Welcome to a new series on finding books for reluctant readers! This four-part series will be divided by grade level, from kindergarten through sixth grades. by Elizabeth Cossick, M.Ed.
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I firmly believe that every child can and should love to read. If you have a reluctant reader on your hands, the key is to connect him or her to the right author or book.
Here are some great picks for your youngest readers:
I’ll Always Be Your Friend by Sam McBratney
Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobell
The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash by Trinka Hakes Noble
Hedgie’s Surprise by Jan Brett
Mr. Pine’s Mixed-Up Signs by Leonard Kessler
Poppleton Everyday by Cynthia Rylant
Series/Authors
Marvin Redpost series by Louis Sachar
Arthur books by Marc Brown
Amelia Bedelia books by Peggy Parish
Cul-de-Sac Kids series by Beverly Lewis
Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Any books by: Dr. Seuss • Cynthia Rylant • Syd Hoff • Eric Carle
Next in the series~ Part II: Third-Fourth Grade Book Picks
I love almost ALL of these books!! I have noticed in my classroom that it is not just the words in the books that grab and hold their attention, but the pictures. Pictures sometimes open students up to other books even if they can’t quite read all of the words.
For example, I am a huge fan of Steven Kellogg, the man who illustrated ‘The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash.’ I shared this book with my students and the next time they went to my class library, they found other books that had the same pictures. I was so excited they could pick out books with the same illustrator!
They can also do this with Tomie dePaola, my all time favorite author.
Oh, yes, Tomie DePaola–an awesome addition!!! Great thoughts, Sandra!!
Another great series of books is Cam Jensen detective series by David Adler. Cam’s real name is Jennifer, but she goes by “Cam” which is short for “camera.” She has a photographic memory, a great skill for a kid detective!
The stories are wonderful for building sequential thought , reasoning, & memory skills.
Also, they are perfect length books for young readers who will be very proud to be reading chapter books.
And they are fun! They capture the young reader’s attention from the very beginning.
My oldest daughter, now age 26, read those books when she was in elementary school. I noticed that my mentor teacher has them in her classroom now. That just shows that some things are classic!
Kay~ So true! Some books are like the Energizer Bunny- they just keep going and going. :)
And, Jackie, I’m so glad you brought up Cam Jensen! What a great addition to the list!
Thanks so much for sharing. We’ll announce a winner for the $20 School Box Gift Card in a few days!
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