Chapter books for parents to read to 1st grader

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Elementary teacher here. I recommend biographies written for children, because that way you get character education, you can talk about values you embrace as a family, and they provide ground knowledge as kids move through school.

I would not read Harry Potter this young. They can’t really appreciate it, and it’s got some scary themes. Kids don’t need that now.

Also, read poetry.

My kids loved Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. It’s quirky poetry.

DH got my kids started young on Harry Potter, but I really wish he’d waited. They enjoyed it at the time, but they would have enjoyed it more when they were older. Also, at the time, she was still writing the series and so the later books (which get darker) weren’t available until my kids were older. I think these books would be best started about 5th grade. The series starts with an eleven year old Harry, and that seems like a good age for the reader to share the adventure.

[Anonymous]

+1 on waiting for Harry Potter. DH started with our DD when she was 7 and had to stop after Book 3 because they got too intense. She now loves them and has re-read them many times as an upper elementary and now middle schooler, but the content goes over their head but scares them at the same time.

Betsy Tacy is so lovely! The teacher PP made a good point about helping your child access books slightly more advanced. A classic like A Little Princess might also fit on your list of ideas.

[Anonymous]

+1 for Pippi, which my kids found hilarious at that age.

[Anonymous]

Harry Potter at this age is fine but it all depends on your child. I started the first HP book with my DS when he was in 1st grade and he loved it. He was an advanced reader for his age and I don't think he had a hard time following the story (we discussed it a lot while we were reading so I knew he was following along). It took us about 2.5 years to get through the whole series so we didn't get to the darker storylines until he was a little older. He's also not easily scared of books or movies, which also makes a difference. We read each book and then watched the corresponding movie once we finished, and we both agreed the books were better!

However, my DD who is in first grade now probably wouldn't follow it. She's an average reader so the style of prose and detailed plot would probably be too complex for her. She doesn't scare easily, so that's not a concern (and she's seen parts of the first two movies already) but we'll wait a bit anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mom of slightly older kids here. The above suggestions are good, but many are really designed for young readers to read to themselves. I think it’s wonderful to read to children this age, no matter their reading ability, but I would personally save some of the series (A to Z, etc.) for them to read on their own when ready. I actually think shorter books/stories work really well as read alouds for this age. Or even stuff like Shel Silverstein, etc. It doesn’t have to be some classic long chapter book.

This!!!!! I like to pick chapter books of things that I would love to read to my kid but I don't know if she would necessarily read by herself.

-All of a kind Family
- Matilda
- Secret Garden (I will say that book has a lot more racist moments than I had remembered it as a kid so we are having some conversations about colonialism but the story is wonderful)

Some other nostalgic reads
- ballet shoes series by Noelle Streatfield
- A little princess
- Wrinkle in time

[Anonymous]

We read an excessive amount and I've got lots of children who have moved through that age range:

The Hobbit
The Jungle Book & Just-So Stories
Andrew Lang's colored "Fairy Books"
Trolley Car Family
Wizard of Oz
It's Your Fairy Tale, You Know
The Princess and the Goblin
Margaret Hodges' "Saint George and the Dragon" which led to...
Tales from Spenser, Chosen from the Fairie Queene (let me tell you, it was quite a surprise how much they enjoyed it.)
Betsy Tacy
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
The Great Fire
Best Christmas Pageant Ever
The Enchanted Wood and the rest of the Faraway Tree series
The Land of Green Ginger
Mr Men series
Beatrix Potter's oeuvre
Paddle to the Sea & Pagoo
Song of Hiawatha (wut)
Uncle Wiggily, though younger is better for that, IMHO
Hollow Tree and Deep Woods

[Anonymous]

The Ranger in Time series is great to read aloud with a 1st grader, up to 3rd or even 4th grade. Like Magic Treehouse, only very well written and not boring. And nearly guaranteed you’ll learn something from history, too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We read an excessive amount and I've got lots of children who have moved through that age range:

The Hobbit
The Jungle Book & Just-So Stories
Andrew Lang's colored "Fairy Books"
Trolley Car Family
Wizard of Oz
It's Your Fairy Tale, You Know
The Princess and the Goblin
Margaret Hodges' "Saint George and the Dragon" which led to...
Tales from Spenser, Chosen from the Fairie Queene (let me tell you, it was quite a surprise how much they enjoyed it.)
Betsy Tacy
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
The Great Fire
Best Christmas Pageant Ever
The Enchanted Wood and the rest of the Faraway Tree series
The Land of Green Ginger
Mr Men series
Beatrix Potter's oeuvre
Paddle to the Sea & Pagoo
Song of Hiawatha (wut)
Uncle Wiggily, though younger is better for that, IMHO
Hollow Tree and Deep Woods

Anyway, as you can guess from the reading, I strongly recommend older books, both for the richer vocabulary and more complex sentence structure, and also because it allows you to scaffold entire time periods. "Nancy Drew", for example, becomes more easily accessible when your kid has been introduced to life before ubiquitous cell phones.

[Anonymous]

Sideways Stories from Wayside School
Welcome to Wonderland series (Chris Grabenstein)

[Anonymous]

Married to the mob
Pigs in blankets

[Anonymous]

My kid is obsessed with our reading the Geronimo Stilton series together. We've probably done like 20 of them and we alternate reading pages. So far no interest in the "classics" from our childhood like the E.B. White stories, Little House, Ramona, etc.

We also love the Magic Bone series.

My husband has been enjoying reading the Two Dogs in a Trench Coat series and I hear laughs coming from the bedroom before bedtime which makes me happy.