I hear ya. It's all fantasy and graphic novels these days it seems like. DD doesn't like fantasy either.
I haven't seen Kate DiCamillo mentioned yet. Because of Winn Dixie is one of DD's favorite. I also second the suggestion of the Fudge series by Judy Blume. For book club last year in 3rd grade DD read Wedgie and Gizmo and Two Dogs in a Trenchcoat Go to School. They were both cute and good in-between books. If he liked Wayside School he might like the Classroom 13 series.
Ok so Ramona is a no but what about Henry Huggins? Another Beverly Cleary set and I’m a little rusty on details, but I think it features a boy and his dog.
Wizard of Oz books are super dense, so that might slow him down. I'd try: Gary Paulson books, Mr. Lemoncello series, Stone Fox, and maybe Pax. Has he read the Weird School series? My DD got into those and while she can read them in a single sitting, there's sooooooo many that we were talking those from the library a lot for a good while. Has he done the 13 Story Treehouse books? Those kept DD for a minute. She also flies through books and it has been a bit of a challenge to keep her stocked in new ones, especially through the pandemic. One thing I've noticed DD has been doing recently is repeat readings. She always picks up more detail and depth when she reads things again and she seems to enjoy it for books that she especially loved.
Post by expectantsteelerfan on Dec 31, 2020 8:59:14 GMT -5
Has he read the Judy Bloom books (Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing, Fudge, etc.)? How about Andrew Clements books (not a series, but several that are more realistic fiction that appealed to my son at that age/reading level)? Same with Gordon Korman books.
Post by Patsy Baloney on Dec 31, 2020 9:34:41 GMT -5
Indian in the Cupboard is a series! I think there are 4 or 5 of them.
My favorite authors around that time were Lynn Reid Banks and Mary Downing Hahn. Both write quite a bit of fantasy and kid-friendly horror. MDH always surprised me, though, because I never quite knew what her next story would be. Murderous ghost (Wait Til Helen Comes) or sympathetic draft dodger (Stepping On The Cracks)?
I’m not too sure about series books, but thinking of some stand-alones or short series - Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, The Hatchet (I do think this one is intense to begin with, as it starts with the main character witnessing someone die of a heart attack which throws him into a survival situation) and The River (this one is quite fun as the main character is thrown back in his original situation by trying to recreate it for someone writing a story about him), Chasing Redbird, The Watsons Go To Birmingham 1963, Because of Winn Dixie, Johnny Tremain, Shades of Gray, Across Five Aprils, Bridge to Terabithia, The Far Side of the Mountain, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, Witch of Blackbird Pond, True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, The Cay, A Wrinkle In Time, The Phantom Tollbooth, RT Margaret and the Rats of NIMH (this series is good, but this one stuck with me more than the others), The Egypt Game, The Westing Game, The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt, The Giver, Holes, and Sarah, Plain and Tall.
I wonder if you might get in touch with your local library and ask them to put together a grab-bag for you with your specifications? We’ve been doing that since the pandemic began (I know you’re being super-careful, so it may be out of the question) and it has helped us find so many books we never knew about. We give reading level, interests, and last few books read that were enjoyed and are given a bag filled with 5-10 books to explore.
Post by scribellesam on Dec 31, 2020 9:47:18 GMT -5
If he liked Roald Dahl, Dick King-Smith is a British author I really enjoyed as a child. Best known for the story of Babe the Sheep-Pig, but he’s written dozens of other stories, all very heart-warming and silly and definitely not scary or intense. Some of my favorites were The Foxbusters, The Water Horse, The Queen’s Nose, and Dragon Boy.
I loved Twenty One Balloons (William Pene du Bois) so much that I kept it for my own kids.
Has he read Stuart Little or Charlotte’s Web?
I highly recommend reaching out to Brave + Kind Books to see if they can recommend some things. They sell mainly children’s books with diverse characters. They have packs of books by age range on their site and I just got DS1 some chapter books from them. I bet they can make some recommendations based on his age and preferences.
ETA: I haven’t read, but Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls is supposed to be great. It’s just stories about amazing women, so not just for girls.
Post by AdaraMarie on Dec 31, 2020 10:07:24 GMT -5
My dd older dd is super into the things your son doesn't like and my younger one isn't a good reader, but the Lemoncello books are pretty good maybe too hard/long. It has a lot of literary references that my kid didn't understand. I did them as read aloud when my older was 7ish. There is a movie out there (Netflix maybe) and it is terrible conpared to the books. The Gary Korman books are good but very middle school focused and I don't think I would recommend them for a 7 year old. I loved My Side of the Mountain and Redwall when I was a kid, but I think I was older and the Redwall series might be more fantasy than he likes.
My 7 year old likes more realistic fiction and even though she can't read them on her own, she likes the Ramona series, the Clementine series, and the Humphrey (hamster) series. They're all relatively short though. It seems like books for this age are mostly in the 150 page range.
I hear ya. It's all fantasy and graphic novels these days it seems like. DD doesn't like fantasy either.
I haven't seen Kate DiCamillo mentioned yet. Because of Winn Dixie is one of DD's favorite. I also second the suggestion of the Fudge series by Judy Blume. For book club last year in 3rd grade DD read Wedgie and Gizmo and Two Dogs in a Trenchcoat Go to School. They were both cute and good in-between books. If he liked Wayside School he might like the Classroom 13 series.
I think actually have Winn Dixie somewhere. I need to find it.
I found Mr. Popper's Penguins on a shelf last night.
Our Goodwill is amazing. Last year I bought hundreds of books for $1 each over the course of a few months.
Wedgie and Gizmo was SO FUNNY. I will look up Two Dogs in a Trenchcoat!
I loved Twenty One Balloons (William Pene du Bois) so much that I kept it for my own kids.
