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[DGrayson]

So my son is about 5 and a half. He cant read yet but he speaks 3 languages so I dont really push him on this topic yet (I could read at 4 years old but I only spoke one language lol).

Anyways we need some new books. My wife and I alternate reading to him before bed which he really likes, but his English books are getting a bit "young" and I am not sure what to get him now. I'm planning on heading to the library to see what they have in the English section (currently live in a non primary English speaking country).

So I am looking for books more that I can read to him but are more challenging and more imaginative that what we have been reading. He loves Star Wars, Legos, Pokemon etc. But it doesnt have to be anything like that.

Any recs?

 

[Star-Lord]

You could always try him with the first Harry Potter, and see how he responds to that. It’s not a ‘heavy’ book, it’s really imaginative, and there’s only mild peril at the end. My nephew seemed to love it when he was read it, but he was only slightly older at 6.

 

[DGrayson]

You could always try him with the first Harry Potter, and see how he responds to that. It’s not a ‘heavy’ book, it’s really imaginative, and there’s only mild peril at the end. My nephew seemed to love it when he was read it, but he was only slightly older at 6.

He has seen all the movies but his vocabulary is a bit limited given his language skills have been spread over 3 languages so it might be difficult for him to follow the books.

 

[Star-Lord]

He has seen all the movies but his vocabulary is a bit limited given his language skills have been spread over 3 languages so it might be difficult for him to follow the books.

Ah, that would be a bit of an issue with the regular books, but you can get illustrated editions these days aimed at a younger audience. Y’know, because JK needs that extra dollar.

Failing that, what about some of Roald Dahl’s books? Stuff like James And The Giant Peach, Matilda, Willy Wonka, etc.

 

[DGrayson]

Ya I should try something like that, i thought maybe it would be too advanced for him (Dahl), but it doesnt hurt to try.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Ah, that would be a bit of an issue with the regular books, but you can get illustrated editions these days aimed at a younger audience. Y’know, because JK needs that extra dollar.

I would go with this recommendation - try to find an appropriate book but the illustrated version, I feel it will be easier for a young child to concentrate if they also have some visuals.

 

[DGrayson]

Im checking out hte Harry potter illustrated books now. seems like a good idea.

 

[IDKFA]

Ah, that would be a bit of an issue with the regular books, but you can get illustrated editions these days aimed at a younger audience. Y’know, because JK needs that extra dollar.

Failing that, what about some of Roald Dahl’s books? Stuff like James And The Giant Peach, Matilda, Willy Wonka, etc.

Yep. I'd agree with Roald Dahl.

David Walliams is also very much like Roald Dahl, plus he also has Quintin Blake illustrating his books.

 

[Yoboman]

Start him on Blood Meridian

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

It's a joke.

A decent book for intro to life is -
What Do People Do All Day?
by Richard Scarry

 

[DGrayson]

It's a joke.

A decent book for intro to life is -
What Do People Do All Day?
by Richard Scarry

We have one Richard Scary book. I think its from when I was a kid, not sure where it came from. A bit tattered but awesome art.

 

[Star-Lord]

We have one Richard Scary book. I think its from when I was a kid, not sure where it came from. A bit tattered but awesome art.

What about some of the Dr Seuss books? Or, on a slightly nerdier tangent, how about some Pokémon illustrated books?

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Just checked Harry Potter books as well, seems like there is a small picture on each page but otherwise the book is complete. Was hoping it is a much shorter version in child-appropriate language, looks definitely more advanced than for my 3.5 years old.

 

[DGrayson]

What about some of the Dr Seuss books? Or, on a slightly nerdier tangent, how about some Pokémon illustrated books?

Dr Seuss we have and he likes them a lot but perhaps getting a bit young for him. We have fox in socks, cat in the hat 1 and 2, Sam and gus, and green eggs and ham.

