Narnia
B is for Betsy
Boxcar Kids
Nancy Drew
Junie B Jones
At what ages did you read any of these books to your kids? Any other recommendations for this age?
Thank you so much for everyone's suggestions!! There were some I had forgotten about as well as some new ones. Like I said, I remember reading all those books but I can't remember if they are all appropriate for pre schoolers. I was in elementary school at least! I have read to my kids every night since they were born. First the little board books and then the longer picture books. They love those but I think are ready for more.
I actually chose a book I had and read them the first chapter last night. It's called Pricilla, it's about a pig and there are a bunch of them in the series. They were written by a friend of the family in Oregon where I grew up. I think it will be ok, the only thing I may need to check is if they talk about killing and eating the pigs as I'm not sure my kids are ready to har that yet :)
But as far as paying attention, they both did great. The chapters are short, ten pages or so. My husband and I asked them questions after and they both knew what was going on. I've been teaching my four year old how to read this summer so she is especially interested in books!
Thanks again for all the great suggestions and advice!!
My 6 yr old loves the Magic Tree house books. We have also done Flat Stanley. Nate The Great. and most Recently Riccota Rociotta Mighty Robot...
I read teh Ramonas and Boxcar books when my daughter was 3-5 years old.
I am just now reading Little House to my 7.5 year old. They are perfect now, but she would have missed a lot if I had done them earlier - they are really very rich complex stories. Also, there is a lot of "scary" stuff like details of animal butchery, which my daughter would have had trouble with when younger.
I can't stand Junie B Jones. What an awful child! :) But I like the Magic Treehouse books. They are also really formulaic, but a good intro to chapter books for a 3-4 year old.
My 7 year old is also reading Heidi now.
The Magic Treehouse Series from Mary Pope Osborne is fantastic! I read these to my 4 year old boy and he loves them.
Not knowing your kids, I am not sure about some of these titles. I think they are all great books, but maybe a bit advanced for preschoolers. Nancy Drew has some scary parts. They mystery is always solved, but it might be a little "too intense" for a 4 year old. Besides, I am not certain that it will hold their attention. Same for the Boxcar children. Little House on the prairie may require a lot of explaining. Some of the vocabulary is a bit high for most 4 year olds. Plus it will take some time explaining the story - life on the prairie, no electricity, etc. Ramona, B is for Betsy (I loved the Betsy books growing up) and June B Jones may be ok. (I know some moms don't like the June B Jones books, but I can't remember why). I have tried Narnia a few times with my son and it just bores him.
We have been reading chapter books for a little while, since my son was 3 (He'll be 6 in Nov). Even our two year old will listen to them. Some hits?
Hank the Cowdog Series - we do have to explain bits of these stories, but my kids think they are hysterical
Charlotte's Web
The Magic Treehouse Series
Stuart LIttle by EB White
Two Times the funny by Beverly CLeary (short story collection about twins)
The Mouse and the Motercycle
magic tree house fun and educational
We started reading chapter books to our girls at age 3.5. They really loved Magic Tree House. There are 50 books and we've read them all. Little House on the Prairie is ok subject-wise, but a bit slow for preschoolers. Not enough action, too much talking about emotions. I think I'm saving tht one for when they're five. The series we're loving now is Pony Crazed Princess. And Boxcar Children is great too.
Nancy Drew, Junie, and Narnia are too old- either too scary or too mature for preschoolers, in my opinion. Try Magic Tree House and go from there!
Magic Treehouse books are shorter and more likely to hold attention when compared to the others on your list.
Utilize your library for these... they're great books with quick action.
I'd browse the "early readers" section of your library and pick a few to see if they hold your kids' interest - IMO Nancy Drew might be a bit boring to a lot of preschoolers and Narnia a bit intense, but my kids are a bit on the sensitive side so that might just be my experience. And I don't think my kids were really ready to sit for books like Little House until around 1st grade, but we *did* find our library had "My First Little House" books that took excerpts from the original stories and expanded the illustrations in picture book format, which was a good introduction to the stories. Scholastic also publishes "Little House Chapter Books" which take excerpts from the original books, simplify the language a bit, and group them by theme (for example, the "School Days" book uses a few chapters about Laura and Carrie going to new schools from On the Banks of Plum Creek and the Long Winter)
Some that might be worth checking out:
Kate Di Camillo's "Mercy Watson" books - crazy silly adventures of a family with a spoiled pet pig, accompanied by crazy silly illustrations.
