1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up discussion

Hello,

I have a 5 year old son who's only interest are animals. He enojys reading books by chapters and doesn't really like short stories.

If we read short children books with a few pages, he seldom wants to read them again. Regarding "short books" he really liked Letters from Felix: A Little Rabbit on a World Tour with Envelope Heroes of the Vegetable Patch, this means, they were read aloud for more than one time, let's say, once in 4 months. All other shorter books don't interest him enough to be read more than 1 time.

For example, he loved Paddington, Kippling's original Jungle Book (all stories!) and the original Winnie the Pooh. We have read this books 2 times. We read in Spanish or German, so we need a translation. We have read a few other books that meet this criteria (animals, longer books to be read by chapter) but I'm out of ideas, as he is only five and the books somehow do have to be age appropriate. I have The Velveteen Rabbit on our reading list, but have to wait a few months until we recieve the book.

Maybe you have a few recommendations for me? Thank you sooo much!

Thea

Hi, Thea. That's a great question!

I may still be basking in the afterglow of a good read, but what about Watership Down (with perhaps some creative editing from you as you read it out loud)? It's definitely not a short story, it's a chapter book, and it's about animals.

There are some parts that might not be great for a 5-year-old (some scary or violent parts, hence the creative editing), but it's listed as being for 8-year-olds and up, so that's not too far from a 5-year-old. And I'm thinking that if a 5-year-old is bored with short children's books, maybe he's kind of advanced for his age and can handle an older book.

Hi Thea,
I would strongly recommend books by Dick King-Smith. His books include A Mouse Called Wolf. Probably his most famous book was about Babe (a pig) and was made into a movie.
His books are not overly long and are gentle and fun.

Definitely agree with Dick King-Smith for that age group. Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, Wind in the Willows and The Mouse and the Motorcycle have all been enjoyed by my children (and by me). The Just-So stories by Kipling are lovely too, but short.

Angela wrote: "Definitely agree with Dick King-Smith for that age group. Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, Wind and the Willows and The Mouse and the Motorcycle have all been enjoyed by my children (and by me). The..."

Ooh, I agree with all of Angela's suggestions, as well!

What about The Tale of Peter Rabit

Was my comment removed? Because I had some pretty good suggestions. . .

Ariza wrote: "Was my comment removed? Because I had some pretty good suggestions. . ."

Hi, Ariza.

We have very few rules that would result in a comment being deleted, and I don't recall seeing a comment from you in this thread, so perhaps there was a glitch when you posted your comment. Do you remember what your suggestions were?

I'll try to remember what I posted before. Shorter story authors: Ruth Heller, Eric Carle, Roald Dahl, Shel Silverstein, Beatrix Potter, Graeme Base, E. B. White, Walter Farley (Black Stallion series). What about Curious George? Chapter books: Black Beauty, Red Pony, Because of Winn-Dixie, Stone Fox, Where the Red Fern Grows.

other short story authors who also mainly write about animals: Steven Kellog, William Steig, Leo Leonni, Laura Numeroff.

Klein Stuart - Die Geschichte einer ungewöhnlichen Famile - this was one of my favorites as a boy. He might also enjoy Basil de Baker Street - Sherlock Holmes as a mouse.

Fantastic Mr Fox would be worth a read

I would recommend the work of King-Smith Dick. He wrote Babe: The Gallant Pig which I believe the movie was based on. He has also written a lot of other animal stories. Speaking of pigs, Charlotte's Web. Also Leigh Hobbs who has written a great series about a badger who runs a hotel.

Angela wrote: "Definitely agree with Dick King-Smith for that age group. Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, Wind in the Willows and The Mouse and the Motorcycle have all been enjoyed by my children (and by me). The ..."

I just bought Charlottes Web and Stuart Little. We'll see. Thanks for the ideas

Stephanie wrote: "What about The Tale of Peter Rabit"


I couldnt find a translation. I do think tgis may be something for him, though

Isobel wrote: "I would recommend the work of King-Smith Dick. He wrote Babe: The Gallant Pig which I believe the movie was based on. He has also written a lot of other animal storie..."

I loved the movie as a child! Great idea. I didnt knew this was a book.

Thank you for all your ideas! Some I could easily find a translation, others are more difficult. I'll look into them.

We just started the Magic Tree House Series, as they start with dinosaurs. So far he liked it. They are quite simple to be readen out loud, actually, but on the other hand so simple, that I cant see him beeing interested when he can read by himself.