The Sword and Laser discussion

Morning all!
I've just started reading the book of "How To Train Your Dragon" to my 5 year old, a chapter per night at bed time - its the longest story we've tried so far and she seems to like it, and enjoys keeping up with the words on the page so I'm hoping it'll help her word recognition for English as he goes.

Does anyone have any other recommendations for 'novels' to read to small kids?

I also have more sympathy to audiobook narrators - having to remember a lot of character voices.

I've heard a lot of people read The Hobbit to their children as a bedtime story.

I love the Paddington books by Michael Bond. They're very episodic and Paddington has lots of adventures. He's the most adorable little creature (I've never been a Winnie the Pooh fan myself).

They would be great for small kids and you'll get a lot of fun out of them yourself. :)

A Bear Called Paddington

I've got the Hobbit somewhere, so I might try that; I remember reading that Tolkien wrote it as an episodic read for kids, so that works. I'll definitely check Paddington out too - had forgotten about that.

As English is her (only just) second language I'm becoming aware there are some cultural cues in stories I have to explain, FWIW.

My son enjoyed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach round about that age (he's now 7 and is enjoying The Hobbit and Geronimo Stilton series).

I'd recommend a book called Rebecca’s World - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rebeccas-Worl... - written by Terry Nation who for any Dr Who fans is credited with creating the Daleks.

It was read to us in class by a teacher when I was 7 or 8, and is one of my fondest primary school memories.

The only problem is it’s out of print, so it may be a little difficult to get hold of a copy.

I read the entire Narnia to my kids each weekend as we drove to/from our beach house (well Robin read I was driving). I still remember these as some of our best family times.

I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as well. We ended the book by watching the original movie and we had lots of candy. I took a Hershey bar and opened it ahead of time putting in a golden ticket. My daughter freaked.

We also read the entire Little House on the Prairie series. Then we graduated to Harry Potter.

Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles Of Prydain(The Book of Three is the first in the series) would be right up your alley. They're in that sweet spot of being interesting for an adult to read without being too mature for a child. I've learned with my kids that it's best to find stories(TV, movies, books, & games too) that will interest both of us so that it's fun for all and not a chore.

By the way, The Book Of Three was adapted by Disney in 1985 in the film The Black Cauldron. The book was better. http://imdb.to/wloMIH

I just started reading The Fellowship of the Ring to my soon to be 7 year old last night. He should be reading on his own soon & I plan to get him his own Kindle.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is another thought.

Neil Gaiman's Coraline if you want to scare them. Buttons in the eyes. Muhahaha!

FertileSpade wrote: "Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. I think i read it with my mom somewhere around 7 or 8 so it might be one you hold onto for a couple of years but check it out and decide for yourself. Keeping with ..."

Oh what a great book! I enjoyed the movie as well.

Tamahome wrote: "Neil Gaiman's Coraline if you want to scare them. Buttons in the eyes. Muhahaha!"

Yeah that one I found just a bit to creepy.

Tamahome wrote: "Neil Gaiman's Coraline if you want to scare them. Buttons in the eyes. Muhahaha!"

If someone would have read Coraline to me as a child I would have been scarred for life. That booked creeped me out when I first read it in my mid-twenties.

I would like to second anything by Lloyd Alexander. I didn't fully understand the Chronicles of Prydain when they were read to me as a kiddo, but I still totally adored them and ended up re-reading them when I was a bit older. Sames goes for Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series. Sometimes you don't have to understand all the subtleties of stories to appreciate them when you're that tiny. :)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory/The Magic Finger/James and the Giant Peach - most Roald Dahl really apart from The Witches which would probably be too scary.:D

Or there's always Dr Seuss, The Lorax was my personal favourite. :)

The Hobbit is also a brilliant choice.

Growing up, I had fully illustrated editions of The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, and The Jungle Book. I remember my folks reading those books with me when I was a kid. It probably is at least slightly to blame for me reading everything I can, from cereal boxes to S&L picks..

maybe the chronicles of narnia could be a good choice

Nanikore wrote: "I also have more sympathy to audiobook narrators - having to remember a lot of character voices."


Two words: Lemony Snickett. OMG. So many, many voices. We've had to take a break at book 11!

We're reading Roald Dahl's Matilda right now, which my booky 6yo is adoring. Just got Danny, Champion of the World to go and that's all the Dahls read :) We're probably going to move on to Artemis Fowl shortly as she's just read the graphic novel and very much enjoyed that. We've done Alice and a number of children's Shakespeare adaptions recently too.

