Chapter books for a 4 year old?
I know it sounds a little crazy, but I think I want to start reading chapter books to Julia. My nanny and I were having a great discussion this morning about kids who read, and I was recalling the evenings of my childhood when my mother read to me from books that were beyond my own reading level, but which completely captivated me as a listener -- the kind where you beg for just one more chapter.
Julia and I read lots of books together, and while she loves it, sometimes I wonder if she could handle longer more complicated storylines. (And I sure wouldn't mind that myself!) A couple of the recent books my mom has dropped off (Amelia Bedelia and The Case of the Scaredy Cats) have been a little longer than the typical picture book, and, confirming my theory, Julia has LOVED them, wanting them read over and over again.
So I started doing some research online. I came across this Amazon discussion thread from a guy looking for chapter books to read to his 4 year old. The replies confirmed what I suspected, which is that many 4 year olds (depending on the kid, clearly) can enjoy being read to from chapter books that require multiple nights to get through. I found lots of suggestions here, many of which I well remember from my own childhood.
Examples:
Stuart Little
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Little House on the Prarie
The Wizard of Oz
Junie B. Jones
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
My Father's Dragon
Pippi Longstocking
Ramona the Brave
Most of these are either the first book of a series, or from prolific authors who have other similarly great titles. This goes without saying, but there is such a richness out there to share with Juila (and later Andrew.) I can't wait to try one on her. I'm thinking about starting with My Father's Dragon or maybe Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. (Mom, do you still have a copy of that?)
Any other suggestions? Many of the books above feature boys as the title character, and I'd love to find a few more with girls in the lead role.
(Susan, if you are still looking for birthday gift ideas for Julia, perhaps a title from this list or your own childhood memories would be a great option!)
Tags:
Books
8 comments:
Kira loves books - I can't wait to read her some more interesting stories. I hope her love for books continues. Thank you for all the great recommendations!
I'm so pleased that your love of chapter books that I read to you as a little girl can now be passed on to Julia (and Andrew, a little later). It makes for some wonderful cuddle time too and I know they both love that. I'll delve into the closet and see what I can come up with from our treasure trove of chapter books! Love, Mom
What about "Wind in the Willows"? I remember my dad reading that to me as a child (although I was probably about 5 when we started), but for Christmas my in-laws gave Sawyer and Cooper an abridged (and beautifully illustrated) version of the book. Mmmmm.....maybe that will be what Julia gets from the boys for her birthday :-)
Also, not really chapter books but I can't wait to start reading the "real" Grimm's Fairy Tales and other classic tales to the boys. Arguably VERY dark compared to many of today's favorites but incredibly rich in literary tradition and imagery.
Our kids loved the Roald Dahl books, but Julia may be a little young still for those. They also went through a Box Car kids phase when Val had just turned 4. Those books drove me crazy, but the kids loved listening to them! When Joss was 5, her Montessori teacher read them a chapter a day from Nicobobinus, by none other than Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. Joss would come home and tell us about it every day, and we were sure she had it wrong, but we took out the book and read it to the kids -- by golly, she had it right! And Brian and I loved reading it to them. If one of us missed a chapter, we'd go back and catch up!
You should also look at "The Faraway Tree" by Enid Blyton.
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Thanks for this post - we just started reading chapter books to our nearly 4-year old. Our first was a family favorite - Mr. Popper's Penguins. She loved it. we're now reading the My Father's Dragon series. Thanks for the other suggestions!
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