Amy's comments (member since Jan 08, 2008)

Amy's comments from the Children's Books group.

Kristen,
The books I saw on the website last night would probably be a combination of book for her to read alone and some to read together. I ended up looking it over again and ordering a bunch of stuff! I am going to look over the Criss Cross Applesauce for my daughter to read.

I too am in the precocious daughter boat - mine is 6 and mid-first grade. She is all of a sudden reading early chapter books and anything else she can get her hands on. I am coming to terms with the volume of Junie B Jones floating in and out of our house and the seemingly gravitational pull they seem to have on her in the library so I definitely feel your pain! We have found the Princess Ellie chapter books and the Fairies series (weather fairies, rainbow fairies, etc..) and I am enjoying those some, particulary as a little relief from Junie B.

I did find some success with the Arthur chapter books, Bernestain bears chapter books and this afternoon she was reading Nate the Great I think. Oh, and she had a Bill Wallace book she got at school.

I would love to know what works at your house so I can try them at mine too!!! :)

Kristen,
I recommend Carole Marsh as a great author for younger readers. You can try http://www.gallopade.com/client/client_p... (from Gallopade International). That site lists all the different series available. I noticed a history based series in the bookstore the other day too. Many of my students like her stuff right now because she bases her characters on real kids that she meets in her travels and gives a little bio of them in the books, etc...

Also, if she likes her or her style, there's TONS of them!

I have also read just about everything LM Montgomery wrote and love the Emily series! The short story collections were also great, but I love revisiting characters like Emily and Anne through her series writing. I also have a biography of Lucy Maude and for a while even subscribed to a newsletter from PEI.

My daughter is 6 and is enjoying the Princess Ellie mysteries by Diana Kimpton. She also likes all of the Fairy sets by Daisy Meadows. They're not princesses, but they're full of glitter, etc.. there's a set of weather fairies, rainbow fairies, gem fairies (I think) and we just saw pet fairies.

I totally get what you mean about "betrothed", etc... I am also looking to be able to get out of the Junie B Jones books ad nauseum also - though my girls seem to like them.

Aah, I have a Hawkeye and Amy book in my classroom - someone was reading it the other day! I remember loving Anne of Green Gables, Nancy Drew, A Secret Garden and Little Princess. I had another favorite that had a cat named Whilimena Shakespeare in it that I know I loved but can't recall the name of right now.

Good to know Harry Potter is good on tape. I've always struggled with listening to those - maybe because they're not interactive, no discussion - but they are so much better in quality and dramatic effect now that I will have to look back into them. Thanks!

We struggled with lift the flap too. We had one that was Night, Night Baby that was fairly durable that way.

My daughters also informed me today that good ones for toddlers (in their opinion) were Saltzberg books. They're touch and feel or squeakers - we had Baby Animal Kisses and Peek-A-Boo Kisses. They loved them both until the end of preschool.

Some kids really don't get into fiction for a while (if ever), but there are some great series now for non-fiction readers. Contemporary biographies or National Geographic series. Another site I like to check out for ideas or have my students visit when they're stuck is http://www.kidsreads.com. Sometimes, just being able to have a place to voice their opinion or see what other kids say can make a huge difference.

whoah - okay, apparently, the link will be created automatically......

Oh, we also love the Big Hungry Bear series - THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR AND THE RED RIPE STRAWBERRY and this year we had a Hungry Bear Christmas book. Bear Snores On is also great and there a few more in that series now as well.

Other favorites that I know my husband and I like to read at night :) - I admit to "stacking" the bedtime story deck - are THE Z GOT ZAPPED, THE HAIRY TOE (from Reading Together set from Discovery Toys), DINOSAURS DAY OUT (from the same set), and KISS GOODNIGHT. In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, we got that one through Discovery Toys too. I used to be a home rep for them before I went back to teaching at school and most of our favorite books on our shelf were through them. They had some cloth books and interactive books that we read all the time when the girls were in the older infant, toddler stages and we loved them all! I don't know how to create a link successfully in my posting, but their website is http://www.discoverytoysinc.com.

I am a strong believer in reading aloud to any age to strengthen reading strategies and comprehension, but am surprised to find that I am really enjoying some books more when read aloud. It takes more time, but with some stories we seem to catch more when we have to pause, etc.... of course it could just be the discussion that is so fun, but either way!

The two I am really enjoying this way right now are THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET by Brian Selznick and GOSSAMER by Lois Lowry.

Anyone else have suggestions or thoughts on great read-alouds - or any that are just better off read silently!?!?

Many of our boys also love the Time Warp books. I know one of our 4th grade readers recommends the Wishbone chapter books and Harry Potter. We also enjoy the Henry Winkler books (Hank Zipzer) and have been reading some Carole Marsh mysteries which my "Pokemon" boys are getting into - she bases her characters on real kids and includes short bios of them in each book.

Another one we are all enjoying right now is The Invention of Hugo Cabret (by Brian Selznick) which is a novel in words and pictures. The sketches are amazing and since we're reading it in a group we pause which encourages them to predict and make inferences with each spread - adds to the suspense and is easier to go back if we feel like we might have missed something.

Another route is the graphic novel. Many are based on topics that are game related and some are definitely not so great for younger kids, but I saw a few at the library today that were definite draws and had more broadly applicable content. I've been looking and there are now graphic novels for Artemis Fowl, the Hardy Boys, Redwall, Goosebumps and even the Left Behind Series.

I also encourage some of my more reluctant boy readers to check out magazines - National Geographic Kids or a new one that I was thinking about checking out was Zamoof!.

Some that our younger students are loving are the Magic School and Magic Treehouse chapter books - they're nice to supplement social studies too :).

I work with kids with learning disabilities and am constantly on the lookout for books of accessible reading level but age appropriate interest levels for elementary, middle school and high school students and am really appreciating this feedback in this group. I have not heard of "Sees Behind Trees" and love the idea of a novel that presents different abilities vs. disabilities!

I'm not sure what level of chapter books this group would be looking at, but I know many of our younger students have been into The Magic School Bus chapter books, DragonSlayer's Academy, the Wishbone mysteries and The Carole Marsh mysteries. My daughter is reading 1st and 2nd grade level chapter books and is loving the Rainbow Fairies series which some of my 5th and 6th grade girls still enjoy also.

One of our favorites is QUICK AS A CRICKET by Audrey Wood. We've been reading it since the kids were babies, my 6 year old just read it to my 4 year old. It has animals, active words, similes and opposites and the illustrations are AWESOME!

I've also used it at school. This year with a small group of 2nd and 3rd graders when we discussed self affirmation and personality characteristics. And a year or two ago with a middle school English class when we talked about similes - it was a great way to show how they're used and just use something different.

I am a learning disabilities specialist and work with many kids with reading struggles - I have to agree, if he wants to read and it's not material going against your beliefs or containing material that is truly too old for him, go for it!

Yesterday, one of my most reluctant readers was excited because he wanted to know if I went to the library over the weekend :). He and I had requested a wrestling book. When I checked it out, I mentioned to my daughter that it was for school and the librarian asked me if it was for recess. When I got to class and saw this boys face I was have to say that I was more excited than he was that it wasn't for recess - it was so he could learn and enjoy reading!

The road to "high-brow" has to start with the same bricks as all others .. .

My all time fave is Anne (with an e) Shirley! She had spunk and character and always seemed to have things that just happened to her, just like I did (and still do). She grew up with a boy who teased her, married him and had a wonderful life - never thought about that part much, but I suppose I married my Gilbert too. Hmmm, mushy but true!