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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.

Harry potter?

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...

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?

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.

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!

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!

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)

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

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.

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.

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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.

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.

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.

Go the fuck to sleep?

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???

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

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+.

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."

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

Get Dear Mr. Henshaw and a box of Kleenex.

Don't forget comics.

-Bone
-Amulet
-Mouse Guard
-Smile
-Ghostopolis

Click clack moo.

ThatNickGuy said:

Don't forget comics.

-Bone
-Amulet
-Mouse Guard
-Smile
-Ghostopolis

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I uh...


I


...

i don't like comics much

Chad Sexington said:

I uh...


I


...

i don't like comics much

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Why not? Not gonna attack; I'm honestly interested.

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.

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

Have her read The Little Prince.

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

The Mo Willems books are meant to be read, but they're also meant to be read, as in you read it to them.

--Patrick

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.

bhamv3 said:

Have her read The Little Prince.

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

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I own the Little Prince in French... I wonder if I should try making my niece bilingual.

Bilingual niece = lots of confused adults.

--Patrick

I'm okay with that

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.

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

William Steig is pretty good, loved The ZabaJaba Jungle as a kid.

Oh! Daniel Pinkwater, specifically Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy From Mars.

--Patrick

Shawnacy said:

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

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My son's teacher read Tacky to his class when they were in first grade. He still yells "WHAAAAAT'S HAAAPPENING!" once in a while like Tacky.

Let's see. When he was six, he really got into the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne. They are kind of neat because they are a kid's version of historical fiction mixed with science and a bit of investigation. We have about twenty of them sitting on his book shelf and borrowed others from the library.

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary was on his summer reading list. He didn't think he would enjoy it, but ended up liking it a lot. The same thing happened with Hamster Magic by Lynne Jonell. He also really dug Mr. Popper's Penguins (do you see the theme of animal books here?) as a book.

SkippyJon Jones books, by Judith Schachner, are a lot of fun to read out loud. We do voices for the characters.

Madeline was always one of my favorites, but I think that might be too baby-ish for a six year old.

Also, Kevin O'Malley has some great books. One is Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude in which a boy and a girl are telling a story to their class together.

My son suggested Henry's Important Date by Robert Quackenbush and Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina.

Chad Sexington said:

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]
Oh damn, hell yes. I'm definitely getting that. I remember Eloise!

Click to expand...

My youngest daughter is 6 and these are good level books for a six year old who's starting out.

You need to be patient too. Let them sound out the words and figure them out themselves. Don't blurt it out the second she can't get it. Siblings help too!

Teachers are taught to wait about 15 seconds to let a child give a word a try before any prompting. And that's just if they don't have any language-related LD issues.

When I was a kid, I was into Encyclopedia Brown by Donald Sobol, which are a series of short mystery stories that kids can try to solve (answers are in the back). Each mystery is a total of about 8 pages.

There's a sample of one of the books here.