Reading Ideas for 1st grader at 4th grade level

Barbara - posted on 10/12/2012

Similar story with my daughter, Sophie. I would recommend that you take a short trip to the library once a week while she is at school and pull about 20 or so books off the shelves. Read about one or two pages from each and select 10 from the pile. Make this a routine. Don't get caught up in exact reading levels. Voracious readers are not necessarily going to baulk at a slightly 'easier' read. We all know good writing when we see it. Sophie's top favorites are - Roald Dahl - basically anything by this author is superior. Next comes E.B. White. She is a major fan of the Bunnicula books and Barbara Park (she has written other stuff besides Junie B) can keep her entertained for hours. Some authors have written wonderful series - Magic Tree House - Day of the Cobras was her favorite. Horrible Harry books are light but fun. But again - scan the shelves and you will find tons of excellent books. Best of luck.



Barbara

Raechel - posted on 07/03/2012

What I have done is go to the thrift store and stock up on all sorts of children's chapter books and let the kids find what interests them. We have hundreds of books here. All of my kids have really enjoyed the Mary Kate and Ashley mystery books, magic tree house and books like Stuart little, mouse and the motorcycle, Indian in the cupboard, because of Winn Dixie and many of the " oldies but goodies" then there's my ten year old who has read every star wars book ever published so it seems! Good luck!

Sharon - posted on 05/30/2012

Our son is 6 and in Grade 1, and today his reading test pushed him up into Grade 3 level books. I have the same concerns about age-appropriate reading as opposed to ability-apropriate. Glad to see some reccomendations here. I hadnt thought of the Wishing Chair series. I have all those and the Enchanted Wood series here from my childhood. Thanks for the info!

NAOMI - posted on 01/20/2012

My son is 4 and totally loves the Dinosaur Cove series and I didn't see the Magic School Bus series mentioned but he loves that also.

Kelli - posted on 12/31/2011

We have been finding some great options since I first posted my question, so I wanted to share them in case other moms refer to this post for info.



Also, check out The Literate Mother website. She lists reviews of books for young adults and rates them for age appropriateness. This link takes you to the Grades 4-5 books, but she goes on up through HS, I believe:

http://www.theliteratemother.org/categor...



THE BOOKS



Fairies and the Quest for Neverland (Disney Books) - RL: Grades 4-5



The vocab level is pretty easy for her -- maybe a couple of words every few pages would slow her down. The story itself is very detailed, though. I think she misses some of the finer points even though she can technically read it without trouble.



Horace Splattly, The Cupcake Crusader: When Second Graders Attack - RL: ~ Grades 2-4



Alex has been enjoying this one. It's an easy read, but is adventurous and funny. It's about a 4th grader who realizes he has super hero powers when he eats certain cupcakes his sister makes... cute.



Igraine the Brave: RL: Grades 4-5



She hasn't read much from this one yet, but seems intrigued; however, the jury is still out. Set in the medieval times, a little girl wants to grow up to be a knight; lives in a dusty, old castle, etc. Good vocab and pretty long, but the occassional illustration helps the imagination along.



The Six Crowns Series: RL: Grades 3-6



She hasn't started this one yet, so not much to say. It seems to be very adventurous and age appropriate -- about a swashbuckling squirrel and porcupine's quest to discover the lost 6 crowns of a Badger king... would be great for boys.



The Silverlake Fairy School Series: RL: Grades 2 and up (according to Usborne Books website)



This is the series that I have been impressed with on the vocab side -- at least with Unicorn Dreams. About 2-3 words per page slow her down and need definitions; I like that for her. I would say the vocab is more like 4th grade, but the stories are simpler to follow and they aren't quite as long as some 4th grade books. Alex has always loved fairy/fantasy stories, so she really likes these.



The Wishing Chair series: RL: ~ Grades 3 and up



Alex loves these. They are European classics written back in the 40s, so some of the language is a bit formal and the vernacular is different, but Alex enjoys them so much. Fun, adventurous, 1st-grade friendly stories.

Lisa - posted on 12/31/2011

We incorporated a lot of reference books for our son. He loved stories, so we did series like The Magic Tree House during Kindergarten and 1st grade, but the reading was not challenging, so we added some science, geology and history books. The science books we just got at the used book store - the others, we ordered or picked up at the big box book stores and looked for books targeted for his reading level as the content would be more appropriate than the adult versions. I wish I could remember more. We struggled so much. His levels were so out of whack with his age and the teachers were soooo focused on age appropriate. Oh, Boxcar Children! That was a good read for him in K&1st! I think he tackled the Narnia series in second, but if you're looking for something to read to her, that might be good too.

Sorry for the rambling... :)

T. Maenad - posted on 12/20/2011

Go for some of the older classics like Betsy/Tacy (ask your local librarian). I had the same issue with my child -- she did often read stuff that wasn't totally age appropriate, but we tried to be open about talking about things. Make friends with the local children's librarian if you have one -- they are great resources and usually love helping this type of kid. Mine was the same way -- she's 14 now, and still has her head in a book.

Kelli - posted on 11/22/2011

Great suggestion -- a friend of mine has the entire sets of both and is going to loan them out to Alex a few at a time.

Pamela - posted on 11/22/2011

Dig out some oldie but goodies like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.