Today is Drop Everything and Read Day or DEAR day. What was your child’s first DEAR book? My little boy’s is Ninjago chapter books.
Category: Reading Lists: Early Chapter Books
Early chapter book for kids who are just starting to read independently.
Top 10: Spawn of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” Books
I think that when a book series is different and successful such that it creates its own mini genre that this is only a good thing. Just like Harry Potter which broke publishing notions that kids won’t read very, very thick books, Diary of a Wimpy Kid series also got kids wildly excited to read. And though the lead character is a boy, girls were also reading this series in droves. I also think that the graphics helped to legitimize graphic novels from comic book status to it-counts-for-your-reading-log status. In any case, if your child needs more Diary of a Wimpy Kid but has read all the books, here are more options including some that skew younger and older.
Top 10: Best Books by My Son in 1st Grade
What is the most surprising is how these books make us both laugh and laugh. They are really funny! Ok, maybe not the Ninjago series … that’s more action/adventure, but Dragonbreath, Alvin Ho, Frankie Pickle and Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever are snuggle up and crack up together.
Grace Lin’s Dumpling Days: Delicious as Always!
To say that Grace Lin speaks to the Asian American experience is probably not specific enough and, simultaneously, also much greater than that. As a sensei (sorry, I’m half Japanese and this means second generation in Japanese), Grace speaks poignantly of the pushes and pulls between her homeland and her “Americanization” conflicts that stem from trying to find the space where she fits in and yet connects with her ethnicity. I especially love Grace Lin’s Pacy series. The Year of the Dog is where Pacy discovers her career path in writing and illustrating books. The Year of the Rat has Pacy dealing with big changes coping from the loss of her best friend — the only other Asian American girl in her class who moves away to California. In real life, this happens to Grace as well, and this best friend turns out to be her future editor!
Top 10: Best Dragon Children’s Books (ages 2-16)
The Mixed Up Files of Middle Grade Authors blog has a great post on dragons that preempted this post but I actually had been working on this for several weeks. There is something magical about dragons and I’m glad that some kids can keep the magic alive. I’ve gathered my favorite dragon books that range in age from picture books to young adult. What is your favorite dragon book? Please share!
1st Grade Books for Boys from the Book Fair
It caught me by surprise that the books he wanted, and bought for himself, were mostly non-fiction plus a hybrid graphic novel/easy chapter book. It was a wake up call that Boys Like Non-Fiction and Graphic Novels! Duh! You’d think I would have known that!
Best Books for Reluctant Readers: Part 2, Authors M-Z
I love to find books that excite reluctant readers. The key is to find that magic intersection that marries your child’s just-right level with content that matches their interest and a layout that is visually appealing (small chunks of text broken by pictures, larger font size, etc.). Alas, this is a moving target. I have an actual person that I select these books for, my youngest son’s best friend’s older brother who is a 4th grader with my oldest. My mom friends have had success with these books for their reluctant boy readers and suggests you try them. If you want to purchase a book, click on the image of the book to buy at Amazon.com.