Another question about books for 6-7 year old boys

[mikeys_mom]

I posted a while back looking for suggestions on books for 6.5 year old DS and got some great suggestions. He has started devouring books over the past few months so I am looking for more ideas.

Would Charlie and the Chocolate Factory be good for this age or is it more for older kids? I think he would like the style of humour in the story but not sure if the reading level is too high.

I am considering letting him try Harry Potter. My concern is that it would be too scary for him. I see lots of people saying they read Harry Potter to their kids at this age but was anyone's DC scared?

He loved Captain Underpants and Ricky Ricotta series. He also likes Nate the Great. He is so-so on Cam Jansen.

He was not interested in Encyclopedia Brown but I'd like to give it another try. I think it was a bit beyond his level when I first took it out of the library but might be more suitable now. Plus, I think he was distractd by Captain Underpants at the time.

He was not interested in the Dan Gutman series - Miss Daisy is Crazy. Don't know why but he refused to read them.

He was meh on the Geronimo Stilton series. Tried 2 but wasn't dying to read more once they were done. Same with Magic Treehouse.

He loves comics, particularly Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes.

I'm trying to have a good rotation of books on-hand now that summer is here.

[essnce629]

I am considering letting him try Harry Potter. My concern is that it would be too scary for him. I see lots of people saying they read Harry Potter to their kids at this age but was anyone's DC scared?


DS1 just finished the Harry Potter series on his own. He was not scared at all and he's normally scared of a lot of things (he's only watched like 5 kid movies ever since he thinks they're all too scary, etc). He'll be 8 in August.

He also liked the Captain Underpants books as well as the How to Train Your Dragon and Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. He's currently reading the 39 Clues series and really likes them. He started the first Hardy Boys book tonight since he's waiting for book #4 of the 39 Clues to get here.

[egoldber]

Some kids are ready to read HP at age 6-7, but many are not. If he is still reading things like Nate the Great and Cam Jansen, I would personally wait for things like HP. Not only do the themes get very mature/dark after the third book, the books themselves are very thick and the vocabulary is very dense. There also lots of "made up" words that are difficult, IMO, for newly fluent readers.

I think making the leap from small chapter books (Nate the Great style) to HP is as much developmental as it is about reading fluency. Kids have to be ready for the density of the text, the amount of words on the page, the amount of detail given on a page, etc. Some kids are ready for that at age 6-7, but many are not.

If it were me, I would let him get a lot more practice and fluency on reading early chapter books. There are lots of other series:

A to Z Mysteries
Boxcar Children
My Father's Dragon (3 books)
Secrets of Droon
etc.

The How to Train Your Dragon books are good and Cornelia Funke has other books for newly fluent readers as well. Another author with several series at various reading levels is Bruce Coville. We especially liked his "Moongobble and Me" series.

[zoestargrove]

Some kids are ready to read HP at age 6-7, but many are not. If he is still reading things like Nate the Great and Cam Jansen, I would personally wait for things like HP. Not only do the themes get very mature/dark after the third book, the books themselves are very thick and the vocabulary is very dense. There also lots of "made up" words that are difficult, IMO, for newly fluent readers.

I think making the leap from small chapter books (Nate the Great style) to HP is as much developmental as it is about reading fluency. Kids have to be ready for the density of the text, the amount of words on the page, the amount of detail given on a page, etc. Some kids are ready for that at age 6-7, but many are not.

If it were me, I would let him get a lot more practice and fluency on reading early chapter books. There are lots of other series:

A to Z Mysteries
Boxcar Children
My Father's Dragon (3 books)
Secrets of Droon
etc.

The How to Train Your Dragon books are good and Cornelia Funke has other books for newly fluent readers as well. Another author with several series at various reading levels is Bruce Coville. We especially liked his "Moongobble and Me" series.


agree with Beth on her assessment of HP. If you have any interest, it's a really fun book to read aloud. I read it to DS1 when he was 7. He is now reading book 3 on his own and DS2 who is 6.5 is reading the first book. This is beyond his level, but he persists because he wants to be like his brother. Sometimes he can read it fluidly with very little help and sometimes it just doesn't come together well for him. It's worked well, when I'm close by to help him with a word, and usually after a few pages he asks if I'll take over the reading. I loved these books and I cannot express how much joy I am getting in sharing them with them with my boys.

As for graphic style novels. We've found Sticky Burr to be very funny. My son like Frankie Pickle, and the time warp trio have a graphic novel series out as well that he liked.

[brittone2]

My DS1 is not ready for HP from a "scary" standpoint yet. In the last year he's finally gotten to the point where the Boxcar Children aren't always too scary ;) He read Lemony Snickett and was scared, but only if he read it before bed. Once we made it a "daytime only" book, he was OK with it. Hardy Boys is often a bit scary/suspenseful for him and he now self-censors and doesn't choose those.

