Way OT: books for enthusiastic early readers?!?

[MNdisneymom]

.My kindergartner (he's 6) loves to read. The only problem is, he has latched on to the Magic Treehouse series, and that's about all he's reading. Not that I want to discourage him (he is so proud that he can read them by himself) I'm just looking for a little variety. FYI--the graded early readers are too easy for him, and Boxcar Children (he tried, but got discouraged) are too hard. His school uses the Advanced Reader system--he hasn't done the tests (K isn't allowed), but I think he could handle anything between 2 and 3.

Any ideas, much appreciated!

 

[amamax2]

My kids - both very advanced readers - loved the Andrew Lost...series (kind of like MTH, but with science instead of history) and the Geronimo Stilton series (as well as MTH!).

HTH

 

[lclark0621]

My 5 year old loves reading The Magic Treehouse series. He has also started the Dragon Slayer Academy books & really is enjoying them as well.

 

[dizneechic]

My 7 y/o flew through MTH and A-Z Mysteries (although he thought those got too repetitive after a while). He's currently reading the Secrets of Droon series and loving it! I also picked him up the Dragon Slayers series and Geronimo Stilton, which he says he'll read once he's through all of the Droon books. He tends to lean towards historical fiction, mysteries and sci-fi so if your ds is into those same genre's I would definitely recommend Secrets of Droon.

 

[abcboys]

I had to laugh when I read this thread because we are having the EXACT same problem in my house except its with my 7 year old first grader. He loves the Magic treehouse series and that's all he seems to want to read. He's read about half of them but he only wants to read those and not try much else and the library doesn't carry all of them. He will read a few Junie B. Jones and I found a couple of other books at a yard sale but I don't think he's touched them yet. I tried to get him to read a Jigsaw Jones mystery as it looks like its right about that level (2-3) but beyond that I'm at a loss, too.

I even had him come to the computer and I read this to him and said "does that sound like anyone you know"

 

[abcboys]

Oh I forgot he has read a few Cam Jansen books.

 

[marlynnp]

My daughter was like that with the Junie B Jones books.

He'd probably like the Magic School Bus books also. They are Scholastic books. And Captain Underpants!

 

[mickeytattoo95]

My son liked the Encyclopedia Brown series, Jigsaw Jones, Cam Jansen and Scoobie Doo books when he was on those reading levels. All of them were found at Barnes and Noble or his library. As for the school not letting your advanced kindergartner take AR tests, I'd fight that if I were you. My pre-k 4 year old started taking level 2-3 AR tests after Christmas. We had to go all the way to the county to get approval for it. They thought I was some crazy pushy mother, but after she tested on a 2nd grade reading level, they were humming a different tune. She's become an even better reader now that she understands what she needs to comprehend in order to ace the tests.

 

[autumnsmommy]

My dd7 (first grade) likes the Extreme Animals series by Discovery Channel. She likes anything having to do with animals, polar bears, sharks, penguins, etc. She also likes the Junie B books. She's not so fond of the Magic Treehouse series.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

Do you have a Half Price Books near you? Our second grader is currently devouring books, so I have been checking their leveled readers for things that hit our son's interests. He loves any level 2 or 3 book about baseball, Star Wars, extreme sports, military, planes, etc. So that's what I get him.

Now, all level 2 (or 3 or whatever) books are not created equal. DK books are usually harder than other series with the same level, for instance. But you catch on pretty quickly to what is and isn't your child's level and go from there.

And it's great to buy the books at less than $2 each, too.

If you are looking at series, the Magic School Bus has "readers" as well as chapter books. They are likely to capture your child's imagination. Our son loves the Geronimo Stiltons. You might also look at My Weird School for a fun series.

And if you have access to the AR system online (our school provides that for the parents), take a look at the level for the Magic Treehouse series, then ask it to recommend books at that level (I think they have that functionality). It's always worth a shot. And your librarian should be able to help you find good ones, too.

 

[teachallday]

The Marvin Redpost series is at the same reading level, length, and interest level as the Magic Treehouse books. You might look into them. I usually start my students with Marvin Redpost before the Magic Treehouse books.

Junie B. Jones can be tough for some kids, because she does not talk correctly and this is shown in the text. But she is VERY popular with kids.

