https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 20 Jun 2026 03:49:38 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-do-kids-start-listening-to-chapter-books#post-2515542 Tue, 05 Apr 2016 06:40:30 +0000 honeybear 2515542@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@edelweiss: My bet would be that either they've got an older child and the 3yo was just along for the ride, or they did the audio books while the child was playing (we did the latter because I wanted to read them!). ;)</p> <p>We did Babe: The Gallant Pig; The Wind in the Willows; Winnie the Pooh; Charlotte's Web; The Cricket in Times Square; and The Hobbit early on, and we repeated several of them in fairly short succession. Anthropomorphized animals are my thing, evidently! :silly: There are illustrated versions (not pictures on every page, but on many) of all of those. The audio version of Cricket read by Tony Shalhoub is good, too. The Hobbit does have a lot of descriptive passages, but it also has a lot of action (we did this one at 4, I wouldn't start with it). We also read My Father's Dragon and a couple by George MacDonald--all of his stuff is good. </p> <p>@Rainbow Sprinkles: I :heart: the Betsy-Tacy books!</p> <p>ETA: Oh, and both before and after we read, I tried to mention how much I liked the book/chapter/character/whatever just happened. Enthusiasm is contagious! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-do-kids-start-listening-to-chapter-books#post-2515487 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 23:47:23 +0000 erinpye 2515487@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My eldest loved them starting around 2.5. We read My Father's Dragon and some Izzy and Bean books at first. I'm hoping now, at almost 4, she might become interested in Harry Potter 🙊 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-do-kids-start-listening-to-chapter-books#post-2515173 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:49:33 +0000 mediagirl 2515173@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My lo is 3.5 and she LOVES the Magic Treehouse books. I was just thinking it might be fun to read the Harry Potter books with her. We do them as audio books and she gets a certain number of chapters a night. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-do-kids-start-listening-to-chapter-books#post-2515127 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:25:03 +0000 Rainbow Sprinkles 2515127@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am currently reading the Betsy-Tacy treasury (classic children's chapter book series, I think it was written in the 30's) to my almost 4-year old. She is REALLY into it and will listen to 4 chapters at a time! This is the first chapter book I've read to her. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-do-kids-start-listening-to-chapter-books#post-2515111 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:15:30 +0000 knittylady 2515111@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@HappyBaker: my fathers dragon was my first- and favorite- chapter book! I cannot wait to read it to my LOs! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-do-kids-start-listening-to-chapter-books#post-2515094 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:06:40 +0000 autumnlove 2515094@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've read a few to my 4 year old with the 2.5 year old hovering around. Boxcar Children, Ramona, etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-do-kids-start-listening-to-chapter-books#post-2515071 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 14:51:11 +0000 edelweiss 2515071@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO1 is almost 3.5, and i haven't tried chapter books. i know this is snarky of me, but i feel like the harry potter family was showing off a bit :silly: </p> <p>@HappyBaker: thanks for posting that link! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-do-kids-start-listening-to-chapter-books#post-2514882 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 13:10:39 +0000 honeybear 2514882@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We started at 3. I was excited about it, and I figure that it's never a bad idea to read or reread a good book! Even at 5 I still read loads of picture books to him, the novels are on top of those. Try illustrated novels to start and ones without a lot of long descriptive passages. I don't insist that he sits still, either. As long as he's quiet and listening, he's free to play while I read. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-do-kids-start-listening-to-chapter-books#post-2514839 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 12:41:57 +0000 lamariniere 2514839@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We started last summer when DS was 4.5. The first was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He loved it and the language was easy for him to understand. We've just started reading Harry Potter and are about halfway through the 1st one. I'm honestly not sure what he understands and I'm not going to push the second one if he's not interested, but we read half chapters at a time and then have a mini discussion and he seems to be getting the gist of the story. But the language is already much more complex and detailed. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-do-kids-start-listening-to-chapter-books#post-2514838 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 12:41:43 +0000 milano14 2514838@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just had this discussion with my son's kindergarten teacher. We just started reading chapter books to him a few months ago (5 years old). Before that he had no interest in listening to them; would choose picture books every time. We read 2-3 books before bed each night.<br /> His teacher said that Kindergarten is the age where kids start to have the attention span and patience to sit, listen and to not need to look at pictures. I'm definitely finding this to be true.<br /> DS1 loves to be read to and to read, so I don't think a love for reading has much to do with it. Just personal preference:). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-do-kids-start-listening-to-chapter-books#post-2514805 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 12:25:06 +0000 kristine-alejandra 2514805@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Not a parent, but my mom started reading me chapter books when I was 3 or 4. I grew up loving to read - it was always fascinating listening to her read to me (pictures and without). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-do-kids-start-listening-to-chapter-books#post-2514797 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 12:20:59 +0000 Freckles 2514797@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>At DD's Montessori school, they don't start reading the kids chapter books until the pre-kindergarten/kindergarten class. The kids would be between 4 and 5. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-do-kids-start-listening-to-chapter-books#post-2514770 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 12:05:28 +0000 Silva 2514770@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am torn about this. There are some books I'm really excited to read to my daughter, but I don't want to rush it. There are lots of wonderful picture books out there, too! I'm thinking we might start the little house series in kindergarten? I don't know. She will sit for picture-less stories from fairy tale anthologies now. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-do-kids-start-listening-to-chapter-books#post-2514762 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 12:00:12 +0000 HappyBaker 2514762@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We're just finishing our first one, DD is 3 1/2 but she is really verbal / loves stories, and even she gets antsy if we hit a spread with no pictures! The book we started with is - My Father's Dragon, and she has LOVED it. We read one chapter at bedtime (as well as 2 other regular storybooks), and she really looks forward to it. </p> <p>I recently found this on Pinterest so these are the books we're going to use -<br /> <a href="http://www.whatdowedoallday.com/2012/08/50-chapter-books-for-preschoolers-and-3-year-olds.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.whatdowedoallday.com/2012/08/50-chapter-books-for-preschoolers-and-3-year-olds.html</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-do-kids-start-listening-to-chapter-books#post-2514745 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 11:50:24 +0000 Bao 2514745@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Last month at school the kids were to bring in lists of books that they had read to them (none of the kids can read yet), and they have them hung up on the hallway wall. I was waiting to pick up or drop off LO and was reading through them. One of the kids had 'Harry Potter-2 chapters) on it...I was thinking in my head, my kid would never sit and listen to something like that at the age of 3! </p> <p>So it got me thinking, when do kids start listening to chapter books? Does your LO? How old are they? I can barely get through a Little Critter without her itching to turn the page, and that has illustrations! </p>