Periodically I come across friends wondering about good chapter books for elementary-aged children. Through our schooling, we have been lucky enough to be introduced to a number of really great, sometimes lesser-known books and their authors. If you're tired of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and all the other same-old staples, consider some of the suggestions here!
Books we read this past year (tried-and-true because we have read them personally!):
Animal Stories collection by Thornton Burgess
This is a collection of short chapter books, each one featuring a different animal of the woods, meadow, or pond. Burgess was a naturalist who used his writing to teach children about wildlife. Each animal has some sort of adventure that might actually happen in that particular animal's real life. Don't be turned off by the corny illustrations--these books are gems! Dallin initially wanted nothing to do with them because they looked rather babyish, but once I let him on on some of the adventure, he was hooked. He read probably at least ten of these.
Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat
A true account of two boys who capture a couple of owls and raise them as pets.
The King of Ireland's Son by Padraic Colum
This book is a staple in Waldorf circles, and I'd never heard of it outside those circles... but it's a fabulous book and easily available on amazon.com. It's basically a collection of ancient Irish fairy/folk tales, fashioned into one epic novel. The stories sometimes seem disjointed until the very end, when you find out exactly how all the characters fit together.
The Wonderful 'O' by James Thurber
A hilarious book about an island invaded by pirates who take the letter 'o' out of everything. We did it as a readaloud and Dallin enjoyed it, but it would have been better to wait till he was a tad older so he could read it himself--because it really is the visual part of the language that makes it such a great book. This is a book for linguistic-lovers.
Honk the Moose by Phil Strong
This is also based on a true story--a moose is discovered loose in a small town in Minnesota by two boys. It's a short, easy read.
The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White
This is the story of a swan who is born without a voice, but who learns to "speak" through a trumpet his father steals from a music store. It's a classic from the author of Charlotte's Web, and Dallin giggled all the way through it.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Dallin loved this one and is begging me to let him read the rest of the Narnia series.
Swallows and Amazons, Swallowdale, and Peter Duck by Arthur Ransome
The first three books in a twelve-volume series. Dallin is BEGGING me to buy the next book. The books chronicle the adventures of two families of children sailing on the lake and on the ocean. Set in the 1930's in England, the books start out very slow, but hang in there because things do get more exciting. Each book is around 400 pages long. You learn a lot about sailing along the way (alot of it will go over your head, but eventually some sinks in). Peter Duck is the most exciting volume as it is about the group's adventures looking for buried treasure on a desert island and being attacked by pirates.
Now for our next-year's school reading list (I'll provide links, but can't review these because we haven't read them, with a few exceptions):
Children of the Longhouse by Joseph Bruchac
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber
The Birchbark House by Louise Erdich
The Prydain Chronicles (series) by Lloyd Alexander
Stuart Little by E.B. White
Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
It's been a rather drawn-out process narrowing down just the perfect (hopefully!) books for Dallin's next school year. We had only one dud this past year (Henry Price/Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey--Dallin just couldn't get into them). I'm trying to supplement the themes we'll be regularly covering in our curriculum. Children of the Longhouse and The Birchbark house are Native American stories, to go along with a few of our lesson blocks focused on Native Americans. Farmer Boy fits well the the Waldorf-third-grade emphasis on farming, in fact it is noted that in the book, Almanzo is nine years old, exactly the age of the little Waldorf students who read this book. We'll be reading The Thirteen Clocks, a book about an evil duke who tries to stop time, during a math lesson block on time. With our other selections, they may not necessarily correlate perfectly, but I was just going for a good cross-section of different authors and themes, but trying to stick mainly to older classics. The Prydain Chronicles have the feel of a Narnia or Lord of the Rings type series, which I'm sure Dallin will love. The E.Nesbit books are just good, old-fashioned children's adventures.
Anyway, maybe this list will inspire someone! Happy reading!
Books we read this past year (tried-and-true because we have read them personally!):
Animal Stories collection by Thornton Burgess
This is a collection of short chapter books, each one featuring a different animal of the woods, meadow, or pond. Burgess was a naturalist who used his writing to teach children about wildlife. Each animal has some sort of adventure that might actually happen in that particular animal's real life. Don't be turned off by the corny illustrations--these books are gems! Dallin initially wanted nothing to do with them because they looked rather babyish, but once I let him on on some of the adventure, he was hooked. He read probably at least ten of these.
Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat
A true account of two boys who capture a couple of owls and raise them as pets.
The King of Ireland's Son by Padraic Colum
This book is a staple in Waldorf circles, and I'd never heard of it outside those circles... but it's a fabulous book and easily available on amazon.com. It's basically a collection of ancient Irish fairy/folk tales, fashioned into one epic novel. The stories sometimes seem disjointed until the very end, when you find out exactly how all the characters fit together.
The Wonderful 'O' by James Thurber
A hilarious book about an island invaded by pirates who take the letter 'o' out of everything. We did it as a readaloud and Dallin enjoyed it, but it would have been better to wait till he was a tad older so he could read it himself--because it really is the visual part of the language that makes it such a great book. This is a book for linguistic-lovers.
Honk the Moose by Phil Strong
This is also based on a true story--a moose is discovered loose in a small town in Minnesota by two boys. It's a short, easy read.
The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White
This is the story of a swan who is born without a voice, but who learns to "speak" through a trumpet his father steals from a music store. It's a classic from the author of Charlotte's Web, and Dallin giggled all the way through it.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Dallin loved this one and is begging me to let him read the rest of the Narnia series.
Swallows and Amazons, Swallowdale, and Peter Duck by Arthur Ransome
The first three books in a twelve-volume series. Dallin is BEGGING me to buy the next book. The books chronicle the adventures of two families of children sailing on the lake and on the ocean. Set in the 1930's in England, the books start out very slow, but hang in there because things do get more exciting. Each book is around 400 pages long. You learn a lot about sailing along the way (alot of it will go over your head, but eventually some sinks in). Peter Duck is the most exciting volume as it is about the group's adventures looking for buried treasure on a desert island and being attacked by pirates.
Now for our next-year's school reading list (I'll provide links, but can't review these because we haven't read them, with a few exceptions):
Children of the Longhouse by Joseph Bruchac
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber
The Birchbark House by Louise Erdich
The Prydain Chronicles (series) by Lloyd Alexander
Stuart Little by E.B. White
Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
It's been a rather drawn-out process narrowing down just the perfect (hopefully!) books for Dallin's next school year. We had only one dud this past year (Henry Price/Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey--Dallin just couldn't get into them). I'm trying to supplement the themes we'll be regularly covering in our curriculum. Children of the Longhouse and The Birchbark house are Native American stories, to go along with a few of our lesson blocks focused on Native Americans. Farmer Boy fits well the the Waldorf-third-grade emphasis on farming, in fact it is noted that in the book, Almanzo is nine years old, exactly the age of the little Waldorf students who read this book. We'll be reading The Thirteen Clocks, a book about an evil duke who tries to stop time, during a math lesson block on time. With our other selections, they may not necessarily correlate perfectly, but I was just going for a good cross-section of different authors and themes, but trying to stick mainly to older classics. The Prydain Chronicles have the feel of a Narnia or Lord of the Rings type series, which I'm sure Dallin will love. The E.Nesbit books are just good, old-fashioned children's adventures.
Anyway, maybe this list will inspire someone! Happy reading!
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