Chapter Books for the Young

What sorts of chapter books would you read to young kids, or give them to read if they are already reading themselves?

My 4 year old frequently asks us to read her chapter books and I've had a lot of fun thinking up books that would be interesting and reasonably age-appropriate.

Some she really liked:

*The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren
*Little House in the Big Woods and the rest of the Little House series
*Winnie the Pooh
*B is for Betsy
*Betsy-Tacy

We've tried a couple of the Gail Carson Levine princess tales but she didn't like them (which surprised me because she loves picture book fairy tales) and for whatever reason she didn't like Ginger Pye much either.

I was thinking of trying All-of-a-Kind Family or maybe Mary Poppins with her whenever she gets tired of the Little House books.

I was curious what other kids this age liked? Is there anything more recent out there that might be good to try?

I always recommend Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia Maclachlan. It's very short and although it's about a mail-order bride the story is told from the point of view of the widower's young children. It might make a good comparison to the Little House books.

And how about Elizabeth Enright's Melendy family books, starting with The saturdays?

Almost anything by Beverly Cleary, but for a little one I'd probably start with the more fanciful and/or simple, such as The Mouse and the Motorcycle (plus two sequels) and Socks.

I tried reading a Gail Carson Levine title to my grands, too, and was less than enchanted with it. Coming to think her writing translates into a good movie, but not particularly classic reading.

If you could find them (maybe on Kindle?) try any of the Uncle Wiggily books. Each chapter is only a couple of pages long, and the stories are repetitive, but they each end with an oh-so-memorable refrain, each of them different, but the same pattern:

"And if the teacup doesn't lose its handle
and try to do a foxtrot waltz with the soup
tureen, I'll tell you next about Uncle Wiggily
and the March Hare."

And the charming character names are fun to repeat - Miss Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy is Uncle Wiggily's muskrat lady housekeeper.

#2 -- I've never read "Sarah Plain and Tall" I'll have to check that out.

#3 -- I'd go for Beezus and Ramona I think, but Beverly Cleary is a great idea.

#4 -- My local library has Uncle Wiggily :)

There are a lot of lovely early middle-grade series out there, but many of them have fantasy elements (dragons, mermaids, etc.) . Does she enjoy fantasy?

As far as I know she likes fantasy... certainly she does in picture book form.

Gail Carson Levine didn't work for her, but I don't think it was a problem with the genre. The one fantasy series I know about but was deliberately holding off on was The Magic Tree House; I want to read those with her when she starts reading herself.

As much as I enjoy re-reading some of my own childhood favorites I'd love to branch out into other types of books also :)

Then you might look at the Emily Windsnap series, the Lily Quench series, and the Rhianna Chronicles. For silly mythological fun, try the Myth-o-Mania series. My daughters loved all of these--they're in college now, but wouldn't let me pass these on to our library sale. :) And there's also the My Father's Dragon series, which all my kids loved.

If you live aywhere near one, I also recommend a research trip to a Barnes & Noble, where the chapter book and middle-grade section usually has an excellent selection.

Of course, I'll always point to older literature, as it's my passion.

Do try any of the Peter Pan books, beginning with Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.

We all think we know the story, having seen the Disney version and/or the old Mary Martin production. But we've cheated ourselves if we miss Barrie's delightful prose. Good for adults and children! And very funny.

Don't forget Beatrix Potter. You did say she was only 4 right? I'd be careful with some of the themes in some of the chapter books.

Amelia Bedelia , Cam Jansen, and Boxcar Children

How about The Wizard of Oz books? I loved these when I was a kid.

I personally love the Adventures of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny... and now I'm a bunny pet owner.

~Devine Destinies~

How about Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle?

I might also suggest The Penderwicks.

Winnie the Pooh! best read aloud, ever. (Not the dumbed down Disney versions.) Also almost anything by Elizabeth Enright, and It was a Dark and Stormy Night by Allan Ahlberg, which my kids STILL want me to read aloud, and they are teenagers! I second The Penderwicks, but I couldn't get my kids interested in Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Maybe the Ghosthunters books or Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke. We loved Island of the Aunts by Eva Ibbotsen as a read aloud, too. I think at around that age we read Brer Rabbit and other trickster tales, and a lot of Greek myths.

These are all great suggestions -- thank you! Lots of old favorites and a few I have never tried. Now I want to go read some of them myself :)

I think she will love Amelia Bedelia - that will make a great change of pace after all the Little House.

We have read a fair amount of Beatrix Potter; especially The Tale of Two Bad Mice. And definitely Winnie the Pooh.

Funnily enough I was looking at It was a Dark and Stormy Night at the library today; I'm glad to hear it is as good as it looked. I'll have to check it out next time.

And I love the Penderwicks but I think that one needs to wait until she is older.

#15 -- what versions of Greek myths did you read to your kids when they were little? The ones I know are all older.

