[Question] Books for young (6-ish) kids to read and adults to tolerate

Chad Sexington

Chad Sexington

So my niece is 6 and reading a ton. She's getting very good, even when she is exhausted she pushes through. Recently she's been trying some harder words -there was a long talk about 'enough' and 'through' the other night, which resulted in her giving a big (and adorable) sigh.

What books are good for a 6 year old that won't drive an adult crazy? She has a lot of Barbie books, and some really dumb books that are probably below her level now anyway, and my patience wears out. I was thinking about buying a few things to have at my place for when she visits that we can read together, and I (while I don't have to enjoy it especially) won't go "blaaaahmakeitend" internally the whole time.
 
Chad Sexington

Chad Sexington

Too long right now, she isn't ready for novels. She wants to read every word out loud and slowly in company, and finish the story, so unless I had like 12 hours...
 
SpecialKO

SpecialKO

Wizard of Oz?[DOUBLEPOST=1383769400,1383769255][/DOUBLEPOST]EDIT: Oh you meant on the shorter scale.

Hmm. I don't know your niece of course, but how about Winnie The Pooh? Or the Velveteen Rabbit?
 
drawn_inward

drawn_inward

I think Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein is a good fit. I still like it and most of the poems are short enough.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Where the Wild Things are


I don't know if these are too long, but:
Charlotte's Web

James and the Giant Peach


There's always Dr. Seuss.
 
Cajungal

Cajungal

Staff member
Eloise! It's a gorgeous picture book, and it still makes me laugh! I actually talked about it in chapel today--the power of making your own fun with your imagination!
 
Chad Sexington

Chad Sexington

HP, Wizard of Oz, Charlotte's Webb, James and the Giant Peach... Those are all novels I want to share with her eventually, in fact, maybe I'll buy a few and give it a shot, but for now, definitely shorter things. She has some Winnie the Pooh, and lots of Seuss (which I love!); Velveteen Rabbit might be something to try, and I can't believe I didn't think of Shel Silverstein! That's a great idea.

I don't know Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Where the Wild Things Are (I've heard of the latter, which apparently a classic) so I'll investigate those.[DOUBLEPOST=1383769753,1383769716][/DOUBLEPOST]
Cajungal said:
Eloise! It's a gorgeous picture book, and it still makes me laugh! I actually talked about it in chapel today--the power of making your own fun with your imagination!
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Oh damn, hell yes. I'm definitely getting that. I remember Eloise!
 
Cajungal

Cajungal

Staff member
Also, promise that when she's old enough, you'll read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane with her. My niece and I read it this year, and it was amazing. (7/8 years old)
 
SpecialKO

SpecialKO

Oooh, I forgot In the Night Kitchen ( also Maurice Sendak), and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Judith Viorst)!
 
Dei

Dei

Nancy Clancy books (which are basically chapter book versions of Fancy Nancy and are awesome)

There are also some nice My Little Pony chapter books which sneak in big words all over the place and are fun reads. Currently Twilight Sparkle an Pinkie Pie books are available.

Ramona books are pretty timeless as well.
 
Chad Sexington

Chad Sexington

Cajungal said:
Also, promise that when she's old enough, you'll read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane with her. My niece and I read it this year, and it was amazing. (7/8 years old)
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I've never heard of this. Looking at it, I would definitely like to read it with her.
SpecialKO said:
Oooh, I forgot In the Night Kitchen ( also Maurice Sendak), and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Judith Viorst)!
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Oh my god, I used to read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day all the time when I was young. And whenever I was upset and grumpy, my mom would call me Alexander... This thread is nostalgia'ing me![DOUBLEPOST=1383770433,1383770393][/DOUBLEPOST]
Dei said:
Nancy Clancy books (which are basically chapter book versions of Fancy Nancy and are awesome)

There are also some nice My Little Pony chapter books which sneak in big words all over the place and are fun reads. Currently Twilight Sparkle an Pinkie Pie books are available.
Click to expand...
Oh she loves My Little Pony, but... I can't. I can't. I just can't handle it. It irritates me so much.[DOUBLEPOST=1383770475][/DOUBLEPOST]That's not a knock on the books, or anything. It's just me and my low threshold for it.
 
Cajungal

Cajungal

Staff member
It's the same woman who wrote The Tale of Despereaux. It's a beautiful and moving story. I got to read it to my student teaching kids, and we all freakin' cried.
 
Dei

Dei

Chad Sexington said:
That's not a knock on the books, or anything. It's just me and my low threshold for it.
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The worst WORST kids books are the GD Rainbow fairies. Don't do it. Just don't. I make my 7 year old read those on her own. I refuse.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

Look for the following authors:
Ruth Chew (just about anything)
Jay Williams/Raymond Abrashkin (or just listed as Williams/Abrashkin) (Danny Dunn, The Magic Grandfather)
E. L. Konigsburg (mixed up files, & me Elizabeth)
Roald Dahl (Charlie, The Witches, The BFG)
Arnold Lobel (Mouse Soup, Frog and Toad)
Ruth Christopher Carlson (Mr. Pudgins) <-- I absolutely loved this book as a kid*

--Patrick
*Nevermind about this one. Apparently it's out of print and the paperbacks are going for something like sixty dollars???
 
