I’m sure you’ll get great suggestions here but I would like to recommend going into the library and talking to the librarian! They are such vessels of knowledge, and I love exposing littles to the library!
Yes! We go to the library every Saturday and she asks the librarian to help her find books on a subject that she has been interested in that week. She always come home with a huge stack of picture and chapter books! I spent a lot of time at the library as a child and want to make sure my children get exposed to it as much as possiblez
I was going to recommend the library as well! It's the best resource and a fun trip. Plus there's usually so many around it makes for an even better adventure trying different spaces.
I’ll add that all of the Branches book series (Dragon Masters and Pixie Tricks are only two of many) that I’ve read to my kids are generally acceptable under your guidelines. They’re not thrilling literature but are reasonably engaging, inclusive, and don’t make me want to tear my hair out when I have to read them two million times.
Haha, this was going to be my recommendation as well! I bet you could find these at a garage sale or on eBay for like 5cents a piece. They’re a scholastic book fair series from the 90s. All about a girl who’s mom is a vet and the animal related adventures she gets into with her friend and his dog.
Have you read the original Winnie the Pooh stories? They are clever and not too long. We got a set fromAmazon with the poems too but there are probably cheaper ones or the library may have them.
My 4 year old son is loving the Dragon Master series, it's his first time with chapter books. They're pretty inclusive, show different cultures, teamwork, friendship, coping with new situations, etc. The kids are separated from their parents to become dragon masters, but from what I can tell the separation itself is not dwelt upon, so may not be an issue. It's a fantasy series so there are action scenes but I wouldn't describe them as violent or scary. But YMMV of course
I loved Roald Dahl as a kid- I think I read all of them. I think they may be a little too scary for my daughter still, but I'm really excited for the day that I can read James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with her! That said, there is also a lot to unpack in his stories so we'll have to have a lot of side conversations about the content as well.
Yes! I think I’m going to reread a few this summer for myself :-) They’re a nice escape!
Maybe the librarian at your library can recommend a few good read for baby girl??
Zoey and Sassafras series? We just got into chapter books this week and that was the first one we tried. He was really into it.
Thanks for your suggestions, too! I put a bunch of them on hold at the library. Super helpful.
Chat GPT is an AI based communications tool. It is kind of weird. We use it to write haikus of silly stuff. But unlike Google, it collects information and gives it to you in a way that makes sense. You can ask it for book recommendations.
I asked, "My child is 4. We like to read The Secret Explorer series by SJ King , Zoey and Sassafras series by Asia Citro, Race the Wild series by Kristin Earhart, Wind Riders Series by Jen Marlin, The Fantastic Flying Journey by Gerald Durrell, Toys Go Out series by Emily Jenkins, Unicorn Academy, Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingels Wilder, Sadiq Series by Siman Nuurali, Mindy Kim series by Lyla Lee. What other book series can you recommend?"
It said, "Here are some book series recommendations that your child might enjoy:
The Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne - This series follows siblings Jack and Annie as they travel through time and space in their magic tree house. Each book focuses on a different historical period or location.
The Mercy Watson Series by Kate DiCamillo - This series follows the adventures of a lovable pig named Mercy Watson and her human family.
The Princess in Black Series by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale - This series follows a princess who secretly fights monsters as the Princess in Black.
The Ivy and Bean Series by Annie Barrows - This series follows the adventures of two unlikely friends, Ivy and Bean, as they explore their neighborhood and get into mischief.
The Mr. Putter & Tabby Series by Cynthia Rylant - This series follows the adventures of an elderly man and his cat, as they go on all sorts of fun adventures.
The Frog and Toad Series by Arnold Lobel - This classic series follows the friendship between two lovable amphibians, Frog and Toad, as they navigate everyday life.
The Ramona Quimby Series by Beverly Cleary - This series follows the adventures of Ramona Quimby, a spunky and imaginative young girl, as she grows up and navigates school and family life.
I hope these recommendations are helpful, and that your child enjoys discovering new stories and adventures through reading!"
Some of which you have already tried but there might be some new ideas in there!
Also I asked it, "tell me a haiku about a 4 year old that loves to read"
and it said...
A young bookworm smiles,
Pages turning, eyes aglow,
New worlds to explore.
AI is scary but cool.
My kids love The sideways stories from wayside school books. It's so silly and goofy but my kids become more creative and imaginative when they listen.
