Good Books for 1st Graders

[ncscgirl2005]

I am trying to find some good books for my DD7to read. She's a good reader but doesn't really like to read (she got that from her daddy :secret:). She can read on her own with very little assistance but she's content with only reading for homework purposes, not for pleasure. I'd like to find some books (possibly a series of books) that she might enjoy.

I found the Fancy Nancy series online at B & N and was thinking about ording some of those since Fancy Nancy reminds me a bit of DD (very fabulous)! Any suggestions?

[DisneyDog]

Try Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park. They are very popular with that age group. Very cute and very funny.

You might want to check with the children's librarian at your public library for more suggestions.

[FaithTrustPixieDust]

My 1st grade girl got turned on to chapter books by reading some of the following series:

Amber Brown
Magic Treehouse
American Girl


You might also look for "junior novels" about characters that she likes. I've seen several Barbie books and sometimes you can find some mini-chapter books about Disney Princesses or High School Musical. These that I have listed will hopefully take her reading to the next level without getting into themes and issues beyond what a 7 year old needs! :mickey:

[Mickey'sGirl]

There are book series for just about everything these days --- maybe initially you can interest her with a book about something she already likes? There are Barbie books or Arthur books and the like out there.... I know that when I wanted my son to read more at that age, I bought Bionicle books (Lego guys) and he was hooked!

As far as just plain old good books for her age -- The Amelia Bedelia books, the Magic Treehouse books are fantastic at any Primary level ... What about Charlotte's Web or Stuart Little? or classics (rewritten for young readers) like Treasure Island or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea -- FABULOUS reading! If you go to a good bookstore and check out the young reader's section -- I am sure you will find lots to intrigue your DD!

[merlinmagic4]

There's a new Rainbow Magic fairies series too that my daughter liked. I think the author is Daisy Meadows. She has color fairies, weather fairies, and more. Cute books. Definitely try Magic Treehouse, Junie B. Jones, Cam Jansen, etc.

[ChipnDaleGal]

My daughter fell in love with Patricia Polacco's books at that age. She is so imaginative and tells wonderful stories. My daughter is 17 now and we still both feel those books are special.

[mouseaddict]

I had the same battle with one of my step-daughters. She has ADD and hates to sit and read. It is so hard for me ecause I love to read. What about the Ramona Quimby books? I loved these and I believe I read them in when I was her age. I do not like Junie B Jones that much, but Cam Jansen is a good one. Amelia Bedelia is good. I don't know what her reading level is, but the Frog and Toad series is a pretty easy read and may help her to build confidence. Do you have a goo public library nearby? She can search the books there and try to find something that interests her. Good Luck!

[IloveDisney71]

Try Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park. They are very popular with that age group. Very cute and very funny.

This is the first series that popped into my head. Junie B. is funny!

[Disneyatic]

This is the first series that popped into my head. Junie B. is funny!

My daughter loves the Junie B Jones books also and they are funny!
I love how the author does Junie's dialog...."And the Mrs's face got really red" :-o

[DisneyDog]

Also, I just thought, what about the beginning Little House books? Those are my all-time favorite!

[Mickey'sGirl]

Also, I just thought, what about the beginning Little House books? Those are my all-time favorite!
I loved them too. And the Anne of Green Gables books (they're for children a little older than Grade 1 though) ... There are so many! When I was little I read a lot of English books. All of the Enid Blyton series like the Famous Five and the Adventure Series -- I imagine they would be a bit dated now though (they were honestly a bit dated when I read them in the '70's).

[crazeedizneefinatic]

I have a son who is 7. He is a reader and loves to go off in the corner and read. He always was not like this, and I read all time, everyday. What changed him was regular trips to the library. He was able to get his own library card last year and now he is hooked. We go at least once a week, but we are pretty lucky to live very close to one. I think the thought of he was in control of what he read (for the most part) made him want to read. We really don't buy too many books we always seem to borrow them first to see if it's interesting. It's a crime the price they want for books, but if we find something we like we usually buy it. Good luck getting your daughter to enjoy reading!

[Melanie]

I recommend the Junie B. books as well!:thumbsup:

[Mom to a Princess and a Prince]

My DD6 loves the Junie B. Jones and Judy Moody series. The Fancy Nancy books are great and so is Pinkalicious. We haven't read the new Purplicious yet. Other fun series are the Skippy Jon Jones books and those by Margie Palatini and Peter Catalanatto.

I definitely agree that going to the library encourages kids to read. We usually go a couple of times a month and DD and DS4 love it!

[CleveSJM]

I would suggest computer software as well. It's makes reading more fun and throws games in as well. My DS6 was reading at a 2nd grade level when he was 3 with these and my DD4 can read at a K level now.