Syd Hoff's "Danny and the Dinosaur" stories
Rosemary Wells' "Yoko and Friends School Days" books (These were among the first chapter books I read to my daughters when they were around 3-4YO)
Mo Willems' "Elephant and Piggy" books
Dav Pilkey's "Dragon" stories
My 4 1/2 year old LOVES the Boxcar Children and Magic Tree House mysteries. I know a friend who has done the Little House books, too. Don't know on the others. Just remember, they'll still want you to reread the chapter books, too. Oh, and my 4.5 yo wants me to read the whole story at bedtime, so make an allowance for longer reading time if you wish to encourage that. Have fun!
The 3 year old is a bit young for a few of the books you have on this list. I agree with what the moms have suggested, but still try to find time to read the more advanced book to your 4 year old.. she is ready, don't hold her back for the younger one..
Charlotte's web was a good one for us to start with. My almost four year old son has also enjoyed Ribsey, Free Willy(skipped over a few parts), and Ralph S. Mouse. We're looking forward to reading The Mouse on the Motorcycle, Magic Treehouse, and Boxcar Children!
I was at Mardels picking up some special size construction paper for my girls kindergarten class and noticed some really great chapter books. Most were on sale for 2 for $5 too! They had a whole precious moments series and had about 10 chapters per book. They looked really good. Even if you did not want christian morals to the stories you read, a noticed a lot of these books were just good morals and values. I did see the Narnia books for kids in there and they were on sale too. There were so many to choose from, that I decided to go back when my girl starts school so I can look better!
We have started reading the Magic Treehouse books, and my kids really like them.
Hey -
I know you are asking about chapter books, but I really recommend the "kiddie" books for your little ones. My son is 8 and I have been reading chapter books to him for about 2 years. My daughter is 3 and she doesn't have the patience for chapter books (and honestly I don't think she can follow along). But, she LOVES reading Dora and Thomas the Train and the other little pre-schooler books that are out there. She LOVES "Barnyard Dance" and all the books by that author (whose name I forget right at this moment). She just cracks up at those books. And, because they are all so short, we read 3-4 a night.
Oh, and I 2nd the poster who said don't read Junie B Jones. I would not stand those books. As the other poster said, the grammar is terrible - hard to read, let alone share with your child. Those books are outlawed in our house.
With my son, we are reading the Narnia series and the Spiderwick series. He is also reading a lot on his own (Star Wars, Diary of a wimpy kid). He wants me to start reading the Harry Potter books to him and I think the first few would be okay, but I am worried about the rest of them.
Good luck!
L.
Me and my 4 year old have read the all of the Little House books. So good! We loved them.
these are the first three chapter books I read to my son (age 5), very short chapters, short books good starters:
• My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
• Two Times the Fun by Beverly Cleary
• Chibi: A True Story from Japan by Barbara Brenner & J. Takaya
He LOVED, loved them. then we started Magic Tree House
Possibly the Weird School Series by Dan Gutman.
The first chapter book I read to my son was Treasure Island--he loved it!
I haven't read all the responses so please forgive me if I repeat.
I started reading chapter books to my now 5 year old granddaughter when she was three. I started with some classics and she loved them. I lucked into ALL of these in Targets Dollar Spot!
Stuart Little
The Secret Garden
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Tom Sawyer
Peter Pan
The Wind in the Willows
The Story of Doctor Dolittle
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (her favorite)
Reading to our children is so very important. She now reads a beginning reader to me and I read to her a daily devotional (Veggie Tales), and part of a chapter book everyday.
There have been some books we started and she did not like. So we would decided together to put it away for a different time and start a new one. Just make sure the book holds their interest and we discuss each chapter when we're through. I love for her to describe the pictures in her mind to me at the end of each one.
Way to go Mom for getting your children into reading!
I would start with Junie B. Also movies that they might be familiar with like Charlotte's Web. My first graders love Junie B. and Horrible Harry. Hank the Cow Dog are good books also. I bet you husband might even enjoy them.