Awesome books though. I like to try to read fox in socks as fast as I can to see how far I can without mistakes

We also have some pokemon Mangas I read him too

 

[Cutty Flam]

Goosebumps books by R. L. Stein

When I was in first grade I didn’t know how to read but somehow it just clicked after months of being in school, looking at papers and whiteboards and such. Some of the first actual books I ever read were Goosebumps and they are excellent stories. The guy was a genius with how he can make horror fun for little kids. Like how did he do it without going overboard with the horror in his stories? The books are very easy to read, stimulating, very immersive, interesting, and suspenseful with the perfect touch of thriller/ horror for young children reading his work. Yeah I really loved reading those books and looking at them in school book fair catalogues. Don’t shy away from Goosebumps books. Very rewarding and fun books for kids. I must have read about 12-15 of them. The covers were also really cool to look at. I’d say ages 6-10 is probably best time for reading them

And I just jumped right into them. Nobody told me hey, these books are horror themed and they might be a little too much for you. They were never too much, but instead were books that are exciting and a thrill to read with a dash of horror

Harry Potter books I would probably recommend starting at like age 7 or 8, personally. But I’m going off my own experience as a kid. The third book in the series was a a great challenge, but by the time I got to the fourth one at age 10 or 11, the massive amount of pages got to my head a little. It was a daunting task to be focused while reading with all those pages. The fourth book is where it all pretty much becomes more geared towards teens and adults. Voldemort steps it up a notch. Not sure if a kid could handle book four or definitely book five until like, end of middle school or something

 

[DGrayson]

When I was a kid I devoured books. Anything I could get a hold of. Whatever. Hardy boys. 3 investigators. Nancy drew. Baby sitters club. Books for boys or girls it didn't matter.

I would like to have my son enjoy reading as I did but he has a different life than me. He speaks 3 languages. He stays at school/day care until 6 ( my mom was stay at home). He also has extra school on saturday for Russian. He does karate. He likes to play videigames on the weekend (currently limit him to Wii U only)

I don't want to overbear him with too much but my love of reading took me pretty far in life. It is important especially now.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Harry Potter books I would probably recommend starting at like age 7 or 8, personally. But I’m going off my own experience as a kid. The third book in the series was a a great challenge, but by the time I got to the fourth one at age 10 or 11, the massive amount of pages got to my head a little. It was a daunting task to be focused while reading with all those pages. The fourth book is where it all pretty much becomes more geared towards teens and adults. Voldemort steps it up a notch. Not sure if a kid could handle book four or definitely book five until like, end of middle school or something

I wonder if it actually works to start at the age of 7 and go 1 book per year, as it aligns with the school theme.

 

[nush]

This series of books right here. For young kids the combo of words and pictures are important for engagement. Read the story, stop, discuss the pictures and details in them and those discussions can be multi lingual as well.

 

[nush]

He likes to play videigames on the weekend (currently limit him to Wii U only)

Good thing about Nintendo is the subtitled cutscenes. I'd stop and use those as a reading lesson with my son that he had to pass before we played the next level. Work/reward while having fun.

 

[DGrayson]

Good thing about Nintendo is the subtitled cutscenes. I'd stop and use those as a reading lesson with my son that he had to pass before we played the next level. Work/reward while having fun.

Yes good idea he is currently playing Mario color splash I always have to come to read the cutscenes

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

So my son is about 5 and a half. He cant read yet but he speaks 3 languages so I dont really push him on this topic yet (I could read at 4 years old but I only spoke one language lol).

Anyways we need some new books. My wife and I alternate reading to him before bed which he really likes, but his English books are getting a bit "young" and I am not sure what to get him now. I'm planning on heading to the library to see what they have in the English section (currently live in a non primary English speaking country).

So I am looking for books more that I can read to him but are more challenging and more imaginative that what we have been reading. He loves Star Wars, Legos, Pokemon etc. But it doesnt have to be anything like that.

Any recs?

Alice in wonderland

 

[Maiden Voyage]

It's never too early for Nietzsche.

 

[DGrayson]

Alice in wonderland

Good call I should look for an illustrated version. I have the marvel adaptation of wizard of oz omnibus he likes that

 

[Cutty Flam]

When I was a kid I devoured books. Anything I could get a hold of. Whatever. Hardy boys. 3 investigators. Nancy drew. Baby sitters club. Books for boys or girls it didn't matter.