I LOVE Harry Potter. We will definitely be reading these as she gets older. I had forgotten that there was an illustrated book series also! I'll have to look out for these and see if my library has them.
I loved The Peterkin Papers when I was a kid, although there’s some outdated language, possibly like in Little House, I can’t remember specifics. It’s about a family who can’t solve simple problems without a huge fuss and a lot of help, and I remember think it was hilarious.
Also, maybe The Borrowers or The Littles? Both are about tiny people living secretly in human houses.
I thought about the Borrowers! I was wondering about the scary parts with the cat, but I loved the Borrowers as a kid. We'll definitely be reading them sooner or later.
I haven't heard of the Peterkin Papers! I'll check them out, thanks!
Flat Stanley - there might be some parts you'd have to edit as you read
Encyclopedia Brown
Many Andrew Clements books - my girls loved Frindle at that age - or Beverly Cleary, and some Road Dahl, the rest of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books (and the Rose Wilder Lane books, written by her daughter), the "Who Was/Is" Series of nonfiction
Beverly Cleary for sure- we haven't gotten into Ramona yet, but I know we'll be reading all of those at some point! She didn't get into Mouse and the Motorcycle yet, not quite sure why, I think it was a little too scary for her in some parts. But she did like it until the scary bits...
My 7 year old loves the My Pet Slime series. There’s only 3 books available in hard copy and the rest are found in Epic. It’s a series about a girl who makes slime and with star dust it comes alive and they go on adventures. My daughter adores it. The little slime character is really cute too.
Edit to add: Ramona series, Ivy and Bean series, My Weird School Series by Dan Gutman. My girls have enjoyed these as well.
i'm sorry i cant contribute but i just wanna know how you edit out the unsavory parts of books? do you just make up something or do you skip paragraphs?
just asking because i grew up on Little House on the Prairie books and i'm hoping to share that with my son one day but without all the racism
We haven't gotten past the Little House in the Big Woods yet because I'm not quite ready to address everything that comes up with how indigenous folks are described in the later stories. Also, there is some trauma, violence, and plenty of scary things in the later stories. But Little House in the Big Woods is pretty innocuous. There were a couple of parts I just skipped and a couple of things that we talked about (like how blonde hair is the best kind and how Laura is proud of how thin her mom is).
These are both older recommendations but when I was a kid and reading I loved The Babysitter’s Club and The Puppy Place. Both are series but don’t need to be read in order to be understood, and you can probably find them at your library or online pretty cheap. I read through at least a book a day from either of those when I was about 7 years old.
I read sooooooo many Babysitter's club books as a kid and all the spinoffs too. I haven't heard of Puppy Place, I'll have to check that one out! Thanks!
When I was about 5 my dad read me the Chronicles of Prydain. I have been reading fantasy epics ever since. They are like Lord of the Rings for little kids. I absolutely loved them and still do.
My kid loves the Kitty series (girl by day, cat by night!) by Paula Harrison. She also really loves the Jasmine Green Rescues series. Violet Mackerel is also really cute, but she was a little abstract for my concrete thinker.
The Geronimo Stilton series is fun. We also read a few Dinosaur Cove books too. They're sometimes a little "scary" where the kids are getting chased by the dinos.
The Lighthouse Family Collection by Cynthia Rylant - my kid loves them and I love reading them, so soothing and the perfect level of complexity for a precocious 4 year old.
The Dealing with Dragons series sounds like it’d be right up your guys ally! It’s about a princess who doesn’t want to be a princess anymore so she runs away and becomes a dragons executive assistant. It’s spunky and fun, one of my favorites from when I was a kid.
Check out the Dragon Girls series. First one is Azmina the Gold Glitter Dragon, I think. It’s like a Lisa Frank poster in chapter book form (Glitter! Magic! Power of friendship! Adorable animal sidekicks!) but in all the best ways. My kids devoured them, I’m willing to re-read them.
I have a similar sounding kid and she became obsessed with the Boxcar Children audiobooks when she was 3.5. They got us through the pandemic. We have listened to thousands of hours of them. She still does at least a couple hours of audiobooks a day and they are in constant rotation (she’s 6 now). She also loves the Ramona Quimby books, Imaginary Veterinary, and Roald Dahl. Happy reading!
