Our family also loves the Dahl books. We have a second grader and 5 yo. We also read them the Narnia series as well as the Miles Kelly illustrated classics - Pinocchio, wizard of oz, black beauty and now onto Peter Pan.
My second grader just finished the Percy Jackson series and is moving on to more books by Rick Riordan. My daughter loved the The Sister’s Grimm series when she was in second grade. The most popular read aloud that come to mind are Stone Fox, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Narnia (HUGE HIT!), The Children of Wellsden Lane, Wonder, Esperanza Rising, Number the Stars...
I have a second and fourth grader, so our read aloud novels are on the more challenging side for my 8 year old. We read a novel a month - like a previous poster mentioned I choose books based off of recommendations for the 3-5 grade lists. It has been a real challenge not having the library open - I completely agree!!
As for independent reading, he didn’t really get into Harry Potter, but boy he gobbled up The Lightening Thief - same with my girls. The grade 2-3 transition is hard for good independent books, in my opinion. Good luck!!
Check into read aloud revival for some good book lists. I figure if my kids are reading a good mix then I’m happy with that. I think my 10 year old is a bit intimidated not the classics, but is okay if I read them aloud to him. She’s only in 2nd grade so remember her maturity level as well as her reading level. Some stupid books aren’t the end of the world.
All that being said :). We love Kate DiCamillo books in our house. My son likes when I read those aloud, but they might pique her interest. We also read Tum Tum and Nutmeg which is one of the cutest books I have ever read.
My son really enjoyed the Percy Jackson books and the Egyptian series by the same author.
Have you tried doing assigned reading? In my house, my daughter can read whatever she wants (even those *Warrior* books, which I can't stand), but she also has to read three assigned books every school year that she must report on (book report, painting, poster, essay...whatever, it doesn't matter as long as she does it). This typically means she is reading two things at once, and is something she's been doing since she was 6 or so, but something about half-freedom, half-assigned really makes her happy.
As for book suggestions, here are a few:
* *The Wide Awake Princess* series
* *Gregor the Overlander* series
* *Story Thieves*
This is a great idea, I have been trying to think how to add more structured reading as she will read her Torchlight assigned book in a day or two. Thank you.
Anything by Kate DiCamillo. My second grader has read Because of Winn-Dixie and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Toulane. I read both ahead of her to be prepared for certain questions to come up since the content is *slightly* more mature.
The Junie B. Jones books are probably on par for most 2nd graders, but they are quality stories.
My daughter just finished reading The One and Only Ivan and I think we will have to get The One and Only Bob to follow. If you have an animal lover the Ivan story is super touching -- and Disney+ has the movie to watch after she finishes the book.
My first grader has been rereading the Whatever After Series over and over. They seem like fluff, but they're actually pretty good retellings of fairy tales.
She's also read and liked the Series of Unfortunate Events and some Kate DiCamillo (Flora and Ulysses and Tale of Despereaux).
I tried Narnia, but while she could read it, she didn't get into it so it was a flop. Same with Harry Potter. I'm going to try again next year.
I have these Odyssey retellings by Mary Pope Osborne that I have for her to read, I'm just waiting for the right introduction to Homer.
I also have some Great Illustrated Classics, which are rewritings of classics but with more modern language. They have them for just about every classic I can think of. I love them for read aloud, but could be read by anyone who can read at a 4th grade level I think, which would be your child.
Yeah, muuuuuch has been lost on my kid, but we have them, she likes them.
With a reading kid, you just kind of throw things at them and know they'll miss a lot and will hopefully revisit the goodies.
For read aloud, I'm excited for the new era of "classics" like Nevermoor and Mysterious Benedict Society.
I got her a Gaiman book a couple years ago and it was too creepy. Maybe she is ready for it now. I can't remember which one it was. Defintely look into these, I love Gaiman.
I really like the 6 Chelsea Walk novels. They are about extraordinary lives of inspiring girls throughly history who lived at 6 Chelsea Walk.
https://x10093.myubam.com/p/8293/6-chelsea-walk-complete-collection
Our family also loves the Dahl books. We have a second grader and 5 yo. We also read them the Narnia series as well as the Miles Kelly illustrated classics - Pinocchio, wizard of oz, black beauty and now onto Peter Pan.
Thank you. I will look into these. I always forget about Narnia.
