If it is mostly the comedy that she likes, then I'd suggest Jerome Jerome's Three Men in a Boat, Lewis Caroll's Alice books, and P.G. Wodehouse's Wooster/Jeeves books. Mark Twain is also funny, particularly A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and his lighter short stories. Actual children's books are also often humorous - Ramona, for instance. (Beverly Cleary?) Baum's Oz books have been neglected lately, too.
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I'm puzzled by the idea that the Hitchhiker's Guide books have too many adult situations. Aside from a couple of references to the planet Eroticon VI and its most famous resident (references which would go right over a 5 year old's head) there are no adult situations - certainly far less of an adult nature than you would find in the Bible or Shakespeare, let alone such notorious volumes as Graves' The Greek Myths, Burton's Thousand and One Nights, Andrew Lang's collections of traditional fairy tales, or even Harry Potter, with Dumbledore's brother convicted of practicing inappropriate charms on a goat, its reference(s) to human-giant couples, sexy Veela (who turn into monsters when angered), gambling, drinking (butterbeer and stronger drinks), and drug use (potions, particularly felix fortis).
wow, thanks, Enon, for all the great recommendations. you're right that it's the humour she's responding to - she loved the wordplay in the Alice books (and she loves the Oz books, too - which, i agree, are wonderful!)
i never thought of Wodehouse and A Connecticut Yankee..., but those are right up her street and they're already here in the house (bonus!) i'm sure she'll come back to Ramona at some point, but i get the sense she's loving the idea of being able to read "grown-up" books since her comprehension has been virtually on an adult level for several years and that has been a huge frustration for her.
which is why i am leery of handing over the Hitchhiker books for her to read on her own. we read her the entire HP series when she was three, and so we were able to talk about all those situations together as we met them. of course, we're still reading plenty of books together, but until quite recently, DD5 had somehow convinced herself she was too young to be reading (even though she was decoding by the time she was 2.) so now that she's basically de-programmed, i really want her to be able to feel herself flying, without having to "ask the adult" too often since that might reinforce her idea that she's not old enough. i have zero issues talking with her about
anything she runs into - but i'd love for her to have a stockpile of meaty and fun literature where she doesn't need me at all, ykwim?
...because this is a kid who would NEED TO KNOW about the social ramifications of Eccentrica Gallumbits' job. it would probably be a really interesting conversation, and i'm sure we'd both get a lot out of it, but i think it can probably wait for a bit since building her independence right now is soooo key!
thank you, everyone - this is a GREAT booklist and i'll be sorting through it and stocking the shelves for sure.