With all this said, I would recommend that you just let you child finish the Magic Treehouse books, and then it will be easier to get him on to other books.

 

[CraftyCrissy]

Along with the previous suggestions, my 7 year old LOVES the Goosebumps series, Encyclopedia Brown, Nate the Great and Captain Underpants. Also good are Cam Jansen and ABC Mysteries.

 

[Astro Orbiter]

Most of what I was going to suggest has already been - so my list is below of what you should add. My DD is 6 and reading at a grade 4 level, so I know the issue with challenging vs age appropriate. She also loves her mysteries.

Capital Kids or Capital Mysteries by Ron Roy (same author as A-Z Mysteries) (though they're easier than Magic Tree House, in my opinion),

Franny K Stein, Mad Scientist, by Jim Benton. Another mom loaned us two, and DD inhaled them.

Bailey Kids, by Debbie Dadey / Marcia T Jones. Crazy things happen at this elementary - teacher's a vampire, phys ed teacher's a werewolf...

More vintage tales: Littles, Borrowers, Stuart Little. Borrowers we were just reading together a few months ago. As I've discovered, it's something we still should do, even with advanced readers, because it took me MONTHS to convince her that Dr. wasn't a blend (dr as in drum) but an abbreviation (Dr. as in Doctor)! I read a few pages, she reads a few pages - we both read aloud.

Comment on Captain Underpants (DD goes hot/cold on these - but when she reads them LOVES the humor...not gross, but with a villian named Professor Poopy-Pants, it's definitely something my DD feels like she's getting away with questionable reading material)

The rest of my faves are girly - Disney Fairies (paperbacks, not Quest for the Egg / Wand), Pony Pals, Charlotte's Web, American Girl.

Deb

 

[EthansMom]

DS7 loves the Jack Stalwart series by Elizabeth Singer Hunt.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I would let him continue right through the Magic Tree House Series for now; there are a lot of them. But I do understand you'd want something on hand for when he finishes those. - I second Cam Jansen, and would also add Flat Stanley to the list.

 

[MNdisneymom]

Excellent ideas from everybody, thank-you very much. I think I'll be making a trip to half price books later, anyway (have some junk to get rid of), so I'll see what I can find there.

DS7 loves the Jack Stalwart series by Elizabeth Singer Hunt.

I looked for these online and they appear on the random house uk website. Did you get them here in the US? (I checked, and none of my local b and n's have them.)

 

[laughinplace199]

My DS7 loves the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books (I think there are 3 books). He reads and rereads them all the time.

 

[DVCLiz]

What about My Father's Dragon? There are two others - Elmer and the Dragon and The Dragons of Blueland.

These were always family favorites at that age - I recently found My Father's Dragon available from the Kindle store, so I downloaded it for old times' sake. It took me 15 minutes to read the whole book - I remember it taking a lot longer when I was in second grade!!

 

[EthansMom]

I looked for these online and they appear on the random house uk website. Did you get them here in the US? (I checked, and none of my local b and n's have them.)

We've gotten the Jack Stalwart books at Borders. Both Borders.com and Amazon.com have them. They're really great books for boys who like adventure stories. Jack is a young boy (9, I think) who becomes a secret agent every night, fighting bad guys. He has lots of Bond-style gadgets and travels all over the world.

 

[a1tinkfans]

OP:

Just wanted to POP in to say,
YEAH, another lover of books!
My ds was and still is an AVID reader, sometimes limited to certain genres and then stwiches.
What I can say from first hand experience is
His vocabulary is AMAZING...EVERY teacher has commented on it...not just "knowing words, but knowing in what context to use them!"
He is a better writer for it......
His math, second language skills are also impacted by the reading process.
SO
ENCOURAGE your little one, celebrate his search to explore....there are so many wonderful books to explore!!!
By the way my ds has actually won 2 awards for his writings and he is not the type to "go after it" it has come to HIM...simply AWESOME!!!
By the way, I was one of those moms that literally "read" to him while "carrying" him....of course they were mostly Disney books at the time I LOVE to read too!

So YEAH for you and your little one, great things are ahead for him!!!!
Does your library have "reading clubs"..they give out stickers, read and encourage MORE reading....no pressure but nice to be with other children that enjoy the same things....????