Summer Reading Ideas for DD

[Astro Orbiter]

DD is a new 1st grader and new reading addict. The last month of kindergarten she 'got it' and is now a bit of a read-aholic and no longer intimidated by chapter books. Horray!

She's devouring Magic Treehouse books like there's no tomorrow (on her own) and loves Disney Fairies books as well. Junie B Jones is OK by her but not liked by me. Amelia Bedilia she likes the humor of. Princess books, of course!

We've already gone through Charlotte's Web (as a pre-reader), I've got a couple early Boxcar Children and Bobbsey Twins books (my faves as a kid) that she hasn't read yet.

What else would you recommend? Not only chapter books, but some quick reads as well.

Deb

 

[scouthawkk]

Below is a link that our public schools/libraries put out for rising 1st graders (includes my DS as well). I haven't had a chance to get to the library yet, but hope to this coming weekend. DS loves to read, and this gives me a place to start with him for the summer...plus I can let him pick out some books of his own, as well.

http://www.nextreads.com/display2.aspx?SID=e0c714d7-693e-4c0a-a1f3-0a065c39aa9e&N=102145

 

[mommy-on-the-move]

My DS5 is a rapid reader- he'll clear 2 or 3 short books a day even though he's only 5, what I am doing with him this summer is letting him chose subjects and buying him factual/scientific based books around those subjects so he can learn at the same time as read- he is a special needs student (dyspraxia, dysgraphia- is being looked at for autistic spectrum issues... but at 5 we're just waited for them to give him a propre diagnosis which could take a while) BUT he is an amazing reader (he reads the news online daily) and has amazing fact recall & memory so we're taking advantage of that fact to keep him busy. At the moment (literally right now) he's sat reading my passporter as his 2 younger sibs are sleeping, his older one is out with friends.

I find that factual books inspire him to investigate things, ask more questions and generally lead from one subject to the next (example- he read about frogs, which lead him to books about pondlife, which lead him to books about rivers, onto the ocean, we're now reading about whales.... we read about how babies are made and that eventually led to books on the digestive system and eventually food, farming and eco-systems!)

One thing I would say (from experience with my 10 year old daughter) is avoid buying the exact books they may have to read in class next year because if she has already read them she may appear disinterested and her teachers may take that as poor attitude/lack of enthusiasm for school.

 

[dreamer17555]

I had to get them off Ebay but my DD (6) loves the Little Sister Babysitter Club Books. They seem at the right level and have good morals and all that.

-Becca-

 

[Lovin' Disney]

I second Babysitter's Club Little Sister books. They are great. Ann M. Martin is a great writer. I recommend the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. They were my faves when I was a kid!

 

[scrapquitler]

Go to your public library and let her pick whatever she wants!

Seriously, at the childrens library in my town, all the series books are sorted by Series, so if there is something she likes, it is easy to grab a whole bunch of that series at once to minimize trips to the library.

My DD LOVED the Animal Ark series, the names were all alliterations, I can't remember but they were like "The pony on the porch", "The lamb in the library" or stuff like that.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

If she likes mysteries, she might like the A-Z mysteries. They are probably the same level as Magic Tree House.

My DD is the same age, and we are reading the American Girl books. We got them at the library because the only set I will buy is the Felicity set that goes with her doll.

If you are planning a Disney trip, my DD has been reading Birnbaums for Kids. It seems to be a good level. She keeps telling me things we need to do!

If she likes princess stories, we started getting Cinderella stories from other countries. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughter is from Africa, and we just borrowed a Mexican one. They are all in the same section at our library. They are picture books but definitely higher level ones. I like that we can talk about the culture a little.

I am so excited my DD is reading. My DS 9 has always been a voracious reader, but our tastes are so different. I think my DD will be more like me!

 

[pooh4evr]

Mybe the Ramona books or Amber Brown or Junie B Jones DD loved those!