Little one is a Thomas the Tank Engine freak. Soooo tired of these 2nd time round, hope she fancies a change soon. I'm looking forward to more Julia Donaldson! Reading daily and sharing a focus is what makes the big difference for little kids. And it's calming for adults too, makes you stop and settle down. When my eldest was seriously ill at a few days old and I couldn't even hold her, I used to read Sherlock Holmes to her in the incubator. We absolutely cherish the bedtime story in this house, particularly since the eldest has been reading alone for a couple of years - it's easy to get out of the habit when they're independant readers.

My mum helps 7/8 year olds learn to read (those that are behind their class), so whilst these might not be 'novels', I know these are things they've enjoyed:

Anything by Dr Seuss - it's the rhyming and rhythm, it makes it really nice to follow.

Letters from Father Christmas, Tolkien - this is adorable, and really good for a build up to Christmas. Plus the illustrations are gorgeous!

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy - okay, this is less of a novel-style but it was my favourite, favourite book as a child, and the kids my mum helps love it too. It's just so cute, and also, lots of rhyme.

Mrs Pepperpot Stories - I just like these, and I cannot explain why. But yeah, they're cute. It's not so much a novel as a series of short stories, all about the same character in different situations.

Pippi Longstocking - Just because Pippi is awesome

The Hobbit - I read this by myself when I was 8, and my mum's been reading it with her group, and it breaks down so nicely into chapters - and so many of the copies have lovely illustrations. Plus, there's lots of song-style bits, which flow lovely.

The Worst Witch - It's lovely, with short chapters. Sometimes it has a bit of a complex vocabulary, but if it's being read-aloud that's okay.

I'll stop now :)

Your daughter is a bit young but I remember reading the Belgariad when I was 7. First few books a good without being too "adult"

I remember reading the hobit and strangely The Faraway Tree Stories by Blyton. There are also things like Peter Pan and I currently read Brothers Grimm to my 5 year old nephew. Great Version for reading aloud but is also good for adults is The Annotated Brothers Grimm

My four year-old is LOVING Charlie and the Chocolate Factory right now. We previously read James and the Giant Peach, which he liked well enough, but this one he's on the edge of his seat and begging for extra chapters every night. We just downloaded the audiobook (read by Eric Idle!!) for our drive down to DC this weekend.

He also likes the Magic Treehouse series, which I doubt will endure as classics the way Roald Dahl has, but they're quick easy reads.

Pippi Longstocking was a big favorite, and also The Cricket in Times Square, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, and The Trumpet of the Swan

We haven't tried Coraline yet, but he loves The Wolves in the Walls, so we'll be introducing him to more Gaiman as they become age-appropriate.

We've also read one of my favorite books from when I was a young nerd, The Magic Anatomy Book. It's very educational, but unfortunately out of print.

My girls, (7 and 3) really like the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage, The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley, Tuesday a the Castle by Jessica Day George, Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke, Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke, The Magic Thief series by Sarah Prineas, A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine ( most of her books are a hit for mine), any of the Romana books, any Roald Dahl book, the Rotten School series by R.L. Stine, The Magician Trilogy by Jenny Nimmo, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Land of Elyon books by Patrick Carman, The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, and we are currently reading The Penderwicks A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall.

Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching series might be fun -

A Hat Full of Sky
The Wee Free Men
.
.

Lulu and the Brontosaurus

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/73...

The Wind in the Willows
was a favorite that my mother read to me.
also The Trumpet of the Swan and The Velveteen Rabbit

Roverandom is one book I always think of when I imagine what I'd read to my kids. It's one of my favourite books of al time and definitely the book of my childhood.

The Hobbit is also great, and I second all the suggestions regarding Roald Dahl, although you might want to wait until the kid's at least 8 (I read Witches when I was 8 and remember being very freaked out by it - although I still loved it; children like being scared a bit as long as everything resolves satisfactorily).

Coraline is a great suggestion; my 9yr old cousin read it last year and absolutely loved it.

I also absolutely recommend Mary Poppins, which was also a well loved book when I was a kid. (Side note: I love rereading the chapter about baby speech - it never fails to make me smile and tear me up at the same time.)

I read Clive Barker's The Thief of Always to a 3rd grade class and they really enjoyed it.

The excellent Geek Dad has a list of 67 books every Geek should read to their child:

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2012/04/...

Some very good suggestions on that list.

As for my family, my daughter (four) likes The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish.