Has he read Stuart Little or Charlotte’s Web?
I highly recommend reaching out to Brave + Kind Books to see if they can recommend some things. They sell mainly children’s books with diverse characters. They have packs of books by age range on their site and I just got DS1 some chapter books from them. I bet they can make some recommendations based on his age and preferences.
ETA: I haven’t read, but Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls is supposed to be great. It’s just stories about amazing women, so not just for girls.
I loved Twenty One Balloons (William Pene du Bois) so much that I kept it for my own kids.
Has he read Stuart Little or Charlotte’s Web?
I highly recommend reaching out to Brave + Kind Books to see if they can recommend some things. They sell mainly children’s books with diverse characters. They have packs of books by age range on their site and I just got DS1 some chapter books from them. I bet they can make some recommendations based on his age and preferences.
ETA: I haven’t read, but Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls is supposed to be great. It’s just stories about amazing women, so not just for girls.
Thank you for the link! Yes, we've read SL and CW. Stuart Little is a real favorite here.
Definitely check out Twenty One Balloons. Stuart Little was one of my favorites and I loved that one too. He’ll finish it in a day or two, but it’s a fun read.
Google Oregon Battle of the Books. It is a list of books put out each school year for kids 3rd-12th to basically play a comprehension game. Some of these books are really awesome and others seem really deep for the age set. The lists are broken up for elementary middle and high.
Indian in the Cupboard is a series! I think there are 4 or 5 of them.
My favorite authors around that time were Lynn Reid Banks and Mary Downing Hahn. Both write quite a bit of fantasy and kid-friendly horror. MDH always surprised me, though, because I never quite knew what her next story would be. Murderous ghost (Wait Til Helen Comes) or sympathetic draft dodger (Stepping On The Cracks)?
I’m not too sure about series books, but thinking of some stand-alones or short series - Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, The Hatchet (I do think this one is intense to begin with, as it starts with the main character witnessing someone die of a heart attack which throws him into a survival situation) and The River (this one is quite fun as the main character is thrown back in his original situation by trying to recreate it for someone writing a story about him), Chasing Redbird, The Watsons Go To Birmingham 1963, Because of Winn Dixie, Johnny Tremain, Shades of Gray, Across Five Aprils, Bridge to Terabithia, The Far Side of the Mountain, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, Witch of Blackbird Pond, True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, The Cay, A Wrinkle In Time, The Phantom Tollbooth, RT Margaret and the Rats of NIMH (this series is good, but this one stuck with me more than the others), The Egypt Game, The Westing Game, The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt, The Giver, Holes, and Sarah, Plain and Tall.
I wonder if you might get in touch with your local library and ask them to put together a grab-bag for you with your specifications? We’ve been doing that since the pandemic began (I know you’re being super-careful, so it may be out of the question) and it has helped us find so many books we never knew about. We give reading level, interests, and last few books read that were enjoyed and are given a bag filled with 5-10 books to explore.
Oh, I loved “Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles” when I was a kid!
You’re the only other person I’ve known to read it though.
Post by notsopicky on Dec 31, 2020 13:50:50 GMT -5
This is a great thread!
Another plug for Origami Yoda (there are 8 of them) and Last Kids on Earth (I think there are 6 or 7?). Be careful w/ Hatchet--the beginning can be quite traumatic.
Has he read any Warriors (cat clans), Bravelands (animals in Africa) or Wings of Fire (dragons)? Those were all hits w/ my now-9 y.o. boy over the past 3 years. All 3 have a bunch of books in each series. Warriors and Bravelands are written by Erin Hunter, a pseudonym for a group of 6 authors. Wings of Fire is by Tui Sutherland, who is one of the 6 Erin Hunter authors.
He's just starting City of Ember. There are 4 books in the series.
Post by countthestars on Dec 31, 2020 14:23:29 GMT -5
My daughter isn’t as strong of a reader as your DS but we’ve been reading The Puppy Place books together and they might interest him - they’re about a brother and sister and dogs that need to be fostered and adopted.
Tumtum and Nutmeg Maria Parr books - Astrid the Unstoppable and Adventures with Waffles are the ones I've read, but I know there are others Rowan of Rin (I can't remember the reading level by my brothers loved it) Dr. Proctor's Fart Powder The Problim Children (I haven't read this or Dr. Proctor, but I gave them to my brother to read to his kids and they've liked them) The Book of Three The Wind in the Willows The Mouse and the Motorcycle Pax (might be too mature? I've never read it, but it's about a boy and his pet fox)
I may be off on the reading level of some of these, but thought I'd throw them out there. My daughter is almost 6 and reads at a high level for her age, and we're running into similar issues. She has been reading all the Rainbow Fairy books but she'll finish it like an hour after getting one from the library, and I'd love something that would take her a little longer. We also have the problem of finding something age appropriate, she's very sensitive to scary or mean characters. We just got a bunch of the Ramona books for Christmas and I think those will be fun for us to read together.
Does he like Egypt and pyramids and such? I wonder if the Amelia Peabody books would be age appropriate? They’re by Elizabeth Peters. I recall them being PG or G but you’d need to check that. Benefit is that there are a million books by her.
Post by cricketwife on Dec 31, 2020 17:24:42 GMT -5
Mostly I just read these threads and feel like my child is never going to read like this 😩 As far as an actual suggestion, what about Where the Red Fern Grows? Not a series, of course, but may buy you a few hours 😉.
Mostly I just read these threads and feel like my child is never going to read like this 😩 As far as an actual suggestion, what about Where the Red Fern Grows? Not a series, of course, but may buy you a few hours 😉.
My kid didn’t like reading until the end of 3rd grade. Before that she was pretty indifferent to it.