 

[eeyorefan74]

I'm so with you on this one. My DD is going into 1st grade and loves to read. We went to the library Monday and checked out 13 books- at least 5 or 6 were chapter books. She had read them all by the next day. It's not that she reads all the time either, just fast! She loves several of the series that have been mentioned- Animal Ark by Ben Baglio (there are tons of these to choose from), Magic Tree House, Pony Pals, A to Z Mysteries. Her teacher read Little House in the Big Woods to her class this year, so she's interested in finishing those books. E.B White's Stuart Little and Trumpet of the Swan, and George Selden's books like Cricket in Times Square were favorites of mine as a kid. Also Encyclopedia Brown and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books. She likes the Magic School Bus books, too, and we've started checking out more non fiction books about animals lately.

In addition to the library, the thrift store, yard sales, and the Scholastic warehouse sales are good places to find cheap books. Congratulations on your new reader!

 

[Minnie M6]

DD 7 also loves the Babysitter Club books, which were passed down to her by her cousin. We have been watching The Waltons season 1 from Netflix, which she loves, so yesterday the librarian helped her find some books that are similar to that. We also like the American Girl books- can't wait for the Kit movie!

 

[Astro Orbiter]

Thanks, everyone!

I do let her have her way at the library, but don't really want her checking out books that are too simple for her - there's no point. Miss Spider, still OK. Books with a 10-word vocabulary, not so good.

Now I've got some more good ideas.

She started reading Boxcar Children last night - so far, so good!

Deb

 

[FatElvis]

My 7 yr old is reading the Ramona books (I told her she was the Junie B of my generation ). She also likes the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books - there's the occasional word or phrase she doesn't get, but for the most part she's enjoyed them. Those were written in what, the 40's? 50s? There are definitely some things you may have to explain, just from the changes (what's that cord coming out of the telephone? )

ANother old one that was one of my favorites is Baby Island - we've read that one together but I just love it.

 

[ChrisAlli]

I saw this advertised right here on the Dis

http://www.scholastic.com/summerreading/

 

[dzorn]

DD is taking a summer reading class. We signed her up during the 3 marking period and low and behold she ended up above grade level by year end. It is amazing how it just seemed to click. Some of the ones they have suggested us to us are the following authors. They gave a long list buy just picked the authors with numerous books. The class is specifically for students entering 2nd grade.

Bonsall, Crosby
Cushman, Doug
Hoban, Lillian
Lobel, Arnold
Parish, Peggy

Adler, David

The also some longer chapter book to read out loud or together. We are reading the orginal A.A. Milne Winnie-the-Pooh book. I never knew it was over 160 pages.

Mrs. Spider may be to simple but I go with anything to keep her interested in reading.

 

[dreamer17555]

The also some longer chapter book to read out loud or together. We are reading the orginal A.A. Milne Winnie-the-Pooh book. I never knew it was over 160 pages.

I am reading that with my DD6! I loved Classic Pooh growing up and kept a copy for when I had my own children. Our teacher said for bedtime parents reading to the kids it needs to be way above her reading level and while Pooh isn't its still a good story.

Next on our list of bedtime stories (classic chapter books)

Little Princess
James and the Giant Peach
Anne of Green Gables
Treasure Island
Stuart Little

-Becca-

 

[cjackearl]

I am reading that with my DD6! I loved Classic Pooh growing up and kept a copy for when I had my own children. Our teacher said for bedtime parents reading to the kids it needs to be way above her reading level and while Pooh isn't its still a good story.

Next on our list of bedtime stories (classic chapter books)

Little Princess
James and the Giant Peach
Anne of Green Gables
Treasure Island
Stuart Little

-Becca-

I love all of these, especially the Little Princess. What a great message! I read all of the Chronicles of Narnia to my girls. Here's another vote for Magic Treehouse and Boxcar Children, and the Sarah Plain and Tall books (there are 4) are very sweet and fairly fast reads.