In addition to D'Aulaire's Greek Myths which is a classic for good reason, we liked King Midas and the Golden Touch by Charlotte and Kuniko Craft , Monster in the Maze by Stephanie Spinner (this one is a young reader version of the Minotaur, so if you can find a copy she can read it herself in a year or two) and some version of Persephone that I've forgotten the author of, but which was memorable because we bought pomegranates when we read it, and my son then decided he had to bring pomegranates to school for sharing and tell everyone the story. Rosemary Wells did some retellings with Max and Ruby of Pandora and Midas which are fun, too.

I am a veteran read-aloud mom and now, grandmother, but I would caution you about reading books to your child before she is really old enough to enjoy them. For example, I adore Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh but I really don't think a child really "gets" it until they are considerably older than 4. Some of the humor in it one doesn't really even fully understand until teen years or beyond. This doesn't mean a book can't be read at a young age and then again later, but sometimes reading a book too soon, before it can be appreciated and enjoyed, means a child won't ever want to read it again.

Please understand, I'm not saying that you shouldn't read chapter books to her - just to choose very carefully. I would wait on authors like Levine, for instance.
The other problem is that whole age-appropriate thing - our oldest child taught herself to read when she was 3, and for years we struggled to find enough books to satisfy her voracious reading appetite - and that weren't too "old" for her. We were pretty cautious about what we thought was appropriate, and her reading at such an early age made it hard.

Junie B books by Barbara Parks are appropriate for ages 4-6, I believe.

Lewis Caroll's books are always classic I think, particularly the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

www.DevineDestinies.com

I would love to read more about the books you found for your eldest at three. We are facing the same situation: highly gifted 3y.o. boy teaching himself to read, and able cognitively to handle rich, complex language, vocabulary and concepts, but emotionally still a very young three, and unable to emotionally handle the kinds of physical, psychological and emotional street and schoolyard nastiness/violence that is common fare for chapter books at his reading level. As a writer, I understand completely the value of such things for building up the dramatic impact of a story, but it makes it difficult to find books for my boy. Right now, he loves old-style, 60-page picture books with rich characterization and voice, and complex language, as in "Burt Dow, Deep Water Man" by McCloskey. Can you suggest any other great reads of this kind?

>21 LarisaAWhite: I have a HG 6 year old who taught herself to read at age 4, she jumped 3 grade levels in reading in one summer. I highly recommend the Mensa reading excellence list for K-3. Includes many child lit classics, and is a nice mix of both picture books and chapter books. Off the top of my head, some of the books are Charlotte's Web, Mr Popper's Penguins, Blueberries for Sal (McCloskey, but much simpler than deep water man), the garden of Abdul Agassiz (ending is great for discussing open-endings and reader interpretation), The Quiltmaker's Gift, Winnie the Pooh, Corduroy, etc.

Lady Lollipop and Clever Lollipop and other Dick King-Smith books are also tame content but at a higher reading level.

We also read a lot of picture books of folk tales from around the world. Many are very lyrical and more engaging than standard fare.

Other big hits at our house are books of children's poetry (engages the reader in a different way, great for HG kids) and joke and riddle/silly songs/tongue twister books.

McCloskey is wonderful. My kids' favorite was Time of Wonder.

You might look at Billy and Blaze and Blaze and the Gray Spotted Pony by C.W. Andersen. Both are lovely old-fashioned books. The rest of the series has more "action" but those two would be fine at age 3 I think.

I notice in your library you have Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel. If you can find it, there is a fun book called "Mike's House" about a little boy who loves that book. He does get lost at one point but my son really enjoyed it.

Have you tried biographies? There are a lot of them in a range of reading levels and my kids find them fascinating. Stuff like Mrs. Harkness and the Panda.

Veering around completely, another option are the Magic School Bus books. My daughter wasn't reading herself but loved these content-wise at age 3 and my son probably started with them around age 4. They come in a range of options -- the original series (eg. The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks) are probably the best, but there are also endless easy readers, picture-book tv-episode tie-ins and an early chapter book series as well. My kids love all of them. The easy readers are a bit painful but the rest are fine.

One suggestion I haven't seen yet that we really like (I have a 4 year old boy) is the Bed and Biscuit series by Joan Carris. Welcome to the Bed and Biscuit is the first book in the series. We are also enjoying Roald Dahl. And, not a chapter book, but for something different we love Shel Silverstein's book of poems Where the Sidewalk Ends.

One more that we're just starting is the Claude in the City series by Alex T. Smith

Thanks, all, for the recommendations! Will check out the Mensa site and book lists. And also all the books you cited. There are quite a few I have not yet seen. Yay!

A similar question came up in this group a couple of years ago. That thread is here and contains additional suggestions: https://www.librarything.com/topic/141735

I stumbled upon this resource today and thought it might help: http://imaginationsoup.net/2014/01/child-advanced-kindergartner-read/