I would just totally go with what your child picks, and not try ot move up to chapter books before they are seeking them out. I did this with my kids and i regret it. I recently brought it up with my DS7 and he said that he read chapter books when he was 5 because i "talked him into it".. i felt so bad. I did it with the best of intentions and i did think he enjoyed them. But what he remembers is that he did not pick them himself.
Aww. I still pick out most of DD's books for her, but I do make an effort to stay (or at least appear) neutral as to what she reads. Fortunately (or not, lol) she has the sort of personality where I can't talk her into anything she doesn't want. She does pick out real chapter books on her own, but rarely reads more than a few pages. (The one exception is the first chapter of
Sideways Stories from Wayside School, which, to my chagrin, she's read almost to the point of total memorization.) And she loves, and has loved for months & months, some of the easy reader "chapter" books like Amanda Pig and Fly Guy. (But of course she can read one of those books in five or ten minutes, and there are pictures on every page, so I don't even think of them as chapter books.)
I will definitely check out the Magic School Bus books. Yay for another option.
We already read & love Graeme Base and I make an effort to get a few of the more challenging picture books every time we visit the library.
