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Sassafras and Zoe books maybe? My now 7yo loves princess in black and mercy Watson still but they’re shorter / easier reading, more like they would work into reading themselves, but they’re super fun, funny names and plots, etc. Those are both series also.

One set my oldest really loves is Brambly Hedge ... we have them all in one big book so each story is kind of like a chapter. Such fun illustrations too, I bet your dd would love that.

I think someone on here recommended Milly Molly Mandy which is an old chapter book we also really loved!

Maybe others will come to me

I love so many of these books mentioned! If you like the shorter length of "The Princess in Black" series, the "Zelda and Ivy" books are cute - but you could probably read any of those in one sitting with her, so I'm not sure it's really what you're looking for.

Ivy & Bean is another great series, though the girls are a bit older - maybe 8 years old. The girls are creative, adventurous, and a lot of fun!

My daughter is older than yours (she's in first grade, almost 7 years old), and we read a lot of the same things you're mentioning (Ramona & other Beverly Cleary books - Ellen Tebbits is a cute one too) last year. This year she's primarily into Magic Treehouse and the Babysitter's Club "Little Sister" series. I really like those because she'll be able to transition into reading them on her own very soon. I might try to track down some other books in this early elementary genre that I remember from growing up - series like Saddle Club, Sleepover Friends, etc.

A lot of kids like Junie B. Jones, but I think she's rude and obnoxious - there's a lot of name calling, words like "dumb/stupid", etc. That bothers me, so we stay away from them, but some people might feel okay about it. Definitely preview one of that series WITHOUT DD if you decide to try it out to see what your take is.

@PinkElephant: UGH to Junie B Jones. DD loves them of course but I avoid them for sure! Now she’s into Judy Moody which you can guess has some of its own issues on behavior but is better at least!

@rattles: You probably already know this, but we JUST discovered the picture book "A Piglet Called Mercy" - it's an easier book to draw younger kids into the Mercy Watson series about how the Watsons got Mercy. Super cute!

@LemonJack: Another blast from the past to preview before you read aloud to your little is the Little House on the Prairie series - I tried Little House in the Big Woods for DD1 last year thinking it would work because Laura Ingalls is about kindergarten age in that first book....BIG NO - I ended up skipping big sections (lots of Pa's stories) on the fly because they were all about guns and hunting. I totally didn't remember that, and it didn't really bother me persay, it just didn't resonate with my daughter

One last one if you're into historical fiction is the All of a Kind Family series by Sydney Taylor, but I'm finding those a little old/tricky for my first grader - maybe we'll try again in another year or so - they're beautiful stories about a big family of sisters growing up in Depression Era NYC.

@bhbee: Is it the seven year old who likes Judy Moody? I got a book from that series at the library recently, but my first-grader wasn't really interested. I thought the series sounded okay, but maybe I'd better read through it first.

@PinkElephant: We’re going to a meet and greet with Kate DiCamillo tomorrow to have her sign their copy!

@rattles: jealous!!

@rattles: Oh how fun! Please tell her how brilliant the HB children's literature gurus (ha) think it is!

A few more that I haven’t seen here - My Father’s Dragon was a huge hit with my 4 year old, as soon as we finished we started it again. He also really likes the Bad Guys - they’re graphic novels, and they’re really funny, I enjoy reading them too. Mr Popper’s Penguins is one I got for my son because I remember reading it when I was young. And How to Train Your Dragon started out as a chapter book. What about the Land of Stories? Somebody else might be able to jump in - I know my 9 year old Goddaughter loves reading them, not sure if they’d be ok for a 7 year old. And another vote for the Princess in Black, they’re cute.

Whoops, I just realized you said she's almost 5, not 7 - not sure where I got that from. The Land of Stories might be too much.

@PinkElephant: That makes me so sad! I am the same as you- I am a big reader myself, grew up in a reading household, and thankfully my husband appreciates it too, though he didn't grow up reading. But I definitely have friends who don't see the value of reading and it breaks my heart.

Oh I forgot to add the Doctor Kitty Cat series which we blew through from our library. They're on the simpler side, but they are chapter books about a doctor cat and her mouse assistant. They're written by an MD so they're actually quite factual and the pictures are very cute. I want to say there's 10 or more books.

I don't think this one has been mentioned yet, so I'll chime in with a classic: My Father's Dragon. It's a series of three books and so great.

My DS is a little older (7) and he reads at an even higher grade level, but since you are doing Chronicles of Narnia I believe your LO is pretty advanced as well! Thought I'd share what we did / what we are doing:

We started doing quite a bit of biographies when we were in kindergarten but then it is not chapter books. That's just what we read together and we liked to discuss them. He read alone a lot at age 5. He didn't really get into magic treehouse, I don't know why (maybe it was too serious/educational lol), but he LOVED silly stories. He was into The Weird / Weirder / Weirdest School series (Dan Gutman). And then he was crazy into The Wayside School Trilogy (Louis Sachar). Super silly funny books.

When he was younger I read the Mouse and the Motorcycle (Beverly Cleary), he was alright.

We started toward the end of 6 years old but the best thing ever -- I was/am reading Harry Potter to him and I am reading it for the very first time myself! Such great time we are having, everything we talk about / references to is about Hogwarts ! Since you are already doing Chronicles of Narnia, I wonder if this is even a reasonable start ? We read the pure chapter books (not the illustrated ones they have now) which is thicker than a dictionary. I like that through us reading together / me reading this gigantic book to him it makes it naturally not intimidating to read a big thick chapter book. He naturally just picks up thick chapter books to read now by himself. For his own reading he recently is into Amelia Bedelia, A-Z Mysteries (He didn't like it when he was younger, he started liking it this year), and he told me he started liking Flat Stanley series. He also love the Mac B Kids Spy series (we can only get 1 and 2 in the library), and he is excited about those Choose Your Own Adventure books. I couldn't get those from the library. Will be buying them I guess!

Anne of Green Gables and Hank the Cowdog. The Boxcar Children. Bud, Not Buddy went over well. I was afraid some of the themes would be a little too much, but my 5 year old was really interested. Cheaper by the Dozen would probably work well.

I recently discovered All of a Kind Family for myself and I really enjoy it. They are starting to break those down to shorter picture books. There's also a series of "Little House" books as picture books if you want to introduce the characters that way.

DD loved the "Laura books" because they were about a girl. I've tried really hard to find more books with girl leads.

My oldest (4yo) recently got in to chapter books and she loves The Princess in Black, Sophie Mouse, Critter Club, and the Disney Princess Beginnings series. She's also into basic graphic novel type books, like Narwhal and Jelly. I think the basic rule of thumb is that kids like characters who are a few years older than they are, so we've been concentrating on series with characters who are 7-8yo. It's worked well so far!

@LemonJack: i will say we just got to the part where one boy tragically dies and it's a bit graphic, but respectful. we read on and the boys were interested but not spooked - but just a heads up. i think the fact that it was not in front of their eyes the way a movie would be made a big difference, and we could stop and talk about it.

This has been one of my favorite threads. We got Mercy Watson from the library and wnded up buying the boxed set we enjoyed it so much. Now reading Judy Moody and Friends.

I LOVE the Rabbit and Bear series, there's only a few books and they are quick reads but hilarious.

@Miss Ariel: please let me know what you think of Magic on the Map!
Both my 4 and 6 year old love the Princess in Black series.

@SweetCaroline - The Mercy Watson series is such a fun read!