Best illustrated read-aloud chapter books for 4.5 y/o

[Anonymous]

Edith Blythe's Faraway Tree series is amazing. Not a ton of pictures, but really easy to follow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Penderwicks is a wonderful series about 4 sisters. The youngest is 4 in the first book.
My kids love Roald Dahl books as well as a newer British author called David Walliams who writes in a similar vein. Beverly Cleary books are also wonderful, but be warned that some of them are quite dated and you’ll need to update the references or explain them to her. Plus, one of my kids around age 4/5 started behaving like bratty Ramona as we were reading Ramona the Pest, so watch out for that!

We have read a lot of the David Walliams books - they are too scary for a 5 year old. I would put them close to the 8 and above.(But you know your child)

[Anonymous]

The Princess in Black - my 5 and 8 year olds both love them.

[Anonymous]

Why does it have to be chapter books and why does it have to be a series? My kids love story books, we have hundreds (we also have a family member who is a children's librarian, so we get all the good stuff).

Have you read Mr. Popper's Penguins?

4.5 is too young for Ramona Quimby, IME.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 4.5 yr old girl adores read-aloud chapter books that we read over a few nights - the top hits have been things like Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, James and the Giant Peach, My Father the Dragon series, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Tale of Despereaux (although it was terrifying!), Bless this Mouse, and several books by William Steig. I'm looking for more suggestions in this vein. The problem is that many popular series for this age recommended by DCUM (Dory Fantasmagory, Mercy Watson, Unicorn Diaries, Princess in Black, etc.) have extremely simple vocabulary and seem more like early readers...I also selfishly don't enjoy them. As she starts reading simple books on her own, I feel like the purpose of our read-aloud time should be to introduce vocab & concepts more complex than early readers can offer.

One catch is that the number of illustrations is important, she likes having one on almost every page. At first I was worried that this meant she wasn't actually listening to the words, but based on our conversations I don't think that is the case. Do people have suggestions for really well-illustrated, beautifully written chapter books for this age?

Hmm Charlotte's Web and James and Giant Peach don't have nearly the number of illustrations as say Fantastic Mr Fox.

I'd say any children's literature. But I'm not sure we are on the same page if you don't love Dory Fantasmagory. It's hilarious.

[Anonymous]

NP again. I'm not sure why your think your preschooler needs to be reading chapter books? Is it just that YOU want to read her chapter books? Because I really do think she'd get a lot more out of story books - there are so many with beautiful language and illustration that I enjoy. And the shorter books are much easier for little ones to understand and they love things in verse or that rhyme and it's fun to read out loud, too.

Brightly and Scholastic usually have great lists. Some of my five year old's favorites are that I also like:

The Questioneers story book series (Rosie Revere Engineer, Ada Twist Scientist, Iggy Peck Architect). NOT the chapter books, but my older child loves those.

Jabari Jumps (there's more Jabari books that we haven't raed)
Julian is a Mermaid
The Proudest Blue
The Day the Crayons Quit (and sequels)
The Bad Seed/Good Egg series (although the newer ones aren't as good)
The Paper Bag Princess
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible No Good Day (because what kid doesn't love that book??)


And then the kind of dumb-ish books like Fancy Nancy, Pinkalicious, Never Let a Unicorn.... series, How to Catch a... series.

You have to remember this is for your child, not you.

[Anonymous]

The "Little House" series was so wonderful to read with my DS. He was a little older but if your daughter likes Charlotte's Web, then she's probably old enough for these, or will be soon.

[Anonymous]

go to good reads and look up the books she liked then click on the thing to the right that says "readers also enjoyed"

or google "book list James and the Giant Peach" and browse the other books on the lists that get turned up

My son is a similar age and it can be pulling teeth to get him to listen to books like this so I am a little jealous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have to remember this is for your child, not you.

LOL. I forced my son to go on a walk yesterday because I am sick of the park. And you can't do anything to stop me, mwahahahahaha

[Anonymous]

Magic Treehouse.

Also look at Branches book series from Scholastic. My DS got really into Dragon Masters and Firehawk, but there's a bunch of other options.

https://www.scholastic.com/branches/index.htm

[Anonymous]

Judy Moody

[Anonymous]

Go to the library and take a look at the folktale/fairytale section (398.2 ish). So many wonderful collections, individual tales, wonderful illustrations. Pick out ten or twelve for the week and you are set! You will both enjoy them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why does it have to be chapter books and why does it have to be a series? My kids love story books, we have hundreds (we also have a family member who is a children's librarian, so we get all the good stuff).

Have you read Mr. Popper's Penguins?

4.5 is too young for Ramona Quimby, IME.

I agree. For a kid that wants pics on every page, it seems a bit limiting to pass over picture books. There are so many longer ones that are targeted at older children, which will do the same thing in regards to introducing vocab and more complex concepts!

I like the pp suggestion on fairy tales. Those tend to be longer and have a lot to discuss, even if not properly considered a chapter book. Also check out some of the recent award winners for picture books. Many recent winners tackle concepts that would make for a good parent/child discussion. I would also consider looking into some science picture books like Nano, the spectacular science of the very small.

I do agree about Ramona Quimby. The kid who started copying Ramona is probably not understanding the social dynamics in the book. Maybe she got something else out of reading the book, but I do think this tends to be a problem with many picture books. While some chapter books (particularly more action oriented stories) might be fine for younger children, understanding social dynamics (which is a big part of these books) is a different skill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does it have to be chapter books and why does it have to be a series? My kids love story books, we have hundreds (we also have a family member who is a children's librarian, so we get all the good stuff).

Have you read Mr. Popper's Penguins?

4.5 is too young for Ramona Quimby, IME.

I agree. For a kid that wants pics on every page, it seems a bit limiting to pass over picture books. There are so many longer ones that are targeted at older children, which will do the same thing in regards to introducing vocab and more complex concepts!

I like the pp suggestion on fairy tales. Those tend to be longer and have a lot to discuss, even if not properly considered a chapter book. Also check out some of the recent award winners for picture books. Many recent winners tackle concepts that would make for a good parent/child discussion. I would also consider looking into some science picture books like Nano, the spectacular science of the very small.

I do agree about Ramona Quimby. The kid who started copying Ramona is probably not understanding the social dynamics in the book. Maybe she got something else out of reading the book, but I do think this tends to be a problem with many picture books. While some chapter books (particularly more action oriented stories) might be fine for younger children, understanding social dynamics (which is a big part of these books) is a different skill.

*problem with many chapter books

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anything by Kate DiCamillo. My kids liked Sideways Stories from Wayside School. I kept all my old Beverly Cleary books and my kids just did not like them at all. Huge disappointment for me!

Mine have really enjoyed the Ramona audiobooks - maybe try that?