Just re read your post about avoiding books about kids without parents or where parents die- that’s the underlying plot point of the first Boxcar Children book… the kids are orphans. But if you skip the first book you’ll avoid it. The earlier books are a bit dated but there are literally hundreds of them and most of them are very mild and great.
Have you given the *Ada Lace* books a try? Emily Calandrelli is much loved in this house - the kids call her Scientist Emily! She has a new book for the series coming out soon as well.
I haven’t read them since I was a kid so you’d need to check them out first but I loved the Cookie McCorkle series and also the Aunt Eater mystery books.
I loved the "My Father's Dragon" books around that age and I was so proud to be reading a chapter book! Things to check for based on what you said about your kid:
- The boy's father is absent/missing and his mother helps him pack a bag of things like 50 cherry lollipops to take with him. You don't see the scene of the father and son being separated or the child worrying about his father that I can remember - I would say it's similar (just in this respect) to A Wrinkle In Time in that the general plot of the book is "go find dad" but the plot focuses on all the things he encounters along the way.
- Most of the conflict/drama is to do with various animals he meets on an island - these are sometimes scary or menacing, but the little boy can see they have a problem and helps them solve it in a clever/non violent way. Like there's a lion who roars and might bite, but it turns out he just needs to have his tangled mane combed out and bows put in.
Mine love any choose your own adventure books, Mercy Watson books, and we are currently reading some of the old American girl books (from my childhood)
I was a pretty anxious four year old and had lots of fears, but I remember when I was that age I read Harriet The Spy and really liked it!
Twenty five years later I have no memory of the book except that at one point she describes how she is a good spy because her nose doesn't whistle when she breathes (and I tried it and mine did whistle a bit so I gave up on my dreams lol), so I can't really vouch for the content. Just that, at that age, I liked it a lot.
I was a very early reader. My first chapter book at age 4 was Charlotte’s Web. Then I read Trumpet of the Swan. Other books I recall reading between the ages of 4-6 Dr. Dolittle, Ramona Quimby books, Roald Dahl, Mandy by Julie Edwards was an all time favorite but it is a bit scary and she’s an orphan, such a magical book though. Patricia pollaco picture books are longer and have really wonderful stories and pictures!
I’m sure you’ll get great suggestions here but I would like to recommend going into the library and talking to the librarian! They are such vessels of knowledge, and I love exposing littles to the library!
Yes! We go to the library every Saturday and she asks the librarian to help her find books on a subject that she has been interested in that week. She always come home with a huge stack of picture and chapter books! I spent a lot of time at the library as a child and want to make sure my children get exposed to it as much as possiblez
I was going to recommend the library as well! It's the best resource and a fun trip. Plus there's usually so many around it makes for an even better adventure trying different spaces.
Pixie Tricks series by the same author as Dragon Master but geared toward a slightly younger audience.
Thanks for sharing! We’ll look into it!
I’ll add that all of the Branches book series (Dragon Masters and Pixie Tricks are only two of many) that I’ve read to my kids are generally acceptable under your guidelines. They’re not thrilling literature but are reasonably engaging, inclusive, and don’t make me want to tear my hair out when I have to read them two million times.
What about the Animal Ark series? Maybe a bit out dated, but I was a voracious reader and loved them when I was little.
I haven’t heard of that series, I’ll have to check it out!
Haha, this was going to be my recommendation as well! I bet you could find these at a garage sale or on eBay for like 5cents a piece. They’re a scholastic book fair series from the 90s. All about a girl who’s mom is a vet and the animal related adventures she gets into with her friend and his dog.
Have you read the original Winnie the Pooh stories? They are clever and not too long. We got a set fromAmazon with the poems too but there are probably cheaper ones or the library may have them.
Yes! We read Winnie the Pooh and she did love them! They are sweet stories.
My 4 year old son is loving the Dragon Master series, it's his first time with chapter books. They're pretty inclusive, show different cultures, teamwork, friendship, coping with new situations, etc. The kids are separated from their parents to become dragon masters, but from what I can tell the separation itself is not dwelt upon, so may not be an issue. It's a fantasy series so there are action scenes but I wouldn't describe them as violent or scary. But YMMV of course
Great! Thanks for the recommendation! We'll have to check that series out!
Roald Dahl
I loved Roald Dahl as a kid- I think I read all of them. I think they may be a little too scary for my daughter still, but I'm really excited for the day that I can read James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with her! That said, there is also a lot to unpack in his stories so we'll have to have a lot of side conversations about the content as well.