I'm planning on moving up to Roald Dahl sometime in the next year. For now though, we're sticking with picture books, and slowly easing her into longer stuff (she's sat through all of Alice in Wonderland, but that's mostly because her name is Alice).

Also comics! My daughter was into Tiny Titans for a while there. Those are fun.

My dad always used to read me the Goosebumps books by RL Stien, when I was maybe 8 or 9 and I loved those. I was reading on my own by then, of course, but I liked the experience of having a parent read with me. Anything by Roald Dahl is a good choice too.

Well, after my son (4.5) fell head over heels in love with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, we moved on to Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator and good lord this is a weird book.

Also, there is a chapter involving the US President talking to the Chinese Premier on the phone that's just five solid pages of horrible racist puns. That one required some on-the-fly abridging. We probably won't be getting the audiobook.

My boys loved having The Iron Manby Ted Hughes read to them. It is the story that "The Iron Giant" is based on, but is very different. Ours is subtitled "A story in 5 chapters", and the whole book is only about 70 pages long, so easy nightly reading.

My daughter love The Boxcar Kids Collection

The Graveyard Book is a very good story, it's a little bit scary, its got adventure and suspense and good characters. Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke, in fact everything by her is great for kids especially Dragon Rider and The Thief
Lord.

Peter Pan stories such as the original and the sequel Peter Pan in scarlett by Geraldine McCaughrean of course and the series by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson,

The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell

Stories by Beatrix Potter

I'm about 2/3 of the way through Catherynne M. Valente's The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, and I think it would be a wonderful book to read aloud. Lots of wonderful sounding words like Wyvern and widdershins and velocipede, and a really lovely story

Start with big picture books:Miffy
Continue with soms classics: Winnie-the-Pooh and The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
After that there's is no stopping, and you and your children will (re)discover every wonderful book ever written. [Or at least that's what I imagine when invisioning family life :)]

I'd add The Dark Is Rising Sequence to ones that have been mentioned above: graveyard book, tiffany aching, The Hobbit.
I'd also read the first couple books of the chronicles of narnia. I'd pause at Silver Chair onwards to save the kid(s) some heartbreak until they were older.

I LOVE the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. The first book in this series is Into The Wild. It is about cats living in the wild. I really like this series because it touches on pretty much all aspects of life in a way that kids can relate with great adventures.

I've just started reading Pratchett's Wee Free Men with my eldest (6.5y). She is *loving* Tiffany Aching.

Haven't got kids myself (although I do have 6 nieces and nephews) but what about he Bromeliad Trilogy (Truckers, Diggers and Wings) by Terry Pratchett

Watership Down has always been one of my favorite books -- it was the first book I reread immediately after finishing it the first time. My boys were at least 7 when I did that one.
I liked reading the Narnia series, too. Madeline L'Engle's Murry/O'Keefe books (starting with A Wrinkle in Time) also make a great introduction to SF.

I got to agree about Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time

"L'Engle makes a normal girl--Meg Murry--who doesn't like how she looks, and, with skill, turns it into a story. Meg gets taken (with her incredibly smart 5-year-old brother, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe, a popular high school basketball player) on a sci-fi adventure through time, space, and dimensions to find her lost father, Dr. Murry, and to save the universe. "

P.S. I always enjoyed Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which too.

Some excellent suggestions above. Tolkien, L'Engle, Paddington, Pooh, and others are excellent suggestions.

I'd like to toss out a couple that have yet to be mentioned. Puck of Pooks Hill and Rewards and Faries by Kipling. The Jungle books have been mentioned but I enjoy these even more. the mixture of history and magic is enchanting.

Arthur Ramsone's Old peter's Russian Tales is collection of fairy/folk tales that is delightful. Even the adult reading can enjoy the stories.

Another place to look for suggestions, once you get through all the good ones here, is the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) of the American Library Association.

http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/...

My number one recommendation for a first chapter book to read alound to kids when they're just ready to graduate from picture books is My Father's Dragon It's very simple, cute, not too scary, whimsical, with some illustrations. There are three in the series.
I'd also suggest Aunt Severe and the Dragons, The Search for Delicious, and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon as good books to start with. For more possibilities, along with my comments, I actually have an entire Goodreads bookshelf of first read-aloud chapter books, many of which are fantasy. (Sorry if this is a clunky way to add the link) Here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...
But whatever you read with your kids, reading aloud is one of the best things you can do with them and for them!

Thanks Anne, great list.