MommaReads

I have to admit that this is not my favorite series, but when kids start reading on their own they get to pick what they want to read (not what mom wants to read to them) and this was a favorite at our house for a while. This series follows Geronimo Stilton, who is a mouse, his crazy mouse family and all of the adventures they go on. I think one of the things that my oldest liked about this series, besides all of the adventures, is the mouse lingo. For example, they live in New Mouse City. They travel to the Mousific Ocean…you get the idea. (In my opinion all of that mouse lingo gets real old, real fast, but the kids love it.) I will admit that the stories are very creative, they are great for those kids who are ready for chapter books, they have some illustrations (that are in color) throughout the book and I know I heard some giggles coming from our son as he was reading them. He will still pick one up every now and again and re-read it or if a new one comes out he will check it out from the library. They are also available on CD if you want to listen to them in car.

If you have a child who loves sports then you need to check out Matt Christopher. He has written fiction books on every sport from baseball to skateboarding to ice hockey to soccer. Since this blog is dedicated to younger readers, it is important to note that he has books that are geared more for the 6-8 year old group and then others that are geared more for the 9-12 year old group. The books that are for the younger set are easier to read and have illustrations every few pages. Also, the books for the older kids do cover some topics that may not be appropriate for the younger set, nothing horrible, but maybe things they just aren’t dealing with socially at school yet…things like that.

There are over 60 books in this series and kids EAT THEM UP!!! They are great for kids who are starting beginning chapter books because the chapters are short, there are pictures every once in a while (kids at this stage still need a few pictures to give them a break from all that reading) and the kids love to see if the next book in the series has a sillier title than the one they are currently reading….with titles like Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots and Goblins Don’t Play Video Games. Children also love series because there are usually some characters that carry through from book to book. This holds true with the Bailey School Kids books with Liza, Melody, Howie and Eddy. Series books are great because children at this stage of reading tend to devour books…they have learned to read and read pretty well and they just can’t seem to get enough of it. (No, this does not hold true for all kids, but in general, it’s a pretty fair statement.) These also make silly and fun read alouds for kids who aren’t quite ready to read these books by themselves or who maybe want to read a little out loud while Mom or Dad share in the reading…it takes some stamina to read chapter books as any early elementary child will tell you. 🙂

There is also another set of Bailey School Kids books if your reader is quite ready for these called Bailey School Kids Jr.

This series of books is a MUST for those kids who are starting to read beginning chapter books. You would be hard pressed to find a second grader who hasn’t read at least one of them I imagine. This series is the kind, however, that once a child has read one of them, they usually just keep on reading and before you know it they have read all of them. Why do I love them? Not only are these books full of adventure, but they are very well researched and kids learn about people and places from history and geography as well. They also make great read alouds if your child isn’t quite ready to read them alone. Another thing I really like about these books is that they come on tape/CD. They are great to listen to in the car and the content is appropriate for children of various ages.

One last thing I love about them is that the fiction books also have non-fiction companion books that go along with them. So, if your child really enjoyed The Magic Treehouse book where Jack and Annie end up being a part of the American Revolution, then there is a non-fiction book that goes along with it where they can learn more about that part of history.

This series is another one of my favorites. It involves three characters: Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose who solve mysteries together. I love these three characters because they are smart, they persevere, they follow clues and they use teamwork to solve the mysteries they encounter in each of the books in this series. These books have just the right amount of humor in them so that both adults and kids can enjoy the stories and they also have a few pictures sprinkled in here and there which kids at this reading level really look for. It’s kind of like Encyclopedia Brown for the next generation.

I have people ask me quite often about beginning chapter books for boys that are appropriate for the early elementary years. There are so many great ones out there and Jack Stalwart is one of my all-time favorites. Jack is a secret agent/spy who travels the globe looking for his older brother Max who is missing while also fighting crime along the way. Why do I love these books so much? There aren’t a lot of books out there for this age group that are in the spy/secret agent genre, it is a great way to get kids excited about and learning about geography since he visits a different location in every book, it’s a series-kids get sucked into series and don’t want to stop reading until they have read them all, it has pictures sprinkled in here and there which is great for kids this age and it has short chapters. They are also great read alouds as well, so you can read them to your child, your child can read them to you, you can take turns or, if they are ready, they can read them on their own.

A fun and whimsical Seuss-styled romp about teeth, all the places you might find them, losing them and some basics on how to take care of them.

This is is a cumulative tale (kind of like The House that Jack Built) and it is also a rebus story which uses pictures to replace some of the words in the story. These types of stories are FANTASTIC for preschoolers and early readers. The repetition and rhyming are one bonus, but when pictures replace words in a story, they help the child to follow along which means they can help “read” part of the story which gets them engaged and excited about reading.

This a winter-themed book that an early reader could probably read on their own. My first grader read it tonight with no trouble, but our older son could have probably read it just fine in preschool. All kids start reading at different times, so you may want to read it to your child instead of having them read it to you. I like it because there is some repetition and it rhymes, both of which help early readers.

A cute book about fall and the many stages a tree goes through throughout the year. This book is geared towards preschoolers, but it is also great for early readers because it has repetition and illustrations that really support a beginning reader. It’s also short enough and the illustrations are bright and entertaining enough that a toddler would enjoy it as well.