Things to Read - Chapter Books for Kids - Wonder

F is my kid who loves to read, almost too much. The other day at a children's birthday party I found her in a corner with a book. Seriously? Actually, I probably spent most of my childhood in corners with books, apparently antisocial tendencies run in our blood.

Anyways, F loves Junie B Jones, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Judy Moody, and the overwhelming number of offshoot series these books seem to have generated (the Stink Series, the Dork Diaries, etc.). And while this is all fine and good, I suggested that maybe she could try reading something a little less sarcastic for a change (i.e. a book where the sole purpose is not making fun of life, school, adults, friends, etc).

A neighbor recommended the book, Wonder and F practically inhaled it. Now she can't stop talking about it. So I asked if I could interview her for the blog about why she loved Wonder so much, here's what F had to say:

Me: Please tell me about the book.
F: It's about this boy with a deformed face and it's all about everybody getting used to it and learning how to be nice to him. His name is August.

Me: What did you like about the book?
F: I really liked that August had a bunch of adventures and he even disobeyed some rules but at the end of the year he got an award for being the kindest boy in the school, kind of the best. Usually he got in trouble because someone was making fun of him but he learned how to stand up for himself. And i also liked how one of August's friend's, Jack, even though he once said something really mean, he realized how sorry he was.

Me: That sounds like a sad book.
F: It was both funny and sad. It was funny when they go camping and pee on trees. It had a lot of parts that made me laugh.

Me: Anything else you want to say?
F: All of the book is about August, but some of the chapters are told by his friends and family. I really liked the book because it shows that no matter what you should always try to get along with people and stand up for yourself, even if you have to break some rules sometimes.

Me: Would you like to read more books about August?
F: Yes, I really liked him.

Does anyone have any suggestions for similar books? Before bedtime, Dan's been reading Little House on the Prairie to the kids and their response has been somewhat lackluster, with comments like "their lives seem really boring and hard." But he's pushing through and they're slowly learning to love the story. Anyways, we could use some good new books around here. I think I need to scan the archives of this blog for awhile (great suggestions over there).

Things to Read - Lemony Snicket

For those of you who see us around the neighborhood, you may have noticed that lately the whole family looks a little worse for the wear - messy hair (even messier than usual), under eye bags, a few extra yawns throughout the day. This is because a new family addiction has surfaced in the last few weeks, making bedtime a challenge - Lemony Snicket has entered the house.

Have any of you read these? Despite loving well-written picture books, I'm usually not a huge fan of children's chapter books, as demonstrated by the fact that I'm the only adult I know who really doesn't understand what's so great about Harry Potter. Yet I find the Lemony Snicket series completely addictive. The plot, on the other hand, is awful and I mean that in the best sense possible. The books center on three siblings - the Baudelaire children - who lose their parents and home in a fire. As the children have no close family, in book 1 they are sent to live with a distant relative, Count Olaf, a cruel and horrendous man. Luckily, the children all work together to save themselves - Violet - the oldest sibling - likes to invent things; Klauss - the middle child - is a voracious reader; and Sunny - the infant - bites everything in site. Utilizing these chosen "superpowers", the siblings manage to extract themselves from numerous terrible situations. We are currently reading book 4 of the series and, so far, every volume follows the same basic formula - Count Olaf concocts some awful plan in an effort to steal the children's fortune, eventually the children outsmart him, and then he escapes. If this seems monotonous, I assure you, it is not.

Of course, the problem with the books is they're scary. and dark. and sad (really sad). Throughout book 1 P often cried, making me question the whole enterprise. But for all of the terribleness, the books are also incredibly empowering - F reads more than ever now because she's convinced that knowledge can actually save lives. P has become somewhat fascinated with how things work. Both girls have told their friends about Lemony Snicket and used the characters to create playground games. (T, on the other hand, usually falls asleep while I'm reading and only vaguely understands what is going on).

Maybe I'm overstating somewhat, but I honestly think that reading these books has made my children see themselves as strong. They now realize that despite living in an adult world, kids can actually create their own fate. (Okay, so maybe I am overstating somewhat). But as an adult the books have also effected my worldview. Society places such a strong emphasis on protecting our children from every conceivable situation, that sometimes we forget that the most important role a parent can play is empowering children to protect themselves. Hopefully my kids will never face a fate as awful as the Baudelaires, but if reading about such things encourages learning and discovery, then I think that's pretty awesome. Plus, I love how the siblings always operate as a team - rarely fighting, protecting each other.

Anyways, we're all quite addicted. The series consists of 13 books and the narrator continues to warn readers that things will never go well for the Badelaires. But still, we can't stop reading . . .

Things to Read - Chapter Books - George's Secret Key to the Universe

For the past year or so our bedtime ritual has consisted of reading a few pages from a chapter book to all three kids before turning out the lights (followed by everyone's grateful lists, of course). I wish I could claim that this has been a successful endeavor, but often the kids' minds wander or they lose interest in the plot. We've had a few triumphs (click here for a one), but we've also abandoned several books before the end.

