Childrens Book Recomendations

C.,

Have you checked with your local childrens librarian? They would be able to recommend well written and beautifully illustrated books that are not too long.

When my son was five he enjoyed "What Mommy's Do Best - What Daddy's Do Best", I don't remember the author. It is a book with two-fronts and the same story written from the Mommy's and Daddy's points of view.

Another great book that I LOVE is called "The Three Questions" and is an adaptation of the same titled book by Leo Tolstoy. The book gives children an opportunity to think about what they can do in the world to make it a better place - and how little things can mean the world to other people.

Good luck with your search.

-C..

1 mom found this helpful

try s chspter book gear torwards his age read a little each nite

My son (who is almost 5) LOVES the Berenstain Bears books - most of them take 5-10 minutes to read, but they do have some of the leveled readers that take less time if you read the level 1's. We get those from the public library or Scholastic. They actually have the leveled readers, which are very quick, with a lot of the popular kids characters so he could pick out his favorites! Another favorite in our house (and in my 2nd grade classroom) are the Skippy Jon Jones books through Scholastic. (I think the library has the hardcover versions of these too.) Anyway, those are the favorites at our house - hope you enjoy!

I don't try to finish the story every night. If it's a little longer of a book we skip pages or read just a little. Also I pick things my son enjoys like trucks-mike mulligan and his steam shovel or curious george. I also go to the library first so I can check out a variety before purchasing. Hope you get some good ideas.

Another one that my son loved (very short) is "Bark, George".

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak; Books by Donald Crew; Read a chapter from Amelia Bedelia, they are usually short; Sometimes retelling the story takes less time, but still enjoyable.

I would recommend the "......and Me" books. They have all sorts of stories like Mommy and Me - Daddy and Me - Sister and Me, etc... Also you HAVE to read, Good Night Moon and Boom chicka boom boom (I think I typed that correctly LOL)

Eric carle books
Click Clack Moo Cows that Type
The Pigeon books by Mo Williams
Piggy books by mo williams
duck for President
Leo the Late Bloomer
Owl Moon
Flat Stanley
Amelia Bedilia
Hondo and Fabian
The five little fiends
I Wanna Iguana
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in people's ears
Magic school Bus
Hooray for Grandma Jo
What!
There is another one that i can't remember that is a mouse....
Shiela Ray is Great ( that may not b the right name)
Francis

There are a ton others
You might want to also consider just reading a chapter in things like Magic Treehouse

or Junie B jones
I read a chapter a night from hardy boys, Encyclapedia Brown, etc....
Hope that helps!

The teacher in the kindergarten class that I work in is reading shorter chapter books to the kids. They love it and look forward to read aloud. She tells them to "stay tuned" to find out what happens next when she is done.

Magic Treehouse books fit in there perfectly! Good choice.

S.

Ask the children's librarian at your local public library. Take your son every week or two to the library and choose books with him. When you find some you just can't live without, you can buy those. Otherwise, he'll learn to use the library and you'll get to explore hundreds of books. They probably have story hours and a summer reading program with little prizes too!

How about a kid's poetry book? I loved it when my mother read them to me as a little girl. They're usually pretty short and have a little story. Also, I think it's very cool to know where to stop in a story so he can look forwrad to the next part. Hope this helps.

I just started reading Chapter Books to my 5 year old daughter, she especially loves the Magic Tree House. We read one chapter every night (5-7 pages usually), sometimes she ends up begging me to read another one. Sometimes we will read one of the chapters during the day too.

She also loves books by Jan Brett, which I started introducing when I learned it will be an author they read next year in Kindergarten.

You've gotten some great responses, but I'm surprised nobody suggested you check out Beginning Reader books. They are intended for the "emergent" reader, or Level 1. They are quick reads because they usually only have 3 or 4 words per page. The Library usually has a section dedicated to beginning reading books.

My son and I enjoyed several books together while he was finding his way to "independant reading". Some of our favorites are any of the Shel Silverstein Books and the Magic Tree House series. While the Silverstein (Light in the Attic, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Runny Babbit)are poems, they are great for quick reads. The Tree House Books are chapter books (geared to children your son's age and older...and are "historically" enlightening) but we would read 3-4 chapters (they are pretty short)a night.If possible, I would recommend reading the Tree House series in order...as it is a series. If you can't do it that way....not a big deal, just the fact that one does follow the other seemed to engage my son all the more....
that "what will happen next" deal helped to peak his interest.

It may just be a matter of finding what interests your son. Being a "reading advocate" myself, I would side on the "trial and error" aspect. Keep reading...and sooner or later your child will get into it with you. It may really help lighten your load to ask his input. Hey, even comics have their "glory days" here!

One other small suggestion....make it reading time THEN bed...and not the other way around. Reading was my son's "pre-bed time" and it always worked flawlessly!
Good Luck!

J.

We love the "Bear" series by Karma Wilson; "Bear Snores On", "Bear Wants More", "Bears New Friend", etc. We've gotten them all out of the library several times. They are cute and quick and the illustrations are wonderful. Some of her later ones ("Bear Feels Sick", "Bear Feels Scared") teach compassion and about helping others. They are really sweet.

Hi C.!

