Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school chapter books

I'm just curious about when your early readers started on real (i.e., not Amanda Pig or Frog and Toad type) chapter books.

My DD (just turned 4) reads very, very well, and has been able to read at at least a 4th grade level for 6 months or so. But, with a few exceptions, she prefers to read books with pictures on every page. I wouldn't mind, and really I don't mind, but she reads in the car on our weekly drive into town and it's gotten to the point where I can bring a stack of twenty books and she'll read them all before we're even there. And then she wants to talk to me the whole way home (which isn't really possible due to our noisy old car) and gets angry when I can't hear what she's saying.

So, basically, I'm wondering if anyone else has had a very fluent early reader who was reluctant to read chapter books, and if so, when it finally happened and, especially, what books were big hits. Just to be perfectly clear, I'm not hoping that she'll give up picture books at all. I just wish she'd read chapter books on trips. I think it'd significantly reduce the frustration level on Mondays.

I'm wondering if there's a way that you can listen to chapter books on tape or CD in the car. Could she hear your car stereo? Or do you have a some higher-tech device that she could listen to with headphones? Or a tape-player with rechargeable batteries that she could have next to her in the back seat?

Nope. Like I said, the noise level is really high already. To hear anything at all, it has to be _really_ loud, and I don't think that'd be safe for her little ear drums. I suppose noise-canceling headphones might work, but we totally can't afford them.

The first books my dd, now 5, enjoyed were the Magic Treehouse books.

She had the ability to read them at the age of 3.

However, she still much preferred to have us read them to her. She said there were too many words on the page and her eyes got tired.

Honestly, it took until recently for her to want to pick up and read a lengthier chapter book although she's been able to read at that level for quite some time.

I think her eyes had to catch up with her brain.

Oh, and she also loved the Daisy Meadows Fairy Books. There are dozens of them. But she's a self-described "Friend of the fairies" ... so it was a natural fit.

Not sure if that helps.

Yes, that helps, Irish. It hadn't really even occurred to me that it might be her eyes, because she reads small print beautifully. But I suppose there might be something to that.

Magic Treehouse, unfortunately, is a no go. We did try them a few months ago, but she didn't enjoy them at all, though they are easy for her to read. She didn't even want to listen to us read them after the first couple of chapters, which is rare around this house. But I will check out the fairy books.

At 4, DS loved the Magic School Bus chapter books. The font is a decent size and there are pictures every few pages.

He also read several of the Junie B. books (like mentioned earlier) and the Stink series (Junie B's little brother). These too have enough pictures to keep kids entertained.

Too bad, the Magic Tree House series was popular with our DS at age 4!

It took a while and a number of those step readers before DS actually had the endurance to read a chapter book. He had the reading ability long before he had the endurance/patience. Good luck!

Thanks, cricket. I've put Flat Stanley on hold. It looks really cute. We do non-fiction as well as fiction, and these days it's mostly non-fiction because DD has read most of our library's selection of picture-book and easy-reader fiction within her reading level. It's awfully hard to find non-fiction that's not too easy but not too boring, though. We usually end up with a bunch of books that are so easy that DD breezes right through them and a few books that are hard enough that she just looks at the pictures and doesn't bother reading. Sigh. She did go through a map stage, which was lovely in the car, but she's over it (for) now.

I've been avoiding these because they're based on a TV show (aren't they?). Would they make sense to someone who's never seen the show?

http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/books/

Our DS read the books before he ever saw the tv show. The show certainly isn't a prerequisite to the books.

There are a few different levels of Magic School Bus books with the "science chapter" books being the longest and most complex.

I wonder if you could get some of the easier (non-chapter) Magic School Bus books to get her hooked and then present her with the chapter books. That might help bridge the gap.

Not sure if other series offer the same span of ability level books.