I would definitely echo the recommendation for the A-Z Mysteries, The Boxcar Children series, My Father's Dragon and The Timewarp Trio series if you want something more like Magic Treehouse or Cam Jansen or slightly more advanced.

He loves Roald Dahl and has read most of his books. You could always try them as read-alouds and see if he likes them.

eta: how about Andrew Lost? I have a long running list for DS1 and one we checked out this weekend was The Toothpaste Millionaire.

Back again with the suggestion for Henry Huggins, Ribsy, etc. DS1 really enjoyed those. Mouse and the Motorcycle? Stuart Little? Flat Stanley?

[SnuggleBuggles]

The first 3 Harry Potters should be fine.

Beth

[o_mom]

Ds1 was fine with the first HP book at that age, but the second one was too much.

[Green_Tea]

DD2 just finished 1st grade (she'll be 7 in September), and was the only girl in her reading group - all of the boys in her group had already read HP or were making their way through it. I don't think the first book is very scary. A friend recently read it aloud to her 1st grade twins and their 5 year old sib, and they all enjoyed it.

[wendmatt]

As Beth said, How to Train YOur Dragon series is wonderful, I think there are 7
Bruce Coville is great too (Moongobble and Me is easy reading, Mr Elives Magic shop ones are good)
First HP is easyish reading but then they get hoooked and want to continue!
Roald Dahl would be perfect.

All ideas of pps, I'll add more if I can think of anything different, but just wanted to agree with pps.

Mr Gum books are hilarious, but I don't know if you can get them here, DD loved them but all came from my mum in England.

Astrosaurs, a series about dinosaurs in space was fun (again from UK, don't know if you can get here)

[Gena]

DS enjoyed the Roscoe Riley Rules books and the Flat Stanley books. He also reads a ton of non-fiction: books about trains, space, airplanes, insects, etc. You don't have to stick to stories.

[jse107]

Love the Roald Dahl books--we've read about five of them. I agree with the rec. for the A-Z Mystery series. DS has really loved those! DS also enjoyed My Father's Dragon books. I'm thinking about trying 39 Clues with him this summer.

[almostmom]

My DS is also just going crazy with reading, really in the last 6 months. He's just about done with the third Harry Potter, and loves them. I didn't know he was ready until he picked up the first one (we were reading it as a family) and couldn't put it down. Now I'm trying to keep up with him!

He read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in school and loved it (he just finished second grade). I think James and the Giant Peach, which we read as a family this year, has a lot of big words, but it fine. Charlotte's Web is good too.

He also loves the Secrets of Droon series, and the of couse Magic Treehouse, where he still finds books he hasn't read. But right now nothing can pull him away from Harry Potter! I saw go for it. And get a second copy for you to read along with him - it's really fun.

[artvandalay]

My son is really into Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. We have to help him with many of the words, and I feel that some of the comprehension is a little difficult for him. One of the boys he knows (a year older) was reading it so he wanted to read this series.

Do you guys think Captain Underpants would be easier for him?

[mikeys_mom]

My son is really into Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. We have to help him with many of the words, and I feel that some of the comprehension is a little difficult for him. One of the boys he knows (a year older) was reading it so he wanted to read this series.

Do you guys think Captain Underpants would be easier for him?

I have glanced through Diary of a Wimpy Kid and I think some of the topics are a bit advanced for my DS. I find Captain Underpants is a lot easier, assuming you are ok with him reading potty humour. Personally, I'm fine with it because it really engages him, he's reading and the books are pretty funny.

[mikeys_mom]

I think making the leap from small chapter books (Nate the Great style) to HP is as much developmental as it is about reading fluency. Kids have to be ready for the density of the text, the amount of words on the page, the amount of detail given on a page, etc. Some kids are ready for that at age 6-7, but many are not.

If it were me, I would let him get a lot more practice and fluency on reading early chapter books.

Good point. That makes a lot of sense. I think I am having trouble finding books he enjoys at his level. He can breeze through Nate the Great and Ricky Ricotta books in half an hour. Captain Underpants takes a bit longer and is probably a good level for him. He really doesn't seem to like mysteries. I think he finds the suspense a bit too scary.

I have reserved My Father's Dragon and Mr. Gum from the library. They look to be the right level for him and I hope he'll enjoy them. I think that next I'll try some of the Beverly Cleary books suggested - The Mouse and the Motorcycle and Henry Huggins. I asked him about Geronimo Stilton again this morning and he said he didn't like how some of the words were written with "weird letters". I explained to him that it's like that to emphasize feeling. He then proceeded to get engrossed in the book. I guess it's been a few months since he tried it and his reading has improved since then so it's now not too much of a challenge for him to enjoy.

I think we'll Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Harry Potter as read-aloud books at bedtime. I have already read the entire Harry Potter series myself and I think he can handle book one but it's sometimes hard to judge what will scare him.

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions!