As a book lover, I was always excited to pick up a book and read it with my (then) toddler daughter.

Now she's putting letters together every chance she gets, and I marvel at her enthusiasm and hope it lasts! She is forever stopping us as we read to see what a word "looks like."

So now I guess we begin the transition of finding books that are great to read out loud (chapter books we can share with her and build vocabulary) and books we can read as partners.

I've got Jim Trelease's books as a resource ... but I'd love to know about some personal favorites.

I have 5 and 6 year old boys that have enjoyed The Wizard of Oz, The Chocolate Touch, The Magic Treehouse Series, The Magician's Apprentice, the Mercy Watson Series,and Half Magic. We are always looking for more chapter books that are good read alouds for their age. I would love some more options!

I forgot all about Mercy Watson! We started reading it TO our daughter, now we share and read as partners. We have not yet tried the Magic Treehouse Series.

My son really likes the A to Z Mystery series by Ron Roy (so do I!). The were the first chapter book to interest him. He also likes the Magic Tree House series that Lindsay mentioned. At school, he particularly enjoys science, so we've recently started reading some Magic School Bus chapter books. I'm impressed with those - I find myself understanding scientific concepts I didn't quite "get" before, and DS absolutely loves the stories. If anyone is interested in Christian books for kids, I can recommend the Cul de sac Kids series by Beverly Lewis.

In first and second grade, Junie B Jones was very popular with my son and many of his classmates.