I would like to have my son enjoy reading as I did but he has a different life than me. He speaks 3 languages. He stays at school/day care until 6 ( my mom was stay at home). He also has extra school on saturday for Russian. He does karate. He likes to play videigames on the weekend (currently limit him to Wii U only)

I don't want to overbear him with too much but my love of reading took me pretty far in life. It is important especially now.

Can’t really go wrong with books and reading hours each day. If I could rewind and go back in time, my emphasis regarding my own education would be to read a ton of classics all through grade school, thoroughly understand every single textbook, master vocabulary and writing. That’s the true challenge a scholar should take on initially. But I never had that perspective until after completing a ton of college courses. Words are one of the most powerful things in existence imo, it only makes sense to hopefully learn in-depth about them as much as possible during the grade school and college years

I wonder if it actually works to start at the age of 7 and go 1 book per year, as it aligns with the school theme.

If you start with the first one at age 7 then by age 13 or 14 you will have the completed the series. The fourth, fifth, and sixth book have extremely heavy endings. So reading books 4/5/6 at ages 10, 11, and 12 could have a strong emotional impact. Fourth book is very dark and kind of shocking. Fifth book is extremely long, interesting, and at the end kind of shocking again. Sixth book’s ending is very emotional, depressing even. Basically J.K. Rowling doesn’t shy away from writing about loss and death in those last four books. By the time you get to the seventh book you’re prepared for the worst. But books four, five, and six will affect those who deeply loved the characters. Rowling makes a point in her writing that people will die, people must move on, and they will have move forward to succeed. Always going to be a very tough subject. But the Harry Potter books are one of a kind. Must reads IMO, for children and adults alike. I read the fifth, sixth and seventh books for the first time in 2018. Sixth book was fucking tough to accept at the end, even if it is only fiction. I was 26 then and the story just has some really sad moments, I was thinking about the ending for a day or two. Not sure how it would affect a kid tbh though. I guess it all depends

 

[T8SC]

David Walliams' books always seem to get good reviews. There's plenty to choose from for a bit of variety and I think they cover a wide age range too.

 

[V1LÆM]

for whatever it's worth the first book i read on my own was the first Harry Potter book. i was 6 years old when that came out. would definitely recommend getting the illustrated version. a 6-7 year old should be able to enjoy that no problem.

oh and The Hobbit. i don't know if there is an illustrated version of that but it's perfect for kids. well...i suppose it might be a bit scary but it is a book written for kids.

 

[Susurrus]

My son just turned 6 and loves the Pigeon books and Elephant & Piggie books, both by Mo Willems.

Also if you want to ease him into reading, the Step Into Reading books might be helpful, you can usually find them with a cartoon they like, my son has a bunch of Paw Patrol ones, as well as Hot Wheels and Disney's Cars.

 

[DGrayson]

My son just turned 6 and loves the Pigeon books and Elephant & Piggie books, both by Mo Willems.

Also if you want to ease him into reading, the Step Into Reading books might be helpful, you can usually find them with a cartoon they like, my son has a bunch of Paw Patrol ones, as well as Hot Wheels and Disney's Cars.

Awesome thank you

 

[Star-Lord]

You can’t go wrong with the Tracy Beaker books, either, they’re aimed at kids with the idea of teaching life lessons. Also, The Worst Witch. And possibly The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Definitely too young unless you want to sit there and read to him all the time, but at some point get DC or Marvel or Star Wars encylopedias. They should be $25. Big thick high quality books with tons of characters and info on every page.

At least he can look at the pics.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

This series of books right here. For young kids the combo of words and pictures are important for engagement. Read the story, stop, discuss the pictures and details in them and those discussions can be multi lingual as well.

Just checked the prices on eBay.

 

[BigBooper]

If he likes comic heroes at all, these were a big hit with mine.

Amazon.com: DC Super Heroes Storybook Collection: 7 Books in 1 Hardcover: 9780062123985: Various: Books

Amazon.com: DC Super Heroes Storybook Collection: 7 Books in 1 Hardcover: 9780062123985: Various: Books

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com

The We Were There book series is good too. Each one is about kids in historical events. It's mostly US centric history though so I don't know how much that'll relate, but it's about like the Pony Express or the first flight of the Wright Bros and some of them involve events like big military battles. These are older books, so might be hard to find but not impossible. My sister in law bought a collection a couple of years ago.

