Hi everyone! I’m looking for a book suggestion for my son. He’s five and he is a very strong reader. He has ripped through the entire Magic Treehouse series and loved them.
Here’s a snag – even though he is a super strong reader, he is pretty sensitive and fixated on themes of death/meanness/rude language etc. So books like Matilda or James and the Giant Peach where the grown-ups are mean or dead can be a bit…tough for him.
Thoughts? Thanks everyone!
by sympathy3000-21
6 Comments
How about Pippi Longstocking? (Her mom is dead, but the book doesn’t frame it in a sad way)
What about books like The Mouse and the Motorcycle and other Beverly Cleary classics? Ramona, Henry Huggins, etc?
Nate The Great series, Henry/Ribsy books by Beverly Cleary, A-Z Mystery series, Boxcar Children, Henry Huggins.
How about Junie B. Jones or Cam Jansen? Junie B. can be a little mouthy herself, but none of the adults are mean
Frog and Toad were some of my favorites. There’s a whole series and the most that happens is like, oh dear, my chair broke!
My son was a super strong reader and zipped through Magic Treehouse, too. We focused a lot on silly books after that.
Bunnicula
The Humphrey books (about a class hamster)
We loved the Mercy Watson and other books from Deckawoo Drive. Anything by Kate DiCamillo really.
The Rabbit and Bear series by Julian Gough
The Chicken Squad series (Doreen Cronin)
Flat Stanley (okay)
The Last Firehawk
My Father’s Dragon series
Inspector Flytrap books and anything by Tom Angleberger
More series that seem to scratch the Magic Treehouse itch: The Secret Explorers series, Eerie Elementary, Boxcar Children, Time Warp Trio (older kid characters though),
Dragonbreath series (Ursula Vernon)
Cat Ninja (Best if you have access to Epic)
The Wild Robot is a really good read-aloud because it does have death and serious themes but is handled sensitively and beautifully in a way that may help your little guy express some of his big emotions.