Dory Fantasmagory is AWESOME. Still has pictures and graphics.

We have started reading through the Roald Dahl canon too. Mine is in 1st grade though. His books do have some pretty scary characters, but my 6 year old is loving it. We started with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Fantastic Mr Fox.

Also, a neighbor lent us The Chocolate Touch which she loved too.

I'm a PP, and I can't believe I forgot:

* The Growly books (independently published, but really good)
* Tumtum and Nutmeg (don't be dissuaded by the size of the books, they are printed as 2 books that each contain 3 stand-alone chapter books)

Along with Mercy Watson and My Father’s Dragon trilogy, usually read Mr. Popper’s Penguins to my k class.
At that age I also began the Ramona books with my daughter.
She also enjoyed the Princess in Black and Owl Diaries series.

Anonymous wrote:Not all of these have talking animals:

Winnie the Pooh
Paddington
My Father's Dragon
A Cricket in Times Square
The Wind in the Willows
Beverly Cleary
Flat Stanley
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Gail Carson Levine's Princess Tales
The Littles

Picture Book, not chapter book, but highly recommend The Quiltmaker's Gift. It's got a lot of text for a picture book and the illustrations are amazing. It has a great message too.

Yes, that is a lovely longer picture book for early ES. We also adore the prequel, The Quiltmaker's Journey.

My DD lived Betsy and Tacy and that age.

Sophie Mouse (a series)
Mercy Watson
Frog and Toad

Not all of these have talking animals:

Winnie the Pooh
Paddington
My Father's Dragon
A Cricket in Times Square
The Wind in the Willows
Beverly Cleary
Flat Stanley
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Gail Carson Levine's Princess Tales
The Littles

Picture Book, not chapter book, but highly recommend The Quiltmaker's Gift. It's got a lot of text for a picture book and the illustrations are amazing. It has a great message too.

My K twin girls love the Princess in Black series.

It's not quite a chapter book, but A Toad for Tuesday is good.

I'd also recommend the longer picture books in the Brambly Hedge series. We have the big collection of all of them in one book and read a story in 1-2 nights over the course of a week or two.

The first Betsy-Tacy book is perfect and is about 5 year olds.

Aesop's Fables are fun for that age.

Beezus and Ramona and Ramona the Pest are great, as well as The Mouse and the Motorcycle.

My kids have all loved Mr. Popper's Penguins at that age.

Catwings is a fun short chapter fantasy.

Dick King-Smith books (Babe, Lady Lollipop, etc.) are more pig books, which might go over well.

If you are willing to deal with the insensitivities of historical eras, the first two Little House books are aimed at younger readers. I do a combination of modifying things as I read aloud and having conversations about what we're reading to handle it, but I know some people aren't comfortable with that.

Boxcar children are good for this - and there are a lot of them. My 6yo reads them on his own but they’d be fine for you to read to her if you want something other than animals.

Mercy Watson series might be a good option

Have you read unicorn diaries? It’s not as long as Charlotte’s Web but it’s cute. I also read my daughter My Father’s Dragon. We liked Princess in Black too like PP.

In general I still read mostly picture books. I have heard not to rush into chapter books & that the pictures help with reading comprehension.

Princess in Black was a favorite in our house. Frog and Toad is another good one.

Princess in Black was a favorite in our house. Frog and Toad is another good one.

My kindergartener is winding down on a Charlotte's Web kick - I've been reading it out loud at bedtime and listening to the audiobook on repeat. What are some other very simple chapter books she may enjoy? Talking animals and barnyard adventures are about her level of plot complexity for a chapter book, so I'm struggling finding more options that don't have a ton of interpersonal conflict and nuanced dialogue.