Children in this age group are ready for picture books that contain more words and fewer pictures. They appreciate humor and imaginative characters. They are also at an age where they can listen to and enjoy a chapter book. Children can listen and understand as much as two or three grade levels above what they can read. So along with quality picture books I have included a list of 10 chapter books that are appropriate to read aloud to your child.
Picture Books
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
Every child can relate to Alexander as he has a horrible day where nothing goes his way. He decides he wants to move to Australia. Then he realizes that bad days can even happen there. “Judith Viorst has an uncanny knack for being able to put herself in a five-year-old’s shoes, and her book lets kids know that their feelings are valid and normal.”
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
Amelia Bedelia is the maid with a big heart who constantly mixes everything up. She dresses the roast beef by putting it in clothes. But in the end she always manages to make things right, especially when its accompanied by a homemade apple pie.
Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott
This is a traditional Ashanti tale from Ghana, in West Africa. Father spider, Anansi, sets out on a dangerous journey and gets into trouble. His six sons work together to save their father. He finds a mysterious globe of light in the forest and wants to give it to his sons in gratitude. He can’t decide which son should receive it so Nyame, the God of All Things, takes the globe into the sky and it becomes the moon for all to see.
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
It is a rainy day and Sally and her brother are home alone and bored. That is until the cat in the tall striped hat appears and turns their house upside down. But what will they do when Mom comes home?
Dr. Seuss’s simple rhyming vocabulary is great for a beginning reader.
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel work hard and complete many jobs until the diesel shovels are made. Now they are forced to travel to Popperville to find work. There they promise to dig the cellar for the new town hall in just one day. Will they be able to?
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag
This was one of my favorite picture books and has sold over a million copies since it was published in 1928.
The story is about an old man and his wife who decide to get a cat. He goes out in search of the prettiest cat and ends up bringing home trillions of cats. Since the old man and his wife can only keep one the cats have to decide who is the prettiest of all.
Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola
Strega Nona lives by herself in a cottage in Italy. One day she hirest Big Anthony to help her. She gives him strict instructions to never touch the pasta pot. One day when she is gone he takes out the pasta pot and tells it to start making pasta. The only problem is he doesn’t know how to stop the pot. Luckily Strega Nona arrives in time.
The book features beautiful illustrations that resemble a tapestry and the old tale comes alive teaching an important message.
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
Sylvester, a young donkey, collects rocks. One day he finds a magic pebble that grants his every wish. Unfortunately he is chased by a lion and so wishes to turn into a rock. The pebble drops beside him and he is stuck as a rock as his parent’s frantically search for him. Then at a picnic they find a magic pebble and Sylvester learns that sometimes you already have all that you need.
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
One day Max is sent to his room for bad behavior. So he takes an imaginative adventure and sails to where the wild things are. There he becomes their king and romps with them in the forest. That is until his mother calls him home for dinner.
Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
Every year Officer Buckle gives safety presentations and it is always boring until Gloria joins him. A dog who entertains the children (and any reader) with her hilarious antics that teach children that safety can be fun.
Chapter Read Alouds
(also good choices for children in grades 3-4 to read to themselves)
The Boxcar Children
Every child dreams of running away and living on their own and that is exactly what the children in this book do. After their parents die they are supposed to go and live with their grandfather. But they don’t know him and are afraid he will be mean. So instead they run away and live in a boxcar.
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
This is a timeless classic about the unique friendship between a pig, Wilbur, and a spider, Charlotte. The story will make you laugh and cry as Charlotte gives her life spinning webs that save Wilbur’s.
The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Catling
John loves chocolate. He would eat it all day long if he could. Then one day he buys a bar of chocolate and learns that maybe there is such a thing as too much chocolate. As everything his lips touch turns to chocolate. Will he ever be normal again?
The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth
What child wouldn’t want their very own dinosaur? That is exactly what happens in this book when an enormous egg hatches and out comes a triceratops. Now has his very own dinosaur, but it isn’t all it’s “cracked” up to be.
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
After the death of his parents, poor James Henry Trotter is forced to live with is two wicked aunts. Then one day an old man gives him a bag of magic crystals. He accidentally spills the crystals on his aunt’s peach tree and the adventure begins. The old tree grows a peach that becomes giant and James climbs inside and rolls away to a new life.
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
What happens when you open a wardrobe door and enter a whole new world? Four children find out exactly what happens when they enter Narnia. So begins an imaginary tale where four children learn who they really are and with the help of the lion Aslan, become heros conquering the evil White Witch.
The Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne
Jack and Annie find a magic tree house in the woods. Once inside they are transported to different places. The first book has them visiting the age of the dinosaurs. In subsequent books, there are quite a few, they visit ancient Egypt, a pirate ship, medieval times, and other fascinating locations.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
Keith teaches Ralph the mouse how to ride his toy motorcycle. Then Ralph finds himself able to go beyond the second floor of the hotel where his family lives. The situations Ralph “motors into require quick thinking and grownup-sized courage.”
Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
Mr. Popper is fascinated with Antartica. A painter by trade he usually spends his winters reading about the cold continent, until one fall he is sent a penguin. Now things around the Popper house are very different.
Stuart Little by E. B. White
This is a charming story of a mouse that is adopted by the Little family. Stuart has many adventures and finally learns that love is more important than size.