Librariann Recommends... Early Chapter Books!
Beyond Beginning Readers: Ready to make the leap from “readers” to “chapter books”? Need a change of pace from The Magic Treehouse, Rainbow Magic Fairies and the like? Give these titles a try!
Grade levels are suggestions. Every kid is different. Follow their lead.
Anna Hibiscus series by Atinuke
Anna Hibiscus lives in “Africa. Amazing Africa.” with her parents, twin brothers Double and Trouble and a large extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Full of humor, these stories also thoughtfully explore the poverty and economic complexities of contemporary African life.
Mercy Watson series by Kate DiCamillo
Mercy, the “porcine wonder”, lives with the Watson family and loves buttery toast more than anything in the world. Sometimes, her pursuit of this delicacy leads to all sorts of mishaps, especially with neighbor Eugenia who thinks pigs should definitely not live in houses.
Zapato Power series by Jacqueline Jules
Freddie Ramos arrives home from school to a package waiting outside his apartment. Inside? A pair of winged sneakers. Freddie slips them on and transforms into a superhero with some pretty amazing superpowers!
Lulu and the Duck in the Park by Hilary McKay
Lulu loves animals. A lot. Her teacher, Mrs. Holiday? Well, not so much. When some off-leash dogs destroy a duck’s nest in the park, Lulu can’t help herself and rescues an egg. Can she keep the egg safe and warm and a secret from Mrs. Holiday before it hatches? Looking forward to reading the second book in this new series, Lulu and the Dog from the Sea!
Getting in the Reading Groove: Kids in 2nd – 4th grade can be all over the map re: their level of reading fluency. Try one of these humorous, engaging reads to get this age group in the reading groove!
Grade levels are suggestions. Every kid is different. Follow their lead.
Clementine series by Sarah Pennypacker
Move over Ramona and make room for Clementine! Whether she’s in the principal’s office (again!) or figuring out how to be the best big sister ever, it’s always a delight to spend time with Clementine
Fangbone! Third-Grade Barbarian series by Michael Rex
Sent from his homeland of Skullbania on a quest to find a missing toe, our young hero Fangbone lands in a third grade classroom in our world. Perplexed by everything from manners to flushing toilets, Fangbone leads us on a humorous romp through the perils of elementary school in this new graphic novel series.
EllRay Jakes series by Sally Warner
EllRay is the smallest kid in his class, even counting the girls! With some pesky class bullies and a younger sister who tends to ruin everything, EllRay’s 3rd grade year turns out to be quite an adventure.
Bobby vs Girls (Accidentally) by Lisa Yee & Bobby the Brave (Sometimes) by Lisa Yee
Fourth grader Bobby Ellis-Chan lives with his busy mom, former pro football player turned stay at home dad and two sisters. Sisters can be, well, challenging, especially when your older sister is a way better football player than you are and your younger sister thinks she’s a princess. Throw in the stress of acting in a school play and the bewildering world of boy/girl friendship and Bobby tries to be brave, at least sometimes.
