Reading is one of the most important things your child can do each day to help him or her succeed. If children are not reading books at their own level, however, they are defeating the purpose of reading at all. Here is a list of recommended books from a reliable teacher research book list and my own personal experience although I have not read all of the books on the list. Please look over the tips on how to help your child find a "Just Right" or "Good Fit" book and over the book list.
Tips to ensure your child is reading a "Just Right" book:
Have your child use the "five finger test" to see if the vocabluary is just right. (Your child reads one whole page from the middle of the book and counts the number of words he or she stumbles on and doesn't know. If it is more than five it is not just right. If he or she gets them all or misses only one or two the book is just right.)
Help your child look through the book for the size of the print and the number of pictures — these should be similar to other books your child has successfully read or similar to the books on the list below
Encourage your child to read the back cover or inside fly of the book before beginning reading to determine whether the book would be interesting — it is ok to abandon a book occasionally, but not every week!
Encourage your child to read at least the first few chapters before deciding to abandon a book — some books may have a slow
beginning.
Recommended Books (and great read alouds!)
Still do the five finger test and read the fly before reading the book.
Good authors to try:
Good series or multiple book sets to try:
Individual Titles to Try:
Tips to ensure your child is reading a "Just Right" book:
Have your child use the "five finger test" to see if the vocabluary is just right. (Your child reads one whole page from the middle of the book and counts the number of words he or she stumbles on and doesn't know. If it is more than five it is not just right. If he or she gets them all or misses only one or two the book is just right.)
Help your child look through the book for the size of the print and the number of pictures — these should be similar to other books your child has successfully read or similar to the books on the list below
Encourage your child to read the back cover or inside fly of the book before beginning reading to determine whether the book would be interesting — it is ok to abandon a book occasionally, but not every week!
Encourage your child to read at least the first few chapters before deciding to abandon a book — some books may have a slow
beginning.
Recommended Books (and great read alouds!)
Still do the five finger test and read the fly before reading the book.
Good authors to try:
- Sobol (Encyclopedia Brown series)
- Hurwitz, Johanna
- Danzinger, Paula (Amber Brown series)
- Byars, Betsy
- Clearly, Beverly
- George, Jean Craighead
- Smith, Robert Kimmel
- Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds
- L'Engle, Madeleine
- Scieszka, Jon
Good series or multiple book sets to try:
- Little Sisters and Babysitters Club series
- Amber Brown series
- Horrible Harry series
- Encyclopedia Brown series
- Cam Jansen series
- Polk School series
- Nanncy Drew and Hardy Boys
- Ramona books
- Henry Reid books
- A Wrinkle in Time series
- American Girl and Dear America series
Individual Titles to Try:
- Time Cat by L. Alexander
- Boys Against Girls by P. Naylor
- True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
- BFG by R. Dahl
- My Side of the Mountain by J. George
- Time Warp Trio by R. Smith
- The Landry News by A. Clements
- Trout Summer by J. Conly
- Island of the Blue Dolphins by S. O'Dell