As you know, it is so important that kids are reading a book at their level
each and every day. The best way to find a book at your child's level is to
have your child read a page or two in the middle of the book. The book should
have 2-3 challenging words per page. A book that is way too hard will
frustrate them and one that is way too easy will not provide the grow
necessary.
I recommend Newbery Award Winning/Honor books or ones written by those
authors, but there are many other fine authors as well. For example, C.S.
Lewis and Brian Jacques never won such an award but both are great authors.
Many of you the kids have asked for book suggestions. Here are a few
books that have been enjoyed by students over the past few years. Some of
these are much easier than others.
1. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (First in a series)
2. Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson (First in a
series)
3. The City of Ember by DuPrau (First in a series)
4. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (First in a series)
5. Eragon by Christopher Paolini (First in a series)
6. The Land of Elyon “Dark Hills Divide” by Patrick Carman (First in a
series)
7. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
8. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of T.I.M.H.
9. Bloomability and ALL BOOKS BY Sharon Creech
10. Frindle by Andrew Clements (All of his books are funny and entertaining:
Lunch Money, The Report Card, The Last Holiday Concert, The School Story, and
The Laundry News are a few. I’ve heard No Talking is one of his best New
Books.) THESE BOOKS TEND TO BE EASIER.
11. The Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke
12. Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
13. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
14. Midnight for Charlie Bone (The Charlie Bone Series) by Jenny Nimmo. This
series is actually 4th-early 5th grade level. The vocabulary is kind of easy
for most.
15. The Lightning Thief series
16. The Alex Rider series
17. The Redwall series by Brian Jacques
Remember that no matter what book or newspaper article they read, it is
extremely important that your child take the time to talk to you about he/she
read. This is more than just summarizing what was read. The icons allow your
child to think deeply and truly understand the material. Think about the
standards your child finds difficult and try to tailor your questions towards
developing those particular skills. If you don't know of a standard, drawing
conclusions/making inferences is certainly one that many kids find difficult.
The best problem I have been having over the past few years is that the kids
fall in love with reading so much that I have trouble getting them to stop so
that I can teach them other things. It's great because the best way to teach
a kid to read is to have them read and then discuss what they've read. It's
much easier when they realize all the adventure and knowledge that books have
to offer.
Please call or email me if you need anything from me.
Sincerely,
Paul Saaty
