My 6.5 year old reads at a 4.5-5 grade level. She just finished Seaglass Summer, and loved it. I have no clue what to get for her that is age appropriate. She won't read most books recommended for her age. And the ones she does read she reads in like 10 minutes.
She loves animals. Any recommendations of good books that are appropriate for a 6.5 year old at a 4-5 grade level?
I can't keep this thing in books. She reads for 2-4 hours a day. Help!
Thanks for the suggestions. We will be talking with the one librarian soon. She's read magic tree house. Most of the books by apple, rainbow fairy,unicorn... We have three classic start sets. We go to the library at least once a week. She usually reads all the books in a day or two, and then she complains.
There are some good suggestions here, thank you!
Misty of Chincoteague (there are sequels), the Little House Series, The first (and possibly second) Harry Potter, The Hobbit (but not the Lord of the Rings yet), Stuart Little, Swiss Family Robinson, The Geronimo Stilton series (quick reads but fun).
Have you gone to www.scholastic.com? They often have books that the kids love. I believe you can search by grade or reading level.
Has she tried to read any of the ancient history readers? Books on Rome, Caesar, Cleopatra, etc. My daughter loves that stuff.
Have you read the Magic Treehouse series yet? They are more like 3rd grade level, but the content is good.
ETA: I'd be careful with the classics. I tried to go this route early on with my child. But until I got into them, I had forgotten that Black Beauty has a lot of explicit cruelty to animals in it, as does White Fang. Huck Finn is all about discrimination and slavery, and Treasure Island has its share of drunken brawls. So - unless you are ready to tackle these societal issues with your 6 year old, please pre-read all books, including classics, before you give them to your daughter.
My daughter really liked the Rainbow Magic Fairy books at that age. She also liked the Percy Jackson books and the Narnia series.
I had her join a book club with some other homeschoolers and they are reading Caddie Woodlawn. I would suggest checking out the library or book store (even used books) and see what interests her.
My SD loved the Warrior series and Harry Potter.
Don't you guys go to the library? My kids weren't homeschooled like yours but they loved their librarian. I had my own ideas about books (some hits and misses there) but we counted on their teachers and ESPECIALLY the librarian for recommendations and ideas.
Does she like Roald Dahl, EB White? Those were our personal family favorites, and perfectly age appropriate. I loved Laura Ingalls as a child but the Little House books bored my kids to death (not into big adventure on the high plains I guess.)
My Father's Dragon, Mr. Popper's Penguins, all the Judy Blume books come to mind. Remember that reading ability is a cognitive skill that may not line up with where she is socially and emotionally. Just because she CAN read something doesn't mean she SHOULD.
Ask the librarian, or better yet, let your daughter talk to her!
The Warriors series by Erin Hunter
My side of the Mountain series, Stuart Little, Wind and the Willows, Black Beauty, Where the Red Fern Grows (sad), Old Yellar (sad), Just So Stories, White Fang, Swiss Family Robinson. I second the library idea. It's wonderful to have a voracious reader. Enjoy!
Blessings,
L.
Oh, The Trumpeter Swan and I second The Cricket in Times Square ;)
The Nevergirls series are chapter books that are pretty good for that type of book, with no themes that would be too mature for a 6 year old. I have read a few aloud to my 5 year old for bedtime books.
Daisy Dawson is another series book about a little girl who can talk to animals, again a chapter book with age-appropriate themes.
National Geographic also makes pretty interesting animal encyclopedias that are fun to peruse, but not necessarily read straight through.
My daughter read all the American Girl books in first grade. (She like the historical fiction books, not the mysteries. They are the books that come in sets of 4 ie., Meet Molly etc.). I believe they are written at a 4th grade level.
My daughter also liked to go to the library and she found the biographies very interesting too. They are educational although I have no idea what grade level they are. It is difficult but not impossible to find great books for advanced readers. Ask your librarian if you need help.
Also check out the Newbery Award winning books. My oldest daughter read practically every one of those books in 1-2nd grade. By the time she went to third grade and joined Reading Olympics there were only a handful of books she had not read on the entire list. I believe the requirement was that each student read 3-5 books. She was also made team captain which was historically given to 4th graders.
I don't know if these are too advanced, but my kids liked the Brian Jacques "Redwall" book series, and the Rats of NIMH trilogy, and A Cricket in Times Square. That last one was my son's absolute favorite for several years.
Also, the Lemony Snicket books are fun (A Series of Unfortunate Events), and the Boxcar Children.
How about some of the old books, like the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and the Hardy Boys?
It's fun to have a reader!!!
Babysitter's Club would probably work for her. Harry Potter is also a super good choice in terms teaching good character to her.
The Classic Starts books have every great story in abridged form. Look on Amazon and you'll see all the sets of good books brought to kid level. My daughter is 8 now, but she's a very advanced reader and has been reading those since age 6 (and she still rereads them). Black Beauty. Wind in the Willows. Alice in Wonderland type books are good. Also if you google into Charlotte Mason there are good reading lists by age. The material is advanced, and you can check lists for higher grades. Misty of Chincoteague!!
I'd just take one day per week and go to the public library. Then let her pick out the maximum books she can check out. When she finishes a book she can put it in a basket on a shelf and have them all ready to pick up and go when it's the right day of the week to go again.
Go back to the classics.
The little princess frances hodgeson burnett
The secret Garden frances hodgeson burnett
the prince and the pauper
black beauty
the black stallion (walter fareley books there are about 15 of them)
Dancing shoes noel stretfield
ballet shoes noel stretfield
babysitters club little sisters series by ann martin
nancy drew (the older ones not the newer ones)
my kids also loved the redwall books
Nancy Drew And The Clue Crew series of books. It focuses on Nancy Drew and her friends as 3rd graders. There are 40 books so far. My 7 year old advanced reader loves them.
How about the Laura Ingalls Wilder books? There are a ton of them and the stories are so, so good.
I just picked up a bunch of illustrated classics in the $1 section of Target. These are slimmed down versions of things like Oliver Twist, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Little Women, etc. My 5th grade son is using them as his silent reading book in school and is cranking right through them. Some of the subjects might be too advanced, but there are ones tat are definitely OK for younger kids.
J.,
Our homeschool curriculum is literature based so there are a ton of excellent books that are recommended. Here is a list of the "Free Reads" given for Year 1 (1st Grade). Also, if you go to the website you can scroll through some of the books we use for curriculum that are excellent as well.
Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White
King of the Golden River, by John Ruskin
Peter Pan (or, Peter and Wendy) by James M. Barrie
Pinocchio, by Carlo Collodi
The Red Fairy Book, by Andrew Lang
St. George and the Dragon, by Margaret Hodges
The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams
Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Pocahontas, by Ingri D'Aulaire
Millicent Selsam's easy readers. Particularly good are: Plenty of Fish, Seeds and More Seeds, and Let's Get Turtles.
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
A Lion to Guard U, Shoeshine Girl, or others by Clyde Robert Bulla
Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel (Frog and Toad Are Friends, Frog and Toad All Year, etc)
A Toad for Tuesday, by Russell Erickson
The Black Beauty - Misty series.