 

[_queenie_]

The Little House on the Prairie Series! I loved them, my DD13 loved them and is now reading them to my DD almost 4. She's reading picture books herself, she's above the one's with a 10 word vocabulary, a little above the Cat in the Hat, but obviously not on to chapter books yet. I'm sure you also are familiar with the disney fairies series, I haven't read them myself but they sound good for a 6yo. Charlotte's Web is a good old standy-by. There's lots of other books I'd love to reccomend, but I'm afraid they'd either to be too old or too young.

 

[perkinsrose]

I just got a Masters & Reading Specialist endorsement but not working right now. Love to share my thoughts.

One leveling system i like is by Fountas&Pinnell. They have a pay website and you can find them cited many places online. Its hard to know what level a book is because so many different publishers have their own system. Fountas & Pinnell is A-Z. For example, The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss is an E, Amelia Bedelia are L, Magic Tree House books are M, Charlotte's Web is an R, Wrinkle in Time by L'Engle is a W, Treasure Island is a Z.

Sometimes you can find lists by googling "level book list Fountas Pinnell" to find lists schools have compiled. Libraries have recommended reading lists but they're often grouped by grade level.

There is SOOO much variance in kids reading abilities & they may be below grade level one year and soar above by the next school year.

These are APROXIMATE grade levels to match to Fountas & Pinnell lists.
K a-c
1st B-I
2nd H-M
3rd L-P
4th O-T
5th S-W
6th V-Y
7th grade and up Z

If MagicTreeHouse is her "just right" level for independent reading right now,

--other books on this level are level M:
Freckle Juice by Judy Blume, The One in the Middle is a Green Kangaroo by Judy Blume, Junie B Jones series, The Littles Series by Peterson, & Bailey School Kids (i haven't read these personally)

Secrets of Droon by Tony Abbott is a fun adventure/fantasy series for boys and girls-both mine enjoy them. They are aprox. level M, N, O.

Andrew Lost series by J C Greenburg. is aprox. 2nd/3rd grade level. Ramona by Beverly Cleary is level O. BoxCar & Babysitter's Club also 0.
I love most Beverly Cleary books-Mouse & Motorcyle, Socks & others.

Little House on the Prairie novels are about 4th grade level. I've used them as read-alouds because there's so much need for clarification & discussion due to historical issues like the negative view of Native Americans & terms for tools, ways of life in 1800s etc.

Becareful, even if child is able to read at given level, sometimes subject matter is "iffy". I had read "Tales of Fourth Grade Nothing" as a child MANY times and loved it. Didn't think twice about my 2nd grader reading it until i managed to pick it up and the next chapter was called "Santa Who". It spilled the beans on the Santa issue and i want let him BELIEVE as long as possible. I slyly said i would like to read aloud a chapter to him since i remembered enjoying the book. Though i'm normally not one to censor, i skipped over the Santa reveals. That was a close one! Sometimes a challenge to find appropriate stuff for gifted readers. My son was at 6th grade level in 1st grade--certainly lots of 6th grade content you don't want a first grader getting into just yet.

If you're looking for quick reads at an easy level for her, author Cynthia Rylant has series called Mr. Putter & Tabby, Henry & Mudge, Poppleton, and High Rise Private Eyes. They are J level. Also by Cynthia Rylant--i love her work--The Lighthouse Children (animal stories) near same level. I think the Nate the Great series are K. IF she's bored with them, too easy. But even i enjoy them reading with my kids! Even if they're easy for her, reading them aloud to you or a child is good practice for oral fluency.

Also there's an official MagicTreeHouse website (google it?) where you can (free) download a passport and print it out. After reading each of the 30some books so far, you answer a few comprehension questions & if correct, get a stamp (printed out) for your passport.

READALOUD
Alot of parents give up on read-aloud when their kids start reading. Alot of growth in comprehension can be made when you continue read aloud at the level just above what they are able to handle on their own and talk about it, make predictions, ask questions "Why do you think that happened?, How do you think that character feels?, etc. ". One of the best predictors of continued reading success is time spent reading!

