Reading out loud has always been welcome by my younger children. Reading to a 5 year old is very enjoyable for me because at 5 they are able to listen to a longer story and follow more complicated plots. (Not that we're done with Dr. Seuss by a long shot!) My kids seem more sensitive to tension and suspense than some, so it's been challenging to find longer stories that aren't to scary to them. Here are some chapter books my boys have enjoyed around the age of 5 years old.
Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner both by AA Milne. These are classic, and rightly so. These have been much requested recently for listening in the car.
The Teddy Robinson Storybook, by Joan G. Robinson is another great find with a stuffed bear for a character. It's got an entirely different flavor than Winnie-the-Pooh, and we like the interaction between Teddy and his little girl Deborah.
Milly Molly Mandy, and More Milly Molly Mandy, by Joyce Lankester Brisley. Each chapter of these stands alone as the not so scary adventures of a young British girl around the early 1920s.
My Father's Dragon and it's sequels by Ruth Stiles Gannett. In these books a child tells about the adventures his father had with a baby dragon. Fun, not too scary, but it does have a bit of suspense.
Twig, by Elizabeth Orton Jones is the gentle fantasy of girl who meets an elf, gets shrunk to his size, and the adventures that then commence. This was an unexpected find through Chinaberry, which has in depth book reviews to go with their offerings.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle, and it's sequels Runaway Ralph, and Ralph S. Mouse, by Beverly Cleary. This book is full of more tension and getting into trouble than many of the others listed here, but it's told in such a way that the kids have enjoyed it. Beverly Cleary is a treasure trove for children's books, but these are the favorites around here at this age.
My youngest is now 5. I'm so treasuring this time and these stories. My 8 yo still enjoys listening to these, so hopefully we'll be seeing these again in the coming years. I'm not ready to say good-bye!
Leave me a note and let me know some of your favorites. We've always got room for more good books.
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3 comments:
We just love Henry and Mudge and Nate the Great for independent reading, and we adore the "Little House" series for read aloud.
We've been enjoying the Moongobble series by Bruce Coville. :-)
Great suggestions!
The Moongobble series was one of the books that got my middle child willing to listen to fiction. :-)
I'd like to try the Little House series again. We started at the beginning, and my sensitive boys couldn't take the pig being butchered in "Little House in the Big Woods." I should have known and just skipped that part. Sigh...
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