Top Ten Tuesday hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish is taking a well deserved break this week leaving us all to our own devices. Since I talk about the books I like and am reading quite a bit I thought I'd use this free spot to talk about what the Tornado is reading. For those that don't know he's 7 years old and in 1st grade. He's not struggling with reading but it isn't coming as easy to him as math so his frustration fuse has been pretty short. Lately though it's really felt like things are starting to click and he's been enjoying reading much more lately. I'm hoping it's the start of a new trend!
Chapter Books:
These are the books we read before bed - one chapter at a time (though sometimes a few more if they're really short or we're near the end and just want to find out what happens next!) This past Christmas I basically picked up one of every series that I thought looked vaguely interesting and we've been working our way through that pile. I have learned that he seems much more drawn to mysteries than other genres which has been fun to figure out! Some of our current favorites:
1. A to Z Mysteries: The Absent Author by Ron Roy - This is our most recent read and we both really enjoyed it. The mystery was really cute and it really invited the reader to guess what's going to happen next and put the clues together themselves which gave us an extra level of an enjoyment.
2. Micekings: Pull the Dragon's Tooth by Geronimo Stilton - Geronimo Stilton is the main character who also happens to be a mouse in a world full of cheese related puns. In this one Micekings = Vikings (took me way to long to put that together) and they're off to catch a dragon which was really fun!
3. Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobel - I loved Encyclopedia Brown when I was a kid so I was thrilled when I found this at the bookstore. The fact that they're really a collection of short stories makes it for great bedtime reading and they're really fun to figure out on your own.
Picture Books:
These are books he's reading to himself either for school or just for fun. I'm thrilled that he's rediscovered Mo Willems who was always one of my favorites to read aloud!
The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog by Mo Willems - I love the Pigeon books and this one that features hot dogs AND a duckling is just hilarious. He's really been enjoying them too.
My Friend is Sad by Mo Willems - I'm not as fond of Gerald and Piggie as I am of the Pigeon but Willems can do no wrong when it comes to kids' books.
Lego Star Wars Character Encyclopedia - He has a few of these and one for Lego Ninjago and sometihng else I can't remember and now that he's able to read he can sit for hours pouring over all the details of these books. I'm always on the lookout for ones he doesn't have as they make great books for car rides!
Audio Books:
The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner - We'd been getting the audio books from my library's digital site and then listening to them on my phone anytime we traveled but there were only a few and we'd listened to them so many times we basically had them memorized. Right before his birthday I found some on Amazon that were three books in a set and we've been steadily buying them set by set ever since. He loves them and listens to them constantly! I think they've really helped perk up his interest in reading and have helped him follow a chapter length book.
Bunnicula by James and Deborah Howe - I won this book from Stormi over at Books, Movies, Reviews, Oh My and really wanted to read it to him but he was having none of it because he was convinced it would be scary. Finally I talked him into listening to 1 chapter and he was instantly hooked. We finished the whole book on a road trip and he wanted to immediately start over again! Luckily there's a few more in the series!
So that's what we're reading and listening to around here? What are you reading and listening too? Are there any books that I must pick up for him? I'm always looking for recommendations!
At least he's trying to read and making the effort! Like your lists, don't know all of them - I actually only know the Boxcar children... How about Edith Nesbit? Know you can get lots of her books on Librivox (for free).
ReplyDeleteI started making a list of children's books I wanted to read for the twins and I know Edith Nesbit was one of the authors. And of course Narnia. I Wanted my nursery theme to be The Chronicles of Narnia. And then things went all hay-wire. I've lost the two boys at 22 weeks. Hence the long absence.
But now I'm back and ready to read again.
Oh and The Jungle Book!
My daughter loved BUNNICULA and all the other books as well. She was not as much of a reader either and did very well in math. Now, she's a nurse, who aces her dosage calculations and still prefers listening to books over reading them in print.
ReplyDeleteThe A to Z Mysteries were so popular at my old library! I was surprised because they are kind of old, but kids love them. My love for Bunnicula is fierce, so I'm glad to see he likes that. And seriously, you can NEVER go wrong with Mo Willems.
ReplyDeleteIt's also pretty adorable that he likes mysteries. Just like his mama, huh? :)
I loved this. I will link you up on the First Friday Friends feature on my children's blog this Friday. :)
ReplyDeleteSome great reads. The children in my class loved Geronimo Stilton, set out in such a fun way. I never really read one though! The MiceKings sounds great and just had a peek at it on Goodreads.
ReplyDeleteA lot of those books are not familiar to me - the big hits with my 7 yr old grandson that we read together are Cressida Cowell's How To Train Your Dragon series - funny, adventurous and very exciting with lots of enjoyable pictures and a friendly font for the developing reader to have a go. There is a solid reason why these books are such a runaway success. He also loves the Star Wars Adventures in Wild Space series, which are also fun and enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid I loved reading Encyclopedia Brown.
ReplyDeleteCute books. It will fully click for him. Jellybean used to dislike reading out loud b/c she was self-conscious about her reading. Then it clicked one day and she raced off.
ReplyDeleteI do miss reading with my kids when they were little. I make a point to read a lot of teen books now and we talk about them but it isn't quite the same. Great list!
ReplyDeleteThose look like fun books for a kid to read! :)
ReplyDeleteSomething that I we often take for granted is reading, so it always warms my heart when kids are interested in books which give them such a window to the world. These look like such wonderful choices! Hugs...
ReplyDeleteI loved the Encyclopedia Brown books as a child, so I'm glad to see they still have appeal! I miss reading to Robin; we kept it up until she left for college.
ReplyDelete