Novel for a four year old?

[Kathleen]

Hello. My four year old came to me last week and asked me if I could read her a chapter book. I have read her the Winnie the Pooh books that are in a novel formate with individual stories as each chapter, we would read one chapter per night. So it was still very much one story per night. We are done of those books, but now she wants something more. Again she is only 4, so I don't know what other books would be at her level for wording and concept. Please let me know if you know of anything. Thank you!

[Kaznen]

The Hobbit?

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing maybe.

Mary Poppins books

Wizard of OZ

If you want to her to "man up" then maybe Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, and The Jungle Books

[Kathleen]

Thank you I will look into those!

[Alys Kinch]

when i read out loud to my kids, i paraphrase to cut down to understandable content. we started harry potter at 5. any classics.

 

alice in wonderland

peter pan

amelia bedilia

wayside school

[Kathleen]

paraphrasing is a great idea I didn't think of, though she is trying to read along with me cause she knows 'her sounds' now.

[JenniferL]

I wouldn't paraphrase if you are lap reading. The big benefit to it is that she hears you say the words as she follows along.  Some of the Ramona books might be interesting to her. The Secret Garden is a good classic that's not too long.

[Kadere]

My dad would read us The Chronicles of Narnia and The Hobbit. I think we were about five or six though.

[Kathleen]

Did you actually retain the story, or just enjoy the time and reread them later to learn it?

[Kadere]

I remembered them quite well until I was about 15 and then reread them myself.

[Kathleen]

oh good! cause i was wanting to read some good ones to her, but I was wanting to wait till she would remember at least most of the story..still could be a year or two away, but I'll still look for some good books!

[Red2111]

you could also try these

 

- Boxcar Children

- Nancy Drew

- Hardy Boys

 

also, a special one that you;ll have to order off the Internet is this.  this was my favorite book growing up, my mom read it to me and when i learned to read i read it over and over.

 

 

link to order

 

it's about these two barn kittens who are taken in by the family that owns the property and them learning lessons, especially not to mess with the dog next door which they love to tease :)  it has a few good moral lessons in it, lots of laughs and is from the POV of the two kittens.

[redarm]

Riki-tiki-tavi(sp) was good and is relatively simple.  Not over long and a world seen throught the eyes of animals, always fun for kids.  The jungle book is another great classic.  Have you thought about Redwall or any of the other Brian Jaques books?  Many of these could be great fun too for a child. Lots of animal characters, some neat settings and story lines.

[Kathleen]

Wow you guys are good at this!! When I was a kid my dad would read to me every night, but never novels, so I didn't really know where to start!

[Cadsuane]

Wayside School books were great

 

Little House on the Prairie? I remember reading this with my mother, so I was probably a little older than 4

 

Anastasia books, maybe, though I read those on my own when I was 10 or so

[Red2111]

- Dr. Suess would be a good one as well :)  so you could have her read to you as well and develope her skills.

 

heres a few sites that might be helpful

 

I Can Read  they sell books, as well as give parents information on the diffren't stages of reading a small child will progress through.  you should check that out if you dont knwo what level or type of book to get her. below is one of the books i personally remeber from my childhood :)

 

 

 

 

here is a site which sells book for Pre-K level to 3rd grade level as well as books and pratice things in all the areas of school learning.  

[Kathleen]

Yeah we have  lot of story books, but she asked specifically for a chapter book. We a few bernstien bear books, and a few Dr. Suess, we have a lot of Little Critter books, she loves them all and we've read every book she has like a gazzillon times, but she saw my copy of A house at Pooh corner and loved that it was a chapter book so we read it, then I read the other Pooh book and now she says she wants to read another "chapter one, like the big girls read." Cause she's a big girl now, if you didn't know :P!

[Red2111]

lol kids *shakes head in a fond way*  such in a rush to grow up, only to wish they were kids again when they get our age.  the only problem with chapter books is that she might not understand the content.  most chapter books are for 6/7 yrs & up and tend to use bigger words and deal with situations an average 4 year old doesn't understand.

 

there are the older style books little golden books  i can't remember if they have the chapter like set-up though.

 

Disney also does story books with their other characters, since she's started with Pooh.  i know i have about 5 of them at home link to site  and they tend to have 10-15 different stories in them.  they also come with Stickers.  other book sellers do the same thing with Fairy Tails and Poems and such.  the thing with these books is they appear to have the chapter set up, but really each "chapter" is just a new story.

 

also, Disney has Big Girls books that are targeted for 6 & 7 year olds (these are called Junior Novels), you can find these at and Super Walmart in the book section.  i know there are a few Tinkerbell & friends books which involve stories surrounding Tinkerbell and the other fairies they've added.  these are alot like the Big Girl books i think you're trying to find, where there are few pictures, big sized print and chapter set up.  i believe they do this with their Princesses as well :)

 

heres another site which gives advice on choosing books and book recomendations among other things

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kathleen]

Thanks so much!

 

 the only problem with chapter books is that she might not understand the content.  most chapter books are for 6/7 yrs & up and tend to use bigger words and deal with situations an average 4 year old doesn't understand.

 

That is exactly my problem, and why I came here! I will have to check out the book stores for those Disney Big Girl books you were talking about too! We don't have any super walmarts or big name stores here so they may be harder to find, but I'll get the book stores for them and maybe make a trip out of province!