Forgive the long post if its more than you wanted to know! Kids books have been my life for a few years (and planning Disney trips)!

 

[perkinsrose]

My DS5 is a rapid reader- he'll clear 2 or 3 short books a day even though he's only 5, what I am doing with him this summer is letting him chose subjects and buying him factual/scientific based books around those subjects so he can learn at the same time as read- he is a special needs student (dyspraxia, dysgraphia- is being looked at for autistic spectrum issues... but at 5 we're just waited for them to give him a propre diagnosis which could take a while) BUT he is an amazing reader (he reads the news online daily) and has amazing fact recall & memory so we're taking advantage of that fact to keep him busy. At the moment (literally right now) he's sat reading my passporter as his 2 younger sibs are sleeping, his older one is out with friends.

I find that factual books inspire him to investigate things, ask more questions and generally lead from one subject to the next (example- he read about frogs, which lead him to books about pondlife, which lead him to books about rivers, onto the ocean, we're now reading about whales.... we read about how babies are made and that eventually led to books on the digestive system and eventually food, farming and eco-systems!)

One thing I would say (from experience with my 10 year old daughter) is avoid buying the exact books they may have to read in class next year because if she has already read them she may appear disinterested and her teachers may take that as poor attitude/lack of enthusiasm for school.[/QUOTE]

I've struggled with this too with my soon to be third grader who is gifted and loves reading. However, some books I read-aloud to him a few years ago, were still interesting for him in school this year. When i've read really good kids books at different times in my life (as a kid, as an undergrad, as a teacher, as a grad student, as a parent) like The Giver by Lois Lowry or Charlotte's Web, i've gotten different things out of them and enjoyed them over again.

When doing independent work, i have asked if my child could read something else because he'd read it and already knew the storyline. Not so easy to deal with if its a group or class assignment.

So if a child is a year or more ahead of grade level, it might be not so much of an issue if the book is not fresh in their memory. I would gladly take a list of books from the school /teacher that they will cover, but not had that opportunity/situation yet.

I find it hard to find out ahead of time --exactly what novels will be used in school especially with variances among teachers in same school. Ofcourse if i find out there's one book all of 4th grade will read, i'll try to avoid it --if he hasn't already read it!

I agree nonfiction great way to follow natural interests of kids & get them excited about reading & reading to learn.

 

[HerdOHuds]

I agree with Perkinsrose, but want to add some 'picture book' authors that I loved to use when I was teaching first grade.

Don't forget poetry. Shel Silverstein is great, but so is Jack Prelutsky. Look up A Pizza the Size of the Sun.

Kevin Henkes has some wonderful books like Wemberly Worried, Lily's Purple Plastic Purse, and my favorite-Chrysanthemum.

Bill Grossman wrote My Little Sister Ate One Hare. This is wonderful to read aloud and join in on the repeating part, "We thought she'd throw up then and there! But she didn't!" It really is funny.

Helen Lester has written a ton of manner-themed books that really are a hoot. Tacky the Penguin, Listen Buddy, Score One for the Sloths, A Porcupine Named Fluffy, and Me First!

Jerry Pallotta has written a whole slew of alphabet books that are chock full of science facts. The Extinct Alphabet Book, The Butterfly Alphabet Book, and Underwater Counting are just a few.

Patty Lovell wrote Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon that is illustrated by David Gatrow. Really great message.

Jan Brett's books are so beautifully illustrated. She is really my favorite author/illustrator. She is most famous for The Mitten, but her Christmas stories are very touching. The Christmas Trolls, The Gingerbread Baby and Berlioz the Bear are a few of my favorites. You can also find her website at www.janbrett.com . There are a ton of activities to print out or she used to write to people with this beautiful folder of stickers and notes on some of her books. Her books include a border that can tell a whole other story. For example in The Mitten, the border predicts the next animal that will try to fit into the mitten.

Jon Sceska (sp?) wrote The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and The Frog Prince Continued. Both have a wonderful sense of humor.

I hope your daughter enjoys her summer reading!