So I was pretty excited about the enthusiasm all THREE kids showed for Stephen & Lucy Hawking's adventure tale - George's Secret Key to the Universe. Each SHORT chapter ends with some sort of cliff-hanger (sort of like the The Da Vinci Code), so EVERY NIGHT the kids would beg for just a few more pages. And often I would say yes, anxious myself to learn what happened next.

The whole plot is a little preposterous, George befriends a scientist neighbor who possesses a secret computer that can whisk people into outer space - fly on a comet, drop into a black hole, etc. Of course, there are bad guys (anxious to steal the computer) and several life-saving escapades result. Scattered throughout the novel are various pictures and information about outer space, so curious kids can really dive in and learn quite a lot. Or they can just relax and enjoy the story. Either way, I highly recommend reading this book out loud with your children. And I'm glad that we finally had a success in the chapter book department (FINALLY!!).

Things to Read - Chapter Book Reviews from a 1st Grader

F basically spent the whole summer reading, which isn't surprising if you know her. I always try to encourage my kids to read, if only because I like to read and, like most people, i want my kids to be like me, but F's the only one who really seems to NEED books, as in she has a hard time getting through the days without one. Sometimes I wish she'd look around more, enjoy the moment, actually PLAY at a playground. But she's very similar to me in her bookishness, which I recognize is not a necessarily a good thing. Maybe that's why I spent the whole summer road tripping from place to place, forcing us to live our own experiences instead of reading about other people's. Embrace life and all the other cliches. By us, I mean F and me, because P and T always embrace moments - sometimes strangling them to death, but still they're IN IT, whereas F and I always sit on the outside and watch. When you first have kids you think you can control so much, but in the end they are who they are. I'm not sure if it's easier or harder when that means they're almost exactly like you.

Anyways, I asked F to write up a few reviews of her favorite chapter books, here's the scoop:

The Boxcar Children - I liked that they finish the mysteries. And I like that they take care of each other - Henry works for money, Violet takes care of Benny. (Click here to see the books).

Judy Moody - She's really funny. She wanted an extreme pet from the rainforest, they ran out of sloths so she got a venus flytrap and her brother, Stink, almost killed it. (Click here to see the books).

Anna Hibiscus - She is really kind and fixes problems when she makes mistakes. And she lives in Africa. (Click here to see the books).

Junie B. Jones - She is really funny - hilarious. Instead of saying "it's okay" she gives people a pat on the head and tells them they can't do things as well as her. (Click here to see the books).

Any recommendations for other good chapter book series for younger readers? We could use some new material.

BOOK LINKS:

*An election map by book, check out what both parties are reading. This is pretty cool.

*100 Best Children's Chapter Books of All Time.

Things to Read - Chapter Books for Kids & Edward Tulane

I've been working on reading chapter books with the girls for awhile now, but (for the most part) my efforts have failed. I started with Winnie the Pooh, but P lost interest as soon as she couldn't view pictures on every page. We moved onto my favorite series of all time, Paddington Treasury (Paddington Bear), but the girls' minds seemed to be somewhere else. Finally, we struck gold with Pippi Longstocking (Puffin Modern Classics), but by this point reading aloud had begun to tire me out. I realized that what I really wanted was a book that I truly loved. If I could only find something that I didn't want to stop reading, then maybe the girls would catch onto my enthusiasm.

I scanned the shelves and found Kate DiCamillo's The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I first read this book a few years ago, as an adult (though it's written for children), and the story made a huge impression on me. The book documents the adventures of a self-absorbed china rabbit named Edward Tulane who, throughout various - often sad - escapades, learns how to love. At one point in the story a young girl dies, so, I wondered, could my own kids handle such a tale? And the answer turned out to be yes. Of course, sad stories are always hard to hear. F, in particular, broke down in full-fledged sobs when the mean boys on the boat threw the little girl's rabbit overboard ("why are some boys so mean, mommy? why? I hate when boys act like that."). But she wanted to keep reading (I assured her of a happy ending). After every chapter, even with eyes full of tears, the girls kept repeating "read one more, mommy, please one more." Half way through the book, P figured out the end - "eventually the little girl in the beginning is going to find her rabbit, that's how these stories always go" (which is true), but despite her conviction regarding the book's final pages, she still didn't want me to put the book down. So we finished it in three nights, staying up past bedtime on the last night. I felt wonderful as we all turned the pages together, gripped by the words of the story. And now all three of us love the same book.

What about everyone else? Have you read any chapter books with your children? What would you recommend?

THINGS TO READ FROM AROUND THE WEB:

*If you're looking for children's books on fall and halloween, click here for my post from last year.

*1Q84. I can't wait.