Books
for New Readers
The schools call them "emergent" readers--those kids who know
enough phonics that they can struggle through short books, though
not without a lot of effort.
Kids at this stage are often frustrating. It may seem like they're not making any progress, when all of a sudden, in the
space of just a few weeks, they suddenly begin to read! I'm
watching my 6-year-old go through this right now, and it's a lot of fun!
How do we help kids progress through this stage?
1. Choose fun books. Often the books schools send home are just
plain, well, boring. Go to the library with your child and find some early readers that appear interesting. Often the
typical "story" ones aren't, but sometimes the science ones are.
Many libraries have "step into reading" books on science themes
that kids do like.
2. Don't go by what the cover says. Different publishers have
very different ideas about what a Grade 2 child can read. Don't
assume that because the front cover says it's for your child, then your child can handle it. Open the book up and have
your child read a page. If he or she struggles over more than four words, put it back. It will only frustrate him or her.
3. Don't give them picture books to read! Many kids have
their favorite picture books from when they were toddlers. Ironically, these are not always the easiest books to read.
With the exception of Dr. Seuss, they weren't written for early readers. They were written for adults to read out loud.
Instead, choose books for early readers from your library.
4. Make reading fun! Tell your child he or she can stay up
an extra 15 minutes--if he or she reads! Give kids a nice lamp by their bed, with a nice bookcase.
5. Read to them before bed, but let them keep reading for
a few minutes if they want to. Stop in the middle of the action, and see what happens!
Now
for some concrete suggestions:
The Magic Tree House series and
Junie B. Jones are both loved at my house, but they're the
typical ones everyone knows about. I'm including here my
favourites, with links to some below, all books you may not have heard
of which are great
for this stage of reader.
- Dalgliesh, Alice. The
Courage of Sarah Noble.
MacLachlan, Patricia.
Sarah Plain and Tall.
Milne, A.A., Winnie the Pooh,
and others.
Osborne, Mary Pope. Pirates
Past Noon, and others.
Park, Barbara. Junie B.
Jones and the Stupid, Smelly Bus and others.
Parrish, Peggy. Amelia
Bedelia, and others.
Robinson, Barbara. The Best
Christmas Pageant Ever, and others.
Roy, Rob. A to Z Mysteries
series.
Ryland, Cynthia. Poppleton,
and others.
Silverstein, Shel. A Light
in the Attic (poetry), not to be missed!
Viorst, Judith. Alexander
and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
Step Into Reading
books, nonfiction selections (better than their fiction ones),
including Earthquakes, King Tut, Pompeii, the Titanic,
Volcanoes, and more! Boys
tend to like these better than fiction.
Cynthia Ryland has
written a number of Poppleton books, for kids who are just
beginning to read. They're on the easy end of the spectrum
for independent readers, and they're quite fun!
We often think that kids and poetry don't go together.
But Shel Silverstein writes poetry that kids love. It's full
of underwear jokes, funny sounds, weird pictures, and
laughs. A great introduction to poetry so they will be
excited to study it later.
A beautiful story that can be one of your child's first
chapter books. Sarah, Plain and Tall is about the love in a
family that is more important than anything else.
These Step-Into-Reading non-fiction books are perfect for
all kids, but boys especially may be more excited about
reading about real-life disasters and amazing facts about
nature (like sharks or tornadoes) than they are stories.
This is a great eary series.
For girls, though, there's no better friend to meet than
Amelia Bedelia. Follow her hilarious antics as she gets
everything mixed up!
If you want
an email copy of my entire booklist, click
here, and then enter "booklist" in the comments
section.
Return
to other book selections.
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