Some of my sons favorite quick-reading books are in the "How Do Dinosaurs" series. How Do Dinosaurs - Clean Their Rooms or Get Well Soon or Eat Their Food or Count To Ten. I learned dinosaur names that I had never heard before. The Dr. Seuss books have one about dinosaurs (Oh, Say Can You Say Dinosaur?) that has a guide to saying dinosaur names. I really laughed about that book until I tried to read it out loud.

You might find some very good books at your public library. I looked up the website for the Allen Park library (www.allen-park.lib.mi.us) and was very impressed with the number of libraries that you can search. Then, when I was on the Allen Park site, the ease of searching for books in the Kid's Library section. They also have many kid's reading programs.

Personally, I didn't automatically think of taking my little ones to the library when my son was born. I didn't see a library until I started school. Then, I didn't see a public library until I needed to research a paper I was writing in jr. high. Our son is 7 and our daughter is almost 5. They love going to the library all the time.

Hope this helps!
D.

Hi C. --

I found an independent children's book publisher called Barefoot Books about a year and a half ago, and I started selling them (home sales, parties, fundraisers, online, etc.) These are WONDERFUL stories!! There are so many great titles for 5-year-olds -- even some that might get him more into reading (those that come with singalong CDs or storytime CDs, too).

For some quick reads, there are plenty of short board books, but some great stories are "The Gigantic Turnip," "Parrot Tico Tango", or "The Prince's Bedtime" would be perfect! Feel free to check out my website at www.mybarefootbooks.com/LoriHachenski. E-mail me with any questions or product recommendations! If you're interested in purchasing, I live downriver and could get books to you (if I have them in stock) -- that way you won't have to pay the shipping costs. Just let me know.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

C.,

I work at a library and I cannot stress enough how much your local library wants to help you and your child! Stop by, call or email your local library and they will give you a wealth of information about age appropriate books, books that are popular with children in your son's age group, etc.

Best wishes!

Hi C. - my five-year-old and I love to read new stories each night so I go to the library most weekends - get some advice from one of the librarians. My little one loves reading books by an author called Munsch (very funny), Tedd Arnold, Steven Kellogg and he also loves any books about super heroes or whatever the latest movie is. How about Curious George books - they're fun too.I normally get out a lot of books a week because my son gets two stories a night while he eats a snack on my lap - I love that time although sometimes I'm tired too and have got tons of stuff to do downstairs. I know this special time goes only too quickly, though, so I really enjoy it. Have fun reading - Alison

mine like Mercier Mayer (Little Critter)books. Sometimes it's fun to head to the library or book store and let hem pick out a book.. then you can find some new favorites that he helps to pick out.

Why not let him pick something out? He knows what thrills him and what he'd like to hear stories about. So it will mean more when he's been involved in the selection.

Harold and the Purple Crayon worked for me. Or Little Brown Bear.

We love " I love you, Stinky Face!" and "On the Night You Were Born right before bed. They both are books about how much your child is loved.

I'm also a big fan of the whole Click Clack MOO series, and all of the "Don't let the Pigeon..." books. They're so cute and funny -- and not too long!

if your son is in school ask the teacher for a list or order from the book orders sent home. my childrens favorites where brown bear brown bear what do you see ,chick a chick boom boom. chapter books when he is a little older also your local library has a list or a childrens librarian who could reccomened some

You may want to try some of the beginner reader books. They have them at the bookstore and are usually short stories that also help children to read. I've been using them with my son who just turned 5.

As an early childhood teacher, I really recommend that you read to your child and ask questions when reading...questions such as: who are the characters, what is the setting, and questions relating to the plot. I saw that someone mentioned making predictions also...What do you think will happen next?

You do not have to read a long "drawn" out story; however, you should discuss books....especially at this age. Maybe you should adjust bedtime a little earlier so you have time for a longer story or a short story and time to talk about the book.

This is the most important time....a time before your child will begin to read!

i like mercer meyer (sp?) the little critter books they are short and fun to read, my daughter loves looking for the spider the illistrator draws on every page too.

I had a friend recommend The Gruffalo and my sons LOVE it. There is also the Gruffalo's Child by the same author. I got it from the library and within a week my son could finish the end of each statement -- he loves doing that.

We also read a little from the Bible each night and ask him simple questions about the reading. He doesn't understand all of it but it can't hurt to hear God's word each day (for us adults or children).

I saw a parent below recommended the Mo Willems books. I fully agree! They are nice and short but pretty funny and cute... My 2 1/2 year old daughter likes them but so do her 6 year old and 4 year old cousins. SO they're good for all ages...

HI C.
My just 6 yo daughter just loves the Junie B Jones books, however I do use them as an example of how not to act. But there very funny and fun to read. My girly also likes scooby doo books - give it a try during the day to see if it's not to scary for bed time.
A. H

How about just telling him some of the classic fairy tales on those nights. My children all love books but they think it's especially cool when I just tell them a story like Rumplestiltskin or Snow White. Sometimes we assume our kids know all the "classics" when really, they don't.

Try the Junie B Jones series, it starts as her adventures in Kindergarten and then First grade. There is about 12 books for each year, and they are chapter books. It is really funny my son really likes likes them and it will get him ready for school, give him ideas about what it is like.

We love any books by Mo Willems. They are funny and easy enough for children to read..Look them up on Amazon..Good luck to you