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I'm looking for some suggestions on books with chapters to read with younger kids. My son is six and is a great reader, and I'd like to share some time with him at bedtime working through a book or series together, trading off reading to him and him reading to me. We've got a great library to go through, and it'd be easy enough to just pick something at random, but I was hoping you guys would have some books to suggest that you and your children really responded to. Also, what would be a good age to start reading Harry Potter?
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Jun 1, 2015 15:54
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Hardy Boys all day every day son Hardy Boys legit as gently caress
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Jun 1, 2015 16:05
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My mom read the hobbit to me as a little kid , and a lot of the Narnia books. I really enjoyed those.
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Jun 1, 2015 17:01
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These first three are the best ever, but A Wrinkle In Time may be for maybe 8-12 year olds to begin, I don't know. I was reading these between first and third grade - my mom read AWIT to me out loud, she had some really kickass witchy voices, and I read the other ones on my own after that. Also, yeah, I read the gently caress out of the Hardy Boys. Those books led me straight to Sherlock Holmes once I hit, like, fourth or fifth grade. A Wrinkle in Time From The Mixed Up FIles of Mrs Basil Frankweiler Sideways Stories from Wayside School Eyes of the Killer Robot http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/334526.The_Eyes_of_the_Killer_Robot Light in the Attic & The Giving Tree http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30118.A_Light_in_the_Attic?from_search=true&search_version=service http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/370493.The_Giving_Tree?from_search=true&search_version=service I'd wait until they had a few years of school down for Harry Potter, maybe. Like, second or third grade? No particular reason. When they get a little older you guys can read 13 and 1/2 lives of Captain Bluebear together. loving fantastic. Drifter fucked around with this message at 19:12 on Jun 1, 2015 |
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Jun 1, 2015 19:07
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The Hobbit is a fantastic pick. Terry Pratchett's Nome books (Truckers, Diggers, Wings). I imagine that a younger reader/listener would really relate to how the characters see the world. And, of course, there' a lot of silliness and great jokes. What about comics? The pictures can help him read along. I really dug Tintin and Asterix a wee one. They're probably a bit hard for him to read himself (as is the Hobbit) but James Herriot's stories go down well with kids, especially if they're into animals. High Warlord Zog fucked around with this message at 22:30 on Jun 1, 2015 |
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Jun 1, 2015 22:28
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I really loved Charlotte's Web at that age. Stuart Little isn't bad, either. Some of Judy Blume's or Beverly Cleary's stuff might work, too, such as Freckle Juice or books from the Ramona Quimby series. Henry Huggins may be a bit more mature. On that note, I learned today that Beverly Cleary is still alive. She's 99.
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Jun 2, 2015 03:45
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I remember having a bunch of classic adventure stories for children that I really enjoyed. Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20k Leagues Under the Sea, Three Musketeers, Robin Hood, etc. They were abridged and altered for reading level, of course, and I know some people have feelings about that, but I really enjoyed them and I still enjoyed reading the unedited versions when I was older.
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Jun 2, 2015 05:49
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My mom used to read The Wizard of Oz books to me. They actually build a really cool world and introduce a lot of interesting characters (like the sawhorse and the wheelies). Haven't revisited them as an adult.
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Jun 11, 2015 17:22
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Paineopticon posted:My mom used to read The Wizard of Oz books to me. They actually build a really cool world and introduce a lot of interesting characters (like the sawhorse and the wheelies). Haven't revisited them as an adult. make sure to also teach them the merits of bimetallism and the evils of the gold standard if you do this
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Jun 12, 2015 04:13
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Oh jeez, I haven't even thought of these books since I was like, 9. Is he some kind of crazy political ideology guy?