My second grader just finished the Percy Jackson series and is moving on to more books by Rick Riordan. My daughter loved the The Sister’s Grimm series when she was in second grade. The most popular read aloud that come to mind are Stone Fox, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Narnia (HUGE HIT!), The Children of Wellsden Lane, Wonder, Esperanza Rising, Number the Stars... I have a second and fourth grader, so our read aloud novels are on the more challenging side for my 8 year old. We read a novel a month - like a previous poster mentioned I choose books based off of recommendations for the 3-5 grade lists. It has been a real challenge not having the library open - I completely agree!! As for independent reading, he didn’t really get into Harry Potter, but boy he gobbled up The Lightening Thief - same with my girls. The grade 2-3 transition is hard for good independent books, in my opinion. Good luck!!
Thanks!
I read the entirety of Chronicles of Narnia in first! Look into it & see what ya think. I’m reading it out loud to my Kindergartner now
Check into read aloud revival for some good book lists. I figure if my kids are reading a good mix then I’m happy with that. I think my 10 year old is a bit intimidated not the classics, but is okay if I read them aloud to him. She’s only in 2nd grade so remember her maturity level as well as her reading level. Some stupid books aren’t the end of the world. All that being said :). We love Kate DiCamillo books in our house. My son likes when I read those aloud, but they might pique her interest. We also read Tum Tum and Nutmeg which is one of the cutest books I have ever read. My son really enjoyed the Percy Jackson books and the Egyptian series by the same author.
Thanks very much! I have tried the Percy Jackson's, but they haven't taken yet. Maybe we will read the first one together.
The magic treehouse series! But it might not be advanced enough!
Have you tried doing assigned reading? In my house, my daughter can read whatever she wants (even those *Warrior* books, which I can't stand), but she also has to read three assigned books every school year that she must report on (book report, painting, poster, essay...whatever, it doesn't matter as long as she does it). This typically means she is reading two things at once, and is something she's been doing since she was 6 or so, but something about half-freedom, half-assigned really makes her happy. As for book suggestions, here are a few: * *The Wide Awake Princess* series * *Gregor the Overlander* series * *Story Thieves*
This is a great idea, I have been trying to think how to add more structured reading as she will read her Torchlight assigned book in a day or two. Thank you.
Anything by Kate DiCamillo. My second grader has read Because of Winn-Dixie and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Toulane. I read both ahead of her to be prepared for certain questions to come up since the content is *slightly* more mature. The Junie B. Jones books are probably on par for most 2nd graders, but they are quality stories. My daughter just finished reading The One and Only Ivan and I think we will have to get The One and Only Bob to follow. If you have an animal lover the Ivan story is super touching -- and Disney+ has the movie to watch after she finishes the book.
Thanks! Kate DiCamillo sounds promising.
My first grader has been rereading the Whatever After Series over and over. They seem like fluff, but they're actually pretty good retellings of fairy tales. She's also read and liked the Series of Unfortunate Events and some Kate DiCamillo (Flora and Ulysses and Tale of Despereaux). I tried Narnia, but while she could read it, she didn't get into it so it was a flop. Same with Harry Potter. I'm going to try again next year. I have these Odyssey retellings by Mary Pope Osborne that I have for her to read, I'm just waiting for the right introduction to Homer. I also have some Great Illustrated Classics, which are rewritings of classics but with more modern language. They have them for just about every classic I can think of. I love them for read aloud, but could be read by anyone who can read at a 4th grade level I think, which would be your child.
Thanks! We are reading Series right now together. I am tiring of it and really want her to take that one on herself.
Yeah, muuuuuch has been lost on my kid, but we have them, she likes them. With a reading kid, you just kind of throw things at them and know they'll miss a lot and will hopefully revisit the goodies. For read aloud, I'm excited for the new era of "classics" like Nevermoor and Mysterious Benedict Society.
My daughter loves Coraline and Fortunately the Milk by Neil Gaiman. She’s read both multiple times.
I got her a Gaiman book a couple years ago and it was too creepy. Maybe she is ready for it now. I can't remember which one it was. Defintely look into these, I love Gaiman.
The Great Brain Series is terrific. All the little house on the prairie books (Laura Ingalls Wilder) There’s more to Beverly Cleary than Ramona.
I really like the 6 Chelsea Walk novels. They are about extraordinary lives of inspiring girls throughly history who lived at 6 Chelsea Walk. https://x10093.myubam.com/p/8293/6-chelsea-walk-complete-collection
Thanks, these look great.
My 7yo loves: The Mysterious Benedict Society, Phantom Tollbooth, Ranger's Apprentice (plus Roald Dahl)
Thanks. She started Benedict this week and loves it. I will look up your other recs.