Reader Rabbit's are great. They love an Arthur's Reading Games and Arthur's Reading Race. Disney's are good but not great. Pixar's 1st Grade is good, Secret Keys is very good and the Disney Learning series is excellent.

[ncscgirl2005]

I definitely agree that going to the library encourages kids to read. We usually go a couple of times a month and DD and DS4 love it!

Thank you all for your great responses.

We go to the library all the time and she picks out lots of books. She LOVES to get books about other countries and cultures. We were there Tuesday night and she got a stack of books on India, Turkey, and Greece. I encourage my kids to learn about other cultures and such but the problem with her checking those books out is that she's more interested in looking at the pictures rather than reading the words. Or she would rather one of us (myself, DH, or DD) read to her instead of her reading them on her own.

We tried Junie B. Jones last year in kindergarten but she wasn't really into them then. Last night she and I went on the B & N website to look for some books to see what she might be interested in since they have the "Look Inside" feature that will allow you to read pages of the books before buying them. She LOVED Junie B. Jones. :thumbsup: She was laughing so hard. So we have some on hold at the library right now that we will pick up tonight on the way home. She also liked Fancy Nancy and the Magical Treehouse (?) series.

I will let you know how it goes.:mickey:

[ElenitaB]

DS loved to read anything on the computer screen but wasn't very interested in sitting down to read a book. I discovered the "You Read to Me, I'll Read to You" books and he loved the methodology and it gave us some valuable together time. When we were done with those books, we continued to use the methodology (they read one paragraph and you the other, and work up to them reading a whole chapter and you the next), until he finally got more interested in reading for pleasure. He still prefers to do his reading online or to write his own books, rather than sitting down to read a book. He did love the Magic Tree House series though!

[conorsmom2000]

Conor loves to read and in 1st grade his favorites, like many others, were a lot of the popular series like Junie B. Jones, Cam Jansen, Magic Treehouse (I think we have all of them now!), The Bailey School Kids, Nate the Great, Geronimo Stillton, The Magic School Bus, A to Z mysteries...and he loves pretty much any of the Beverly Cleary books - the Ramona ones, Henry Huggins, The Mouse and the Motorcycle. Again, like others have mentioned, he also loves classics like Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little and a rewritten for children's version of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. :thumbsup:

[trennedy]

I do read alouds for my students daily and Junie B. is always the favorite. I could recite the stories by now, but they are still cute. My DD (8) is a big American Girl fan. She also likes the stories from the Disney shows.

[RenDuran]

My daughter is a Junie B. Jones fan, as well!

Disney Fairies also might be a series your girl would like....my daughter likes those too.

[Kidsmom]

Junie B. Jones and Cam Jansen are great!

Also try Nancy Drew Notebooks. They are different from the orginial Nancy Drew as it is Nancy and her friends in 3rd grade solving mysteries. They are 8 chapters long, about the same reading ability and length as these other chapter books. They also have one picture per chapter, which helps in the transition from picture books to chapter books for younger kids who are read to. We have about 28 of these books.

Sometimes they are hard to find, but I believe Amazon has them.

[wdw_bound]

Junie was a huge hit at our house, as well. Beverly Cleary is a sentimental favorite, as I loved her as a girl, too. The Judy Blume SuperFudge books are pretty funny. At that age, their comprehension ability changes fairly rapidly, which is why she'll love something today that she didn't care for last week. Reading together is a great way to make a chapter book less intimidating.

A heads up about the Magic Treehouse series: DD9 loves them now, but as a first-grader, they were a little scary for her. She is a very literal child, so the mention of, let's say, a pterodactyl in one of the books caused her some bad dreams. Just our experience, YMMV.

[RenDuran]

[QUOTE=wdw_bound;1543285] The Judy Blume SuperFudge books are pretty funny. [QUOTE]

Those are pretty hysterical....even now in my late 30's!

[disneydeb]

A good resource for critiques for books for children is www.carolhurst.com

[mjaclyn]

I'm not really sure about the right age group for these books, but I LOVED these when I was in elementary school:

The Babysitter's Club series
Ramona Quimby series
Charlotte's Web
My Teacher is an Alien series
The Narnia books
American Girl series

I think any of those would be great. For first grade you might want to start with the Ramona series - I believe the first book is called 'Ramona Quimby - Age 8' and the author is Beverly Cleary.

[murphy1]

Two of my girls are in Elem school, 3rd grade and Kind. They both love chapter books. Here are some that my younger one likes (she is an older Kind, so a bit ahead):

Adventures of the Bailey School Kids
Step Into Reading
Ready Readers

I also suggest talking to your local librarian, they always give me great suggestions, plus you can return the books and get more all free of course!