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Jun 12, 2015 04:35
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Paineopticon posted:Oh jeez, I haven't even thought of these books since I was like, 9. Is he some kind of crazy political ideology guy? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_interpretations_of_The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz Sort of? It's pretty clearly intended to have a political subtext but at the same time I think it's supposed to be satirical / tounge in cheek. The guy who wrote it was apparantly a political cartoonist and columnist besides a writer, so the book is basically an extended political cartoon from 1900 icantfindaname fucked around with this message at 08:35 on Jun 12, 2015 |
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Jun 12, 2015 08:32
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Khizan posted:I remember having a bunch of classic adventure stories for children that I really enjoyed. Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20k Leagues Under the Sea, Three Musketeers, Robin Hood, etc. They were abridged and altered for reading level, of course, and I know some people have feelings about that, but I really enjoyed them and I still enjoyed reading the unedited versions when I was older. In this vein, at six I loved the children's versions of Arthurian and classical myths. If he ends up liking those, in a couple years you can introduce him to The Once and Future King, which is a mind-blowing book for a precocious eight-year-old. High Warlord Zog posted:What about comics? The pictures can help him read along. I really dug Tintin and Asterix a wee one. This is also a great suggestion. Zita the Space Girl and its sequels are dead-on, and I've heard (but can't personally confirm) that Amulet is great for a slightly more adventurous six-year-old - this review describes it beautifully.
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Jun 12, 2015 19:04
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If you can find them easily these days, I really loved the Freddy the Pig stories around that age. Also the Chronicles of Prydain are great too.
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Jun 12, 2015 19:25
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My daughter liked the Ivy and Bean series. Also: Choose Your Own Adventure.
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Jun 12, 2015 19:39
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I was started on Alice's Adventures In Wonderland when I was about 7, and I liked that.
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Jun 16, 2015 19:44
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knows a black guy posted:I'm looking for some suggestions on books with chapters to read with younger kids. My son is six and is a great reader, and I'd like to share some time with him at bedtime working through a book or series together, trading off reading to him and him reading to me. My little brother really loved The True Meaning of Smekday, although I don't think the message would sink in for a six-year-old. Also I loved it, girlfriend loved it, it is a Good Book. You would probably like it. Everyone likes it. It is a funny book about a girl writing for an essay contest with her alien friend and a cat named pig.
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Jun 18, 2015 05:50
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In a few years, you could read Where the Red Fern Grows and/or White Fang with him.
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Jul 9, 2015 11:36
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As a kid I loved The Hatchet. Not sure how it holds up.
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Jul 9, 2015 14:47
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One of my favorite books as a kid was The Talking Parcel by Gerald Durrell (of animal-related books infamy); I still reread it occassionally to grab a bit of that sense of magic.
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Jul 9, 2015 19:06
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I read Alice In Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz to my two older kids when they were probably 6 and 4. The 4 year old didn't really pay much attention; he wanted/needed more pictures. The 6 year old is now 8 and she read through the entirety of the Harry Potter books this year, starting in January. She's a bit obsessed with those and it instantly made her a bookworm. I just recently started reading The Hobbit to her, although she could almost definitely just read it herself, but she enjoys the one-on-one time. My son, now five, is still not quite interested enough in pictureless books. Oh, God, I almost forgot: Bunnicula. The perfect blend of spooky and comedy, they both LOVED this book and probably would have had me read it to them front-to-back if I had time. My son was 4 at the time and would ask me to read it as soon as he woke up.
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Jul 10, 2015 18:22
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If you've got a kid reading through Harry Potter, give Diane Duane's Young Wizards series a shot. I read the first one with a friend's kid who's nine and they liked it a lot. Even I enjoyed the hell out of it. I bought the rest of the series to read for myself.   It's not as basic or clear-cut fantasy good vs. evil as the Potter stories though. I did enjoy YW1 more than I remember enjoying HP1, at least. It felt a little more involved and more magically interesting, too.
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Jul 10, 2015 18:50
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If comics will work you could try Owly by Andy Runton, the Hilda series by Luke Pearson, or Beanworld by Larry Marder. For chapter books to read together try Louise Sacher's Wayside School books, or Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles, or pretty much anything in Ronald Dahl's children's books catalog.
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Jul 13, 2015 01:46
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The Famous Five series. I've got fond memories of it being read to me.
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Jul 13, 2015 08:41
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The Little Prince.
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Jul 13, 2015 12:10
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The Bible.
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Jul 14, 2015 22:12
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Mobzy posted:The Bible. Actually a book of kid's bible stories is probably pretty cool and gives some good cultural background on stuff like messianic archetypes and The Good Samaritan and The Prodigal Son and all that. Much like you got your Greek mythology with the Prometheus story and cool stories about gods fighting titans. I bet little kids would love some old mythology.