Cajungal

Cajungal

Staff member
My students enjoy Stand Tall, Molly Lou Mellon. It's a sweet little book about having pride in yourself.
 
sixpackshaker

sixpackshaker

Just make sure that you don't grab just any Shel Silverstein kids books. Then once she is smitten with Shel and she's over 12 give her the radical books like the ABZ book. Then when she is 15+ introduce her to his songs... some 18+.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
sixpackshaker said:
Just make sure that you don't grab just any Shel Silverstein kids books. Then once she is smitten with Shel and she's over 12 give her the radical books like the ABZ book. Then when she is 15+ introduce her to his songs... some 18+.
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I know it was certainly an eye opening experience the first time I heard Shel Silverstein recite "The Great Smoke Off."

 
PatrThom

PatrThom

I once hand-carried a copy of Uncle Shelby's ABZ Book from the kids' section up to the circulation desk to tell them, "I don't think you meant to put this here."

--Patrick
 
MindDetective

MindDetective

Is she too old for the Mo Willems books? The pigeon books and the elephant and piggie books are kind of fun and interactive. Oh! Maybe the "if you give a mouse a cookie" books? I have a two year old, so he's not reading yet but he does enjoy us reading these to him. I don't have a gauge for reading level at 6 just yet.
 
Chad Sexington

Chad Sexington

ThatNickGuy said:
Why not? Not gonna attack; I'm honestly interested.
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I just never got much out of them. I can think of two things that I never quite adjusted to when reading comics (or graphic novels) that probably are the biggest factors:

1) Reading. I love to read, so I would just read the text and not look at the pictures. Sometimes this caused confusion, as action is conveyed and part of the story is told in the pictures, and sometimes it meant I'd finish reading it quickly, and feel underwhelmed, but of course I was only getting part of the experience. I attribute this to habit: I read lots and lots of novels, starting when I was very young, and so adapting to a medium where the words aren't the whole story was difficult.

2) Boring art. I don't enjoy a lot of comic book art. I own a beautiful hardcover Hellboy Volume I because I love the art, and occasionally a comic's art grabs me (Calvin & Hobbes is a comic strip which holds a special place in my heart; and which, speaking of, would be great for my niece...) but it's rare. I don't (usually) hate the art or anything, and some art styles I like better than others, de gustibus non est disputandum and all that, but overall I am just bored by art in comics/graphic novels.

Ultimately, between the two: ignoring most art and having trouble finding art I liked anyway, it wasn't ever worth the effort to investigate a lot. I read V for Vendetta shortly before the movie was a thing: there are some things about it I really liked, but I'll never pick it up again. Ditto Watchmen (although I read it long before I knew a movie was being made).

I'm a reader, I guess, is the short answer. Give me words! WORDS![DOUBLEPOST=1383871464,1383871375][/DOUBLEPOST]
MindDetective said:
Is she too old for the Mo Willems books? The pigeon books and the elephant and piggie books are kind of fun and interactive. Oh! Maybe the "if you give a mouse a cookie" books? I have a two year old, so he's not reading yet but he does enjoy us reading these to him. I don't have a gauge for reading level at 6 just yet.
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Hm, I'm not sure. I know her mom reads the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie ones... I'll have to look at Mo Willems
 
bhamv3

bhamv3

Have her read The Little Prince.

Then, ten years later, have her read it again. Ask her if anything's different this time around.
 
strawman

strawman

A little princess is a fabulous chapter book you can get for free as it's out of copyright. Print a chapter at a time, and read it out loud a chapter at a time.
 
Shawn

Shawn

I read my 4 year olds and 3 year olds a lot of books. I mean they are your generic kids books. But there are a few that I enjoy reading them and don't really think that are all that bad.

Tacky the Penguin: Cute little tale about being different from everyone else. It's pretty silly. Easy read though.

3 Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig: Modernized retelling of the classic story with the twist mentioned in the title. There's a few other fun elements to this one, such as the wolves START with the brick house and it just kind of escalates because the Big Bad Pig has access to pneumatic drills and dynamite apparently. It's pretty clever.

Dr. Suess: Oh just everything of his.
 
Siska

Siska

Chad Sexington said:
So my niece is 6 and reading a ton. She's getting very good, even when she is exhausted she pushes through. Recently she's been trying some harder words -there was a long talk about 'enough' and 'through' the other night, which resulted in her giving a big (and adorable) sigh.

What books are good for a 6 year old that won't drive an adult crazy? She has a lot of Barbie books, and some really dumb books that are probably below her level now anyway, and my patience wears out. I was thinking about buying a few things to have at my place for when she visits that we can read together, and I (while I don't have to enjoy it especially) won't go "blaaaahmakeitend" internally the whole time.
Click to expand...
I loved Astrid Lindgren's Emil books when I was 5-6. It's about an eager and energetic 5 year old boy, living in rural Sweden 100 years ago, who just can't stay out of trouble even though he means well. Not as commonly available for English speakers as Pippi, but you can find them if you look. ---> Amazon product
 
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