DS1 is 4 and I think he might enjoy us reading a chapter book together before bed. What are your favorites?
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We started with My Father’s Dragon, and it was a huge hit. We got the collection with all three stories bound together and it’s still a favourite. We’ve also enjoyed Winnie the Pooh and Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman.
Do NOT try Roald Dahl, we have a box set that I got years ago because it was a good sale and my son every so often picks one of them and they’re terrifying, we have to do so much editing. On page two of James and the Giant Peach James’ parents are killed and he had to go live with his abusive aunts! My husband came downstairs once and said “B picked the BFG and I started reading it but it seems a little weird, I’m not sure...” Me: “Huh. Did you get to the part where the BFG is the only nice giant and the rest of them eat children?” Him: “WHAT?!?!”
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I have a sensitive kid, so we have to be pretty careful about conflict (even in books). She's really enjoyed the Little House Books (however we only read the first four in the series, after that the conflict gets a little harder- like the dog dies, sister goes blind, etc).
I LOVE the Brambly Hedge stories- they aren't a true chapter book, but the stories are longer (I have the complete collection in one book) and they are delightful stories about a community of little mice.Twig was another favorite- about a girl who is magically shrunk down and makes friends with a little elf/fairy in her backyard.
She enjoyed the first Catwings, and Pippi Longstocking is lots of fun too.
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Oh, the Princess in Black series is also good! Lots of bright illustrations.
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@Silva: we love Brambly hedge!!
Princess in black, mercy Watson and Sophie mouse are the other favorites (and they’re at a level where now she can read them mostly herself at 6).
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We're reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory right now for our first chapter book which DS seems to be enjoying. He's ready to start it over when we finish lol. I've tried to tell him that's not really how chapter books work, but he's not having it.
@erinbaderin: Thanks for the heads up on the other Roald Dahl books.
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My daughter loves the Sophie Mouse collection.
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@BadgerMom: Good to know that that one isn’t too bad, maybe we’ll try it next! But we totally did start My Father’s Dragon over again immediately upon finishing.
We’re also really into The Bad Guys series, although they’re a bit hard to read TO somebody since they’re comics.
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Magic Tree House! The first one is Dinosaurs Before Dark.
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@erinbaderin: That's good to know that rereading is not an uncommon request! Maybe we will start it over, I'll have to check our library return date
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We love Brambly Hedge, Mercy Watson, and Princess in Black. I really tried to love My Father's Dragon, but the writing is a little antiquated and there was so much my four year old couodnt make a lot of the connections needed to know what was going on.
She loves Charlotte's.Web (obviously not for sensitive kids). We read The Wizard of Oz all the time. This version is slightly abridged but the illustrations are gorgeous and make it easy for a young child to stay interested.
The Wizard of Oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/1604335424
The next book we'll try is The Night Fairy. It's a beautiful book with some great lessons about moral character.
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So far we’ve read:
Magic Treehouse series
Mr. Putters series
Kung Pow Chicken (superhero)
BFG
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Frog and Toad
Charlotte’s Web
BlackBeauty (abridged)
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Stuart Little (although some chapters were a little abstract and had technical sailing terms that DS sound boring) -
Zoey and Sassafrass series is really cute!
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@jhd: We've been getting into Moomin books - they're a little more difficult, but nice stories. We also have read some select Roald Dahl books - James and the Giant Peach is actually really great once you get past the aunts (I just skipped over most of that), and Fantastic Mr Fox and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are very fun to read.
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My four year old loves the Dragon Masters series. There are pictures on every page.
He also likes the Frog and Toad books, but those are more short stories.
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My daughter blew through the entire Ramona series with me at this age, one after another. If you think your son might relate to a boy main character better, try the ones featuring Henry Huggins (Henry Huggins, Henry & Ribsey, etc.).
The Magic Treehouse series was a huge hit for read-aloud time with my daughter's kindergarten class.
Warning on the Little House series! The first book in particular talks a TON about guns and hunting - I didn't remember this from when I read them growing up. It's not necessarily bad, but it's just something that didn't resonate at all with my child, since she'd lived most of her life in major metropolitan cities, and now pretty heavily populated suburbs. It lead to a lot of questions, and me being a little uncomfortable.
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We read Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, James & The Giant Peach and Charlottes Web. Next we are going to read BFG.
We've been picking books that have movies so we can watch as a family after.
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@erinbaderin: Funny you say that as we were sent the entire Roald Dahl collection from a friend as he is one of DH's favorite authors, specifically Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Granted, DS1 is almost 6 but he hasn't had too much trouble with them. So far they've read James and the Giant Peach, BFG, the one about the foxes and they're on Charlie right now. True, there is some editing when I'm reading them but we've been good so far. Though I can definitely see issues with kids who are super sensitive.
We also do the magic tree house books
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My scaredy cat couldn't handle the Magic Tree House books at bedtime. She loved reading them, but was waking up most nights with nightmares. We quit the books and the nightmares stopped. She's now 7 and still won't read them at night time. She will read them in the middle of the day and be okay.
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Bumping this thread! DD is almost 4 years old. She has a hard time sitting still for stories at bedtime, but I think if I laid with her, I could read chapter books or we could listen to audio books with more success.
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@SweetCaroline: I have been thinking of an audio book to listen to with my LO too. He likes us to tell him stories at bedtime and this would be similar. My only concern is falling asleep myself if I lay with him to listen. We tried Bad Kitty and the New Baby together a couple months ago and didn’t make it past the first chapter or two. He’s still very into picture books and easy readers with his favorite characters.
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Chicken Squad and Zoey and Sassafrass are our two favorite series right now (4.5 year old boy). Mr Poppers Penguins was a hit as well.
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@SweetCaroline: Is bedtime the only time you have to read? If not, I'd try to do longer books another time when she's better able to concentrate and keep your sessions somewhat short. Depending on the age/stage LO was in, I found that mealtimes after I'd finished but while he was still eating were ideal. Maybe something like that would work? Bedtime has sometimes not been ideal for longer books because the ability to concentrate is just not there!
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@honeybear: We both work FT, so yes, bedtime is the most feasible option. I actually think her attention span is pretty good as she becomes sleepy, especially when we remove distractions. I keep that in mind.
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@Nonimouse: thank you! I love Mr. Poppers Penguins!
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