I just read other people's posts about Junie B. I use her bad language (stupid) as a teaching point. My class also loves Flat Stanley books.
It depends on your kids. My daughter has had the ability to listen to chapter books from a very young age. And yes, she absolutely remembered the story from one night to the next. I think you'll know when you start reading if a book will hold their attention or is too advanced.
Here are the ones that we have on the shelf to read to my daughter, who just turned 5. We read a chapter or two a night (some times skipping a night if she is cranky).
Charlotte's Web
The World of Christopher Robin
The Trumpet of the Swan
Stuart Little
The Wind in the Willows
Little Women
Treasure Island
White Fang
The Call of the Wild
Heidi
Pinocchio
Moby Dick (may be a few years before we tackle this one)
Cam Jansen
The Midnight Mouse
The Brave Bunny
Amelia Bedelia
The Real Mother Goose
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Adevntures of Tome Sawyer
Shiloh
Mr. Tucket
The HideOut
Mr. Popper's Penguins (the movie is VERY different then the book)
Wayside School (various books)
The Courage of Sarah Noble
The Box Car Children
The Giver
Frindle
Anne of Green Gables
Black Beauty
The Black Stallion
The Borrowers
The Indian in the Cupboard
James and the Giant Peach
The Littles
Peter Pan
The Phantom Tollbooth
Pippi Longstocking
The Secret Garden
Nancy Drew Mystries
Sorry if there any repeats from below I just started typing what is on my daughter's shelf next to me. She loves the stories, and it takes about a month to get thru a book but we own them so she can re-read later when she wants to (or has to for school). I have fond memories of my mom and dad reading chapter books to us on trips and at night, sure at the time I did not remember much of it. Later on when I had to read the book in school I understood so much more because I have already heard the story where as some kids were just reading/hearing it for the first time and they were lost in all the info they were hearing.
www.amblesideonline.com has free curriculum that you can use, but it consists mostly of reading lists for different ages. You could look at the Year 0 list for preschool. Lots of good stuff there! Hope this helps.
I don't know what others have said yet, but what you have listed are great. We love Roald Dahl books (Mouse and The Motorcycle, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...) The BEST ones at this age simply for length of chapters are Kate DiCamillo books. Buy every single one...they're amazing! We started with The Tale Of Despereaux (which has the bonus of watching the movie at the end!). Some of her books can be a bit heavy...but they're written so well and help to illustrate that our world is not perfect, but is definitely worth being a part of. ENJOY every second of reading to them...it's my favorite time of day. (And just for a tip, every night before we start reading, I ask them questions about what we've read so far so we can build up their retention skills! My kids are now 7, 5 and 3...and we've been reading chapter books since my oldest was 4.)
I would not recommend Junie B. Jones to your younger kids unless you are ready for them to emulate Junie B. She calls things and people "stupid" and uses HORRIBLE grammar.
Try some classics like: Paul Bunyan, Charlotte's Web, or Stewart Little. The Little House books are good because you can integrate activities along with the stories like baking or other crafts.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle is one my kids loved.
I tried reading Ramona books when my daughter was 4 or 5, and I'll tell you now...WAIT a little bit. I LOVED Ramona (and so many other chapter books) and my daughter has a ton of patience and loves stories...but she just wasn't ready. I just finished reading her Ramona the Pest (she's now 6) and she really got into it, was asking questions, etc...
I know it's hard, I was so eager, too!
But when you do start, Ramona was great, Encyclopedia Brown, I like these Magic Tree House books (they're kind've new, I guess)...Beverly Cleary also writes a lot of other good books...
Reading chapter books is fun if the kids are old enough to retain what your reading each night till the next night. might want to start with shorter books. the junie b jones or the tree house books are great. the 3 year old is not going to remember whats going on from night to night lol. I would stick more with picture books till the older one is in school. I think about 5 or 6 is when we started reading the chapter books. They were able to remember things from night to night that way. good luck. as far as the books you listed I think probably 3rd or 4th grade for nancy drew and the box car kids maybe 2nd grade. never heard of the betsy one. the narnia ones probably 4thgrade
