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Our library doesn't have that title yet but it looks like a good stocking stuffer. Thank you for the recommendation. DD has stopped wanting to re-read Mo Willems' Piggie and Elephant books but she still goes back to P.D. Eastman's books. Her favorite is The Best Nest and when she builds nest out of pillows and blankets, she asks me to come take a look at her best nest. Sam and the Firefly is another favorite.

I'm struggling to accept DD's latest choices when it comes to early chapter books. She discovered those horrible Disney Fairy books (not the real chapter books but early readers levels 3/4 and they are awful) and she has decided that she likes Nate the Great after a slow start. While the latter is much better written than the former and does not feature curvy half-naked fairies, it's written for 1st grade and 2nd grade boys who tend to think girls are icky; so, per the course, girl characters in the books are depicted to be one-dimensional and creepy. There aren't that many Disney Fairy books so it's not like that phase could last that much longer but there are 26 Nate the Great books and we have at least 15+ more to go.

On a positive note, she is going through Arnold Lobel books like Owl at Home. I thought for awhile that she bypassed them forever but I catch her reading his titles on her reading chair and chuckling by herself these days. I'm thinking that perhaps, she wasn't ready for his sense of humor until recently.

I read The 100 Dresses this morning and it was a good reminder that DD might be a reader but she is nowhere ready for "real" books. I honestly don't know what she should be reading for the next couple of years. Thankfully, she still enjoys picture books but I want to find her appropriate quality chapter books but they are so hard to come by.

I, Nate the Great, am going to eat pancakes and think.

Don't forget the spin off series with his cousin the girl...makes more than 26.

Cam Jansen is even better....click.

And I want to say at this stage try Mercy Watson, who is a porcine wonder, by Kate dicamillo.

DD likes Mercy Watson but can't read them completely by herself yet…. Though Mana I bet your DD could. I know the fairy books your talking about and agree. DD loves them too (though she only can read the level 3 ones if I have read it to her a few times). I do like Pinkalicious & Fancy Nancy more… at least they are clothed . They are level 1 but part of the "I can read" series so still in the I, J, K, and some L reading range (depending on the book). And the made-up words in Pinkalicious give her a challenge & so do the vocab words in Fancy Nancy, which we both like. DD is over Piggie & Elephant too but there was a while when she loved them. She actually collected them a few months ago & took them into her little sister's room.

Mana: I bet your DD could read the Magic Treehouse series chapter books now. Have you tried those?

Sweetie: I am going to look up Cam Jansen. Had heard of Nate the Great but didn't even attempt because DD is so girl-focused. Probably a little too hard at this point but good to look into.

Like I said Nate has a girl cousin...I would read a few Nate the great (the first, and then a couple where the girl cousin works with him and then read the books only with the girl for some reason I think her name is Sheila maybe.

Cam Jansen is a girl who has a photographic memory...she has a boy side kick.

It is funny about girls who are all about girls and boys who are only into books with boys...my boys couldn't care less...it was all about the story and reading.

try the A to Z mysteries and their younger spin offs the Calendar series - both have girls and boys that are friends. Same with the magic school bus original picture books and chapter books.

DeHe

Oh and I forgot there are two levels of Cam Jansen...Cam Jansen and Young Cam Janson. When we found them my older son was already past the young Cam Jansen level so we never bothered with those.

My younger son went from Bob books to Biscuit books to Charlotte's Web in the blink of an eye.

Just looked up Young Cam Janson & they are exactly DD's reading level! I think she will love these stories. Adding a few to her Christmas! Thanks!!!

Thank you everyone for helping me problem solve this ongoing dilemma. I should have mentioned that DD has recently rediscovered Mother Goose and finally wants to read fairy tales and folklores. So developmentally, she seems to be in a very different place than Magic Tree House and A to Z mysteries. When she is ready and interested, she'll probably devour both series and I'm all for reading materials that build general knowledge and I don't think everything she reads has to be literacy masterpieces. We've tried Cam Jensen, Rainbow Fairies, the Lighthouse series by Rylant (DD said "Mommy, this is nothing like Henry and Mudge. This books is really, really sad."), and a few others but she hasn't really taken to any of them. She loved Charlotte's Web but we had to put it away after a major meltdown; she couldn't handle the emotional ups and downs.

I wasn't aware that Date DiCammilo had series for younger readers. We found a few at the library today so we'll give them a try. I know I'd enjoy them regardless of DD's reaction.

One series DD loves that is super fun for me is Dodsworth; it is kind-hearted and packed with a sense of adventure. So I know there are appropriate books that capture DD's imagination out there but it's a lot of investment of time and effort hunting them down so all the suggestions and help are very much appreciated!

Mana, have you tried Mr. Putter and Tabby? It's another series by Cynthia Rylant. I like it partly because there are so few elderly people in children's literature, and partly because they are hysterical. They seem to stand up well to rereading, too.