Appropriate books for a preschooler reading at 6th grade reading level

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Take them to the bookstore or library and let them pick out what seems interesting. You don't need to control it by level.


+1

Just because a kid CAN read at a higher grade level doesn't mean they HAVE to read at a higher grade level. We had this issue -- my kid was reading several grades ahead, but the content of many books "at her level" was not appropriate for her, or she simply didn't have the experience to relate to it or the life understanding to really get it. So she read things that were not "challenging" but that were emotionally appropriate. We also read a lot of picture books, which are often written at a higher reading level (since often it's parents reading to kids, so the vocabulary is more advanced). She also liked collections of fairy tales and folk tales, as well as things like kid's encyclopedias or reference books for kids about space or the ocean or animals or whatever.


+2 Reading level is unrelated to subject matter and what the child should be reading. Reading level is just a school-based diagnostic. Leave that to teachers for in school purposes. Your child can already read well enough, so your goal is to keep the child interested in the subject of the books at home. Level is 100% irrelevant to your home book selection. I agree that picture books and other books meant for adults to read to kids are great for this age and particularly good for early readers.

Bear in mind that at school the teacher will be introducing and using books for different reasons, so don't get bent out of shape if they seem 'too easy' for your child. Read the harder books at home.


I second this. The "easy" books are school are used to develop and test comprehension skills like prediction or understanding cause and effect. At home, our approach was to let her read what she liked, occasionally suggesting or leaving out books that were more challenging in terms of reading levels, but more emphasizing reading for fun (because that's how you gain fluency) and talking about the books she read (to make sure that she was comprehending, not just decoding). She has lots of time to read the middle-grade classics, but only a certain amount of time to read the many wonderful works of young children's literature.


Yes! My Father's Dragon. Charlottes Web and Stuart Little are fine for grades 4-8. Mouse and the Motorcycle and other Beverly Cleary books. Dory Fantasmagory is grades 2-4, but should be totally fine for your daughter. I was a very early reader too and skipped a grade, and to this day, when I read for pleasure, I like books that are fun and not necessarily taxing on my brain.


+100. i read early and read voraciously throughout elementary school and middle school and, while of course there were the more content heavy and literary fiction within my bookshelves, i have always enjoyed mystery novels and (gasp!) chick lit, or it's middle grade/middle school equivalent.

For your child, have her read all the books! K award winning story and picture books through all the elementary prize-winning titles. For challenge, have her read non fiction and mysteries. Low levels of violence.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Have you tried the Magic Tree House series? My preschooler is an advanced and voracious reader and these are very enjoyable.


No offense but these books are trash literature. Very, very poorly written.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Have you tried the Magic Tree House series? My preschooler is an advanced and voracious reader and these are very enjoyable.

No offense but these books are trash literature. Very, very poorly written.

These were written purposefully with predictable plot lines and limited vocabulary because the purpose was to produce high engagement/interest for low level readers. They are poorly written because they serve a very specific purpose. Parents reading Magic Treehouse to their kids are not fulfilling the purpose of the books (parents should be reading books with better vocabulary and a higher literature value). OP's child shouldn't read them either, as her child doesn't need books written at such a basic reading level.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Have you tried the Magic Tree House series? My preschooler is an advanced and voracious reader and these are very enjoyable.


No offense but these books are trash literature. Very, very poorly written.


No they aren’t trash. They are enjoyable and written at a basic basic level to encourage young kids with basic reading skills to read more. They also encourage curiosity regarding the world around them
Anonymous
Magic tree house, famous five, secret seven, princess in black
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Have you tried the Magic Tree House series? My preschooler is an advanced and voracious reader and these are very enjoyable.


No offense but these books are trash literature. Very, very poorly written.


No they aren’t trash. They are enjoyable and written at a basic basic level to encourage young kids with basic reading skills to read more. They also encourage curiosity regarding the world around them


I disagree and so do others. It’s the literary style that I can’t stand:

https://bigbookslittleears.com/magic-tree-house/

https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/118685-poor-grammar-in-the-magic-tree-house-series/

It’s the staccato style of writing that lacks rhythm. conjunctions and descriptions.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Have you tried the Magic Tree House series? My preschooler is an advanced and voracious reader and these are very enjoyable.


No offense but these books are trash literature. Very, very poorly written.


No they aren’t trash. They are enjoyable and written at a basic basic level to encourage young kids with basic reading skills to read more. They also encourage curiosity regarding the world around them


I disagree and so do others. It’s the literary style that I can’t stand:

https://bigbookslittleears.com/magic-tree-house/

https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/118685-poor-grammar-in-the-magic-tree-house-series/

It’s the staccato style of writing that lacks rhythm. conjunctions and descriptions.


Sorry but these reviews are kind of ridiculous. Give your child heaps of different books with different literary styles, sure. Let them pick out what they want from the library. But my kids got so much enjoyment out of these books - it kept them reading for hours. I pretty much let my kids read whatever they want and they are both vociferous readers. I hesitate to not allow children to read something they enjoy just because it's "easy." Reading should be enjoyable.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:The children's nonfiction section at the library should have lots of options. Let him read about lions or rockets or construction vehicles or whether he finds interesting.


+1. Get him/her started on nonfiction. For fiction, stick with age appropriate books even if reading level is lower. For fiction I'd look at older books.
Anonymous
My one year old just finished don quixote and dantes inferno - maybe your child would be able to read those? You only said 6th grade level though, so sorry they are behind the curve
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:In that position, I read encyclopedias. Also the dictionary. And Trivial Pursuit cards.

You asked!


I loved the dictionary and encyclopedia's too!
Anonymous
My nephew is like this and Magic Treehouse was a big hit (chapter books that are not too scary/intense).
Anonymous
Both my kids were early advanced readers. They could both "read" anything they were given before kindergarten--but that doesn't mean they could fully comprehend it or were interested in it.

What I found worked: They both read non-fiction on topics of interest at higher grade reading levels but fiction was more at their social/emotional level. There is so much great non-fiction, so anything they expressed interest in I would just go to the library and get a stack--one was big on animals/biology/oceans and the other more on space, buildings, vehicles etc. But I would get out random non-fiction too to see what sparked. Lots of good pictures is still a huge draw when they are young so don't go for dry texts just because they can read them.


For fiction, we found that picture books have that parents typically read to young children often have more complex language and structure than the series chapter books like Captain Underpants, Magic Treehouse and the like. So we also just got stacks of picture books (the Arthur ones were esp. popular with both kids). They burned through the usual series chapter books on school library visits once in K. DD also really liked Ivy+Bean, Dragonbreath and the Penderwicks in K. All of those were short series that I think were well-written. Sometimes they read emotionally too old, like I think DS liked to show off a bit by checking out and carrying around the big Harry Potter books and so he read that series too early (in K-1, though I stopped him before book 5).


Anonymous
What does your kid enjoy? My daughter was reading the Fudge books the summer before K, which may have been like a Q?
Anonymous
In 6th grade, I was reading Oscar Wilde, so maybe start there.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t have my preschooler reading books at a 6th grade level. Have them stick to books for kids K-2, where the concepts are age appropriate. Just because they are capable of reading at that level at age 4, it doesn’t mean you need to give them books that advanced.


Exactly.
Just because they CAN read at that level, doesn't mean they SHOULD read subject matter for that level.

What's your child most interested in?

That will greatly help us give you ideas.
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