 

[Sidney Prescott]

Roald Dahl perhaps? They are not recent but he has a lot of good books.

My Mom used to read those to me when I was about the same age, and she said I loved them.

 

[Rawker]

If he likes Minecraft then check out the woodsword chronicles books.

 

[nush]

Just checked the prices on eBay.

That's how good they are!

Actually I had no idea, there you go Brit GAF go through the used kids book sections. There should be loads of them as they were issued to all primary schools back in the day.

 

[MaestroMike]

when i was that age and still learning to read I wanted my parents to buy me incredible hulk comics and when I went to the library I only cared reading books about sharks/dinosaurs. my pops ordered me some monthly subscription for kids national geographic or something like that that sent out a magazine/short book that talked about an animal for that month like polar bears. maybe take him to the library or barnes and noble and have him browse and select a few books himself.

 

[AJUMP23]

If he is an emerging reader and you want to teach them to read then you need books that they can handle, like see spot run. Board Books.
I loved Richard Scarry books as a kid. if you are reading to them, make sure you highlight the words with your fingers while you read to them.

 

[Malakhov]

With covid I don't know if it's possible but I went to the town's public library and rented new books every week for my daughter and son, you can see the books for yourself there and pick really imaginative and colorful books that you'd never think to pick up otherwise

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

If he is an emerging reader and you want to teach them to read then you need books that they can handle, like see spot run. Board Books.
I loved Richard Scarry books as a kid. if you are reading to them, make sure you highlight the words with your fingers while you read to them.

Misses and I always had the kids point to the words as we read them, gave them a reason to focus. Once they read for themselves they're used to that technique of pointing at what they're reading. You're correct though, helps immensely with them learning to recognise words.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

If he is an emerging reader and you want to teach them to read then you need books that they can handle, like see spot run. Board Books.
I loved Richard Scarry books as a kid. if you are reading to them, make sure you highlight the words with your fingers while you read to them.

when i was that age and still learning to read I wanted my parents to buy me incredible hulk comics and when I went to the library I only cared reading books about sharks/dinosaurs. my pops ordered me some monthly subscription for kids national geographic or something like that that sent out a magazine/short book that talked about an animal for that month like polar bears. maybe take him to the library or barnes and noble and have him browse and select a few books himself.

Library is a great idea, it will also allow your kid to pick the book by himself making it that much more impactful.

 

[Burnttips]

I found the Herbie Bear books to be very helpful. There is a lot of the and the range in AR from like .5 up to 2.6.

 

[Northeastmonk]

My step daughter is bilingual and she loves the Dog Man books by Dav Pilkey. It’s something she likes to read on her own. Its silly because it’s about a dog and man who are fused together, but she reads them multiple times

She will watch films based on books like “The Little Prince”, but she does real well with silly books.

 

[poppabk]

My step daughter is bilingual and she loves the Dog Man books by Dav Pilkey. It’s something she likes to read on her own. Its silly because it’s about a dog and man who are fused together, but she reads them multiple times

She will watch films based on books like “The Little Prince”, but she does real well with silly books.

Yeahy kids still love the dogman books even though they are 8 and 10 now. The bad kitty chapter books were also a big hit.

 

[Putonahappyface]

How about Roald Dahl? They're a big hit with children.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

DGrayson,

It looks like your looking for text based kinds of books, which is fine and all.

But what about material like:

- Math books
- Drawing and art books

I found a couple of nieces didnt care for novels (and their parents didnt seem to either). Instead, the book stuff they got them skewed more to homeworky kinds of math books and contrasted with a mix of drawing books, including basic anime drawing. They were a bit older though. The artsy stuff then morphed to arts and crafts. One watch out with this route is that if you're generous, you'll get shitloads of art and paint and a special area and table needed for it. My bro had an entire section in his basement for all the messy shit. He literally put down like a 10 ft x 10 ft plastic thing on the ground to prevent splatter.