Recommendations for a 6 Year Old and her Mom

[Faye]

With all due respect to Fancy Nancy, I think I'm ready to try reading chapters of a kids novel to my daughter and I'd like your suggestions.

Harry Potter seems like kind of the obvious choice, but I'm not sure if it's age appropriate or not as it's been a long time since I read the first novel.

I've never read any Lemony Snicket or The Mysterious Benedict Society so I'm not sure about them.

We recently rented the movie version of Holes, which I knew to be fantastic, but some themes were a little too much to grasp/ explain. (Why did they kill the onion farmer for kissing the school teacher is a racially-loaded parent-challenger.

The fine nuances between what works and what's too much at this age are the issue; I guess.

I also have a copy of
James and the Giant Peach around here somewhere - maybe that's where to start.

What's your take?

Cheers.

[Michelle]

I've been reading chapters at night to my daughter (she's five). She reads on her own (yikes!...growing up so fast) but it gives us some special time and her a little bit of a break. Plus, I think it helps for her to still be read to sometimes, as far as learning new vocab, pronunciation, etc. She asked to read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (finished) and Through the Looking Glass (working on now), which I think is mostly a bit beyond her grasp. But she LOVES it, laughs and you can tell it really gets her imagination going. Does she understand the political irony? Nope. The deeper meanings and character types? Probably not. But she IS hearing the rhythm of the poetry and being exposed to classic literature so we're having fun. I try to guide her choices, but since her gramma bought her this when she was a baby, she's always had it on the shelf. Next, she says she wants to read Coraline, which I'm really looking forward to. LOVE that she said its good for October and Halloween because its a little SCARY! :) (A girl after my own heart). I think after that, we will delve into the world of Roald Dahl, whom I dearly love, and we will probably start with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, since she's familiar with the film. Or maybe The Witches, since it will still be October. I think schools still read James and the Giant Peach (mine did), so I'm trying to avoid rereads from school (she is advanced there and gets bored). I think she's a little young for Harry Potter still, and to be honest, I don't want to get trapped into reading only Harry Potter books for the next year or two! LOL Oh! How about Charlotte's Web? Anything by E.B. White would probably be age-appropriate. Or Laura Ingalls Wilder. Even Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Enjoy this time, I love cuddling up in bed with a great book and my precious little Kindergartner. :)

Some more book ideas:
The Wind in the Willows
The Secret Garden
A Little Princess

If you want to discuss any of these books in detail (potential pitfalls, tough life lessons, etc.) I'm game. Good luck!

[Cecilia]

Six is hard... there are lots of cute chapter books for that age, but more learn to read books... My daughter liked the Minnie and Moo series, and all those Rainbow Fairy books. Second grade was when we broke out the Roald Dahlbooks but the light ones like George's Marvellous Medicine, Esio Trot, The Magic Finger, and the The Twits she also loved the Weird School series and then worked her way up to Judy Blume's Fudge Series and then there was no book she would not read.

But my daughter started reading really early, so our story time was more about what she was reading to me. She is still an avid reader, and devours books to this day.

[Donna]

I second Laura Ingalls Wilder. My goddaughter was captivated. Maybe it helped that she lives in an area where you can still look out over vast sections of fields & prairie.
Lemony Snickets is wonderful read aloud material. And I was addicted to the OZ books at her age.
I agree you need to watch out for themes or concepts she's not likely to grasp - or you're not ready to discuss - which is why I'd skip Harry Potter at this stage. Since they were written to mature with the reader, they get awfully dark & by the end are definitely not material I'd read my 6yo.

[Brigette]

I agree with Donna, HP is maybe a little old for her right now. Not so much the first book but certainly the last set! I'd probably wait until 8 - 10 to start on those.

You asked about the Mysterious Benedict Society books - those are good - although maybe still a bit old for a 6 year old - but only you know her reading taste / level, so they may be worth a try.

Some others I didn't see mentioned above are Black Beauty, Misty of Chincoteague, Pippi Longstocking, Mrs Piggly Wiggly, and my daughter really enjoyed the Betsy Tacy & Tib series (when BT&T are little girls, not the Betsy in High School series.)

My daughter's first grade teacher read them some of the Magic Treehouse books, and she liked those as well.

I need to start my daughter on Laura Ingalls Wilder, I think she'd like those.

[Faye]

Thanks everyone. This is a great amount of excellent suggestions. It's amazing how I've forgotten about these classic choices.

[Carol]

I was so taken by the television series of Little House On The Prarie that when I found out that the stories were taken from a person's actual life I looked up the books in the library and started reading them, starting with the first one 'Little House In The Woods' which was Laura at 6 years old. The books evolve chronologically when she ages, not quite one a year, but pretty close. I think they are probably all fit for a 6-year old, even when Laura gets to her teens, etc.

I don't remember there being anything in the books that would depict the hardships that Laura and her family faced in a, shall we say, sensational vein. Judging by my grandson's maturity at 6 years old, it seems that modern kids know about 'challenges' already, so that won't be new. I found the 'Little House' series entertaining and interesting, and I could picture the characters I saw on TV while I was reading about them. I'm 67 now, and I read that series in my 40's...and still think fondly of 'half-pint' and how she grew, and met her (real-life) future husband Almanzo.

[Faye]

Someone gave my daughter Ivy and Bean and we've been hooked. We've read 2.5 books from the series and I think we both enjoy them a lot. The stories are modern, fun, relatable, intelligent...

[Faye]

Cecilia wrote: "Six is hard... there are lots of cute chapter books for that age, but more learn to read books... My daughter liked the Minnie and Moo series, and all those Rainbow Fairy books. Second grade was wh..."

We tried The Twits and she loved it. Great suggestion. We went on to The Witches and she decided maybe it was too scary for us after the first chapter. Oh well.

[Faye]

Carol wrote: "I was so taken by the television series of Little House On The Prarie that when I found out that the stories were taken from a person's actual life I looked up the books in the library and started ..."

This was a great suggestion, too, Carol. I remember watching the show, but never read the books myself. We borrowed the first one from the library and I think my daughter was having a really tough time relating. Most of the first chapter was about gathering food supplies for the winter, including curing some meat. While I enjoy reading about different times/ cultures, it didn't quite capture her interest.

[Brigette]

Faye's comment is what we found too - I thought she'd really like the LHOP series, and she just didn't get into it like I thought she would too. I was kind of disappointed about that!

[Faye]

hmmm.. now do I count The Twits and Ivy and Bean in my challenge listing? It seem sto be the only way I'm gonna make 50 this year? :P

[Donna]

Of course you count them, everyone else does!