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Junie B. Jones, Magic Treehouse, and...?

Forums: Books, Childrens Books, Literature, Kids, Recommendations
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Noddy24
 
  1  
Reply Thu 26 Jul, 2007 08:00 am
Quote:
By the way she just finished a book called "Isabel of the Whales" that was by far the most mature of the books she's read so far -- listed at about 4th grade reading level but themes of death and loss and love and all of that. She really enjoyed it and seemed to really get it.




When fledglings have pinfeathers, they fly.

When a book makes sense to a kid, that book will be joyously read.
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FreeDuck
 
  1  
Reply Thu 26 Jul, 2007 08:07 am
I often do that with Ducklet's books -- especially the Lemony Snicket series.

I will look for Isabel of the Whales. I've been wanting to get him Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer but I'm not sure he's ready for them. I loved those books to death but I think I was closer to 10 when I read them. But then, I wasn't reading the way he is when I was in 1st grade.

Right now he just keeps re-reading the entire Star Wars set -- over and over and over again. I have got to get him something else to read.
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Noddy24
 
  1  
Reply Thu 26 Jul, 2007 08:16 am
FreeDuck--

Rereading beloved trash builds up reading speed.

This is good.
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sozobe
 
  1  
Reply Thu 26 Jul, 2007 08:21 am
FreeDuck wrote:
I will look for Isabel of the Whales.


It might be too girly for him, I dunno. It's basically a junior romance novel, though not so trashy as that implies. The saddest parts weren't about anyone dying (one very old peripheral character dies, and Isabel is presumed dead though she isn't and worries about how her parents are coping), but about the two characters who love each other not being able to be together... sob!
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Thomas
 
  1  
Reply Thu 26 Jul, 2007 08:37 am
Re: Junie B. Jones, Magic Treehouse, and...?
sozobe wrote:
What OTHER books would you recommend for a kid who likes those two series?

Anything by Gerald Durrell. His books about Korfu and its two- and four- legged inhabitants are kind of a miniseries. But I have a funny feeling you might have read them to her already. They're too obvious a choice.

Given Sozlet's sense of humor, I'd guess Lewis Carrol's Alice books might be a big hit for her, depending on how easy she finds them to read.

That's all that comes to my mind right now. Oh, wait: Douglas Adams's "Last Chance to See", perhaps?
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FreeDuck
 
  1  
Reply Thu 26 Jul, 2007 08:39 am
Aw. He might like it anyway, he's got kind of odd taste. I actually am going to the book store today to get them both little travel surprises. They are going to stay with my dad for a week and I want to surprise them with some new books to read while they're there and on the trip to and from. I'm not sure what to get them, though. I better budget lots of browsing time.
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happycat
 
  1  
Reply Thu 26 Jul, 2007 09:10 am
If she liked Junie B. Jones, then she should like Paula Danziger's "Amber Brown" series of books.
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mckenzie
 
  1  
Reply Thu 26 Jul, 2007 01:59 pm
Agreeing with littleK about "Bunnicula". Our kids loved the stories. There are several other books in the series, including "Howliday Inn", "The Celery Stalks at Midnight", "Nighty-Nightmare" and a couple of others. We have them all on tape and played them over and over on summer road trips.

Another series is "The Chronicles of Narnia". My daughter loved those.

How about "Winnie the Pooh"?
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mckenzie
 
  1  
Reply Thu 26 Jul, 2007 02:03 pm
Oh, yes! Have you ever heard of "Whoever Heard of a Fird", by Othello Bach? It's a wonderful book, if you can get hold of a copy.

(The audio version is even better, but not what you're looking for, I know.)
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sozobe
 
  1  
Reply Wed 18 Jun, 2008 10:06 am
Bumping this one, as discussion has been commencing on the Sozlet Stories thread...

"A Series of Unfortunate Events" was a huge hit. She absolutely loved it.