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Jul 17, 2015 01:49
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Drifter posted:If you've got a kid reading through Harry Potter, give Diane Duane's Young Wizards series a shot. I read the first one with a friend's kid who's nine and they liked it a lot. Even I enjoyed the hell out of it.
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Jul 17, 2015 21:16
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Un Lun Dun by China Mieville is great. I read it as an adult and enjoyed it thoroughly, but it's perfect for kids as well. I also recommend The Enchanted Forest books by Patricia C. Wrede; the first one is Dealing with Dragons. Lighthearted fantasy with good themes, great humor, and subverted expectations; I still enjoy re-reading them every now and again. Others have mentioned the Young Wizards series, Hatchet, A Wrinkle in Time, and the Narnia series. I enjoyed all of these in my youth and want to add my recommendation to them.
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Jul 18, 2015 07:11
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Hogge Wild posted:The Famous Five series. I've got fond memories of it being read to me. I devoured these and the Secret Seven as a kid.
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Jul 18, 2015 14:52
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I think reading Harry Potter to a kid is bad for the kid.
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Jul 19, 2015 00:29
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Shibawanko posted:I think reading Harry Potter to a kid is bad for the kid. Thank you Richard
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Jul 19, 2015 00:40
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I mean not because of that but because it's not imaginative enough. It would leave them stunted and boorish.
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Jul 19, 2015 00:43
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Shibawanko posted:I mean not because of that but because it's not imaginative enough. It would leave them stunted and boorish. Well then how about giving an alternative instead of just making GBS threads on other people's recommends?
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Jul 19, 2015 01:09
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The Vosgian Beast posted:Well then how about giving an alternative instead of just making GBS threads on other people's recommends? The Xanth novels, surely. don't do this
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Jul 19, 2015 06:46
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A lot of these recommendations seem like they'd be better for kids who are older than six just as far as the intensity of the content goes. Best ones in this thread are Bunnicula and Charlotte's Web, imo. Can't go wrong with E.B. White. Stuart Little is great too. In the stone cold classics category, you can't go wrong with anything written by Roald Dahl. Two writers with a bunch of books to choose from are Beverly Cleary (The Mouse and the Motorcycle was a favorite of mine) and Dick King Smith ( Babe and a whole lot of other books about animals). The very first chapter books I read by myself were the My Father's Dragon series by Ruth Styles Gannett. Also Half Magic by Edward Eager. I have no idea whether these books would hold up with today's high powered mutant children, but you can get previews on a kindle and see.
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Jul 19, 2015 07:20
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I don't know if it's the same age range as Stuart Little or the spider one, but Animal Farm and Plague Dogs have talking animals, both. Those are pretty good.
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Jul 19, 2015 07:57
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As mentioned earlier, I have found that the Little House series, Charlotte's Web, and Bunnicula...as well as most of the other books are wonderful for reading to kids as chapter books as well as self reading when old enough. Personally though, my absolute favorite as a little girl was The Ghost of Opalina or Nine Lives, by Peggy Bacon. http://smile.amazon.com/Ghost-Opali...eywords=opalina I love this book, and have been begging for a copy of it since I was about 4 or 5 years old. Its now out on Kindle e-book...I cannot recommend this enough. A smartalec ghost cat who recounts the history of her family and house since she died? Scary enough to be good for little ones, and its got adventure and hidden treasure as well. Its still in the books I go to when I babysit...the kids all love it and are happy to sit quietly and find out what happens. Disco Salmon fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Jul 19, 2015 |
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Jul 19, 2015 20:17
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dogcrash truther posted:A lot of these recommendations seem like they'd be better for kids who are older than six just as far as the intensity of the content goes. Best ones in this thread are Bunnicula and Charlotte's Web, imo. Can't go wrong with E.B. White. Stuart Little is great too. In the stone cold classics category, you can't go wrong with anything written by Roald Dahl. Oh hey, Half Magic! That book was pretty enjoyable, I read it multiple times as a kid.
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Jul 19, 2015 23:53
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