Going to go back through this for more ideas... from the Sozlet Stories thread:

sozobe wrote:
She's at the age where finding a perfectly sunny/shady, cool/warm, indoor/outdoor reading spot and then diving into a book for hours is one of her favorite things to do. (I'm happy with that on several different levels.) So I definitely need to have a bunch of books ready to get her through the summer, thanks for the recommendation. And keep 'em coming! (There is some reading group thing that she signed up for -- a paper chart that indicates how many hours you've read, then prizes at intervals. She signed up last week. It's supposed to be for the whole summer. She's already filled it up. Shocked)
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FreeDuck
 
  1  
Reply Wed 18 Jun, 2008 10:39 am
Just reposting this here for reference.

FreeDuck wrote:
Duckie has been reading the Golden Compass series (His Dark Materials). It's a bit advanced for him but he gets through it, sometimes reading it again and again. I have a hunch that sozlet is at least as strong a reader as he is and she might enjoy having a crack at it. It might slow her down at least.
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sozobe
 
  1  
Reply Wed 18 Jun, 2008 10:41 am
Thanks... yeah, that one looks really interesting. It seems to be in the same general category as "Series of Unfortunate Events," too.
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FreeDuck
 
  1  
Reply Wed 18 Jun, 2008 10:59 am
Yes kind of... but different. I wouldn't recommend it if you were a religious family but I think, from what I know, that it would be right up her alley. It's also a bit tougher reading than Unfortunate Events and the last book is LOOOOONG. The first book, The Golden Compass, is a movie now but, of course, the book is better.

I'll try to think of other recommendations but I'm also poaching the ones you get from others as I need new stuff for Duckie too!
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sozobe
 
  1  
Reply Wed 18 Jun, 2008 11:09 am
To bring things up to date a bit, she's read "Harriet the Spy" (liked it a lot, not quite as much as I expected her to), "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" (big hit), and that's all I can remember that might have been on this thread aside from "A Series of Unfortunate Events."

All done with every Junie B. Jones and Magic Treehouse book -- she still likes the latter, read the very latest one a month or two ago.

We have "Bunnicula" but she hasn't read it yet.

"Little House on the Prairie" is ready to go.

She's resistant to Narnia, not sure why.

As an aside, she's doing something I remember doing as a kid -- she'll confidently use words that she's read but hasn't heard. For example, she was talking about "arrowson" the other day. Eh? Eventually developed she meant "arson" (she'd mentally inserted another "o," to become "aroson," pronounced "arrowson.")
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Noddy24
 
  1  
Reply Wed 18 Jun, 2008 03:13 pm
Obviously the villains are shooting flaming arrows.
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Thomas
 
  1  
Reply Wed 18 Jun, 2008 08:34 pm
FreeDuck wrote:
I wouldn't recommend it if you were a religious family

No way! Just because the plot is set in a Catholic-ish theocracy governing like 1920s fascists? Smile (The film has toned that aspect down a lot.)

Seriously though, I agree its a good book.
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mismi
 
  1  
Reply Wed 18 Jun, 2008 08:41 pm
Hank Zipzer series by Henry Winkler and some other fellow...my boys love it though it may not be what a little girl enjoys...they are hilarious though. Also A-Z Mysteries. Geronimo Stilton, Spiderwick Chronicles...these are all books my boys love...and I do too...but I am not sure how much a little girl would care for them.
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CalamityJane
 
  1  
Reply Wed 18 Jun, 2008 10:05 pm
"Esperanza Rising" was a book my daughter liked a lot.
"Get ready for second grade, Amber Brown" was another one, or "Matilda".

This is probably a bit too advanced yet, but Jules Verne books are a
delight to read. "Around the world in 80 days" or "The mysterious island"

I always buy the "World Almanac for Kids" too, such interesting stuff
there for them.
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FreeDuck
 
  1  
Reply Thu 19 Jun, 2008 09:42 am
Thomas wrote:
FreeDuck wrote:
I wouldn't recommend it if you were a religious family

No way! Just because the plot is set in a Catholic-ish theocracy governing like 1920s fascists? Smile (The film has toned that aspect down a lot.)

Seriously though, I agree its a good book.


Yeah, that's what I was thinking, but especially the last book. I don't know if you've read it, but I can see religious folks having a serious problem with it.
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FreeDuck
 
  1  
Reply Thu 19 Jun, 2008 09:43 am
Oh yeah, another recent series that Duckie devoured is good old Hardy Boys. I bought him a box set of 6 and he had them all read in the space of maybe a week and a half, reading them at school between assignments.
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