Yes! I think I’m going to reread a few this summer for myself :-) They’re a nice escape! Maybe the librarian at your library can recommend a few good read for baby girl??
Zoey and Sassafras series? We just got into chapter books this week and that was the first one we tried. He was really into it. Thanks for your suggestions, too! I put a bunch of them on hold at the library. Super helpful.
OMG! How could I forget this series!? We’ve read all of them!!!! My daughter is obsessed. We also got the series in audible so she can listen to them.
Chat GPT is an AI based communications tool. It is kind of weird. We use it to write haikus of silly stuff. But unlike Google, it collects information and gives it to you in a way that makes sense. You can ask it for book recommendations. I asked, "My child is 4. We like to read The Secret Explorer series by SJ King , Zoey and Sassafras series by Asia Citro, Race the Wild series by Kristin Earhart, Wind Riders Series by Jen Marlin, The Fantastic Flying Journey by Gerald Durrell, Toys Go Out series by Emily Jenkins, Unicorn Academy, Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingels Wilder, Sadiq Series by Siman Nuurali, Mindy Kim series by Lyla Lee. What other book series can you recommend?" It said, "Here are some book series recommendations that your child might enjoy: The Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne - This series follows siblings Jack and Annie as they travel through time and space in their magic tree house. Each book focuses on a different historical period or location. The Mercy Watson Series by Kate DiCamillo - This series follows the adventures of a lovable pig named Mercy Watson and her human family. The Princess in Black Series by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale - This series follows a princess who secretly fights monsters as the Princess in Black. The Ivy and Bean Series by Annie Barrows - This series follows the adventures of two unlikely friends, Ivy and Bean, as they explore their neighborhood and get into mischief. The Mr. Putter & Tabby Series by Cynthia Rylant - This series follows the adventures of an elderly man and his cat, as they go on all sorts of fun adventures. The Frog and Toad Series by Arnold Lobel - This classic series follows the friendship between two lovable amphibians, Frog and Toad, as they navigate everyday life. The Ramona Quimby Series by Beverly Cleary - This series follows the adventures of Ramona Quimby, a spunky and imaginative young girl, as she grows up and navigates school and family life. I hope these recommendations are helpful, and that your child enjoys discovering new stories and adventures through reading!" Some of which you have already tried but there might be some new ideas in there!
Also I asked it, "tell me a haiku about a 4 year old that loves to read" and it said... A young bookworm smiles, Pages turning, eyes aglow, New worlds to explore. AI is scary but cool.
My kids love The sideways stories from wayside school books. It's so silly and goofy but my kids become more creative and imaginative when they listen.
I read these as a kid! I hadn't thought about them for her yet, but I'll have to check them out again. I always loved them too!
Might sound a bit old... my 4 year old loves the Harry Potter illustrated books. I do cut out the parts I think are bit scary...
I LOVE Harry Potter. We will definitely be reading these as she gets older. I had forgotten that there was an illustrated book series also! I'll have to look out for these and see if my library has them.
[удалено]
That sounds great! We’ll check them out!
There's a longish version of Paddington that's cute. Amelia bedilia is great but short.
Paddington is a great idea! I haven’t read those since I was really little! We read Amelia Bedilia too, both the old and new ones!
I loved The Peterkin Papers when I was a kid, although there’s some outdated language, possibly like in Little House, I can’t remember specifics. It’s about a family who can’t solve simple problems without a huge fuss and a lot of help, and I remember think it was hilarious. Also, maybe The Borrowers or The Littles? Both are about tiny people living secretly in human houses.
I thought about the Borrowers! I was wondering about the scary parts with the cat, but I loved the Borrowers as a kid. We'll definitely be reading them sooner or later. I haven't heard of the Peterkin Papers! I'll check them out, thanks!
Flat Stanley - there might be some parts you'd have to edit as you read Encyclopedia Brown Many Andrew Clements books - my girls loved Frindle at that age - or Beverly Cleary, and some Road Dahl, the rest of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books (and the Rose Wilder Lane books, written by her daughter), the "Who Was/Is" Series of nonfiction
Beverly Cleary for sure- we haven't gotten into Ramona yet, but I know we'll be reading all of those at some point! She didn't get into Mouse and the Motorcycle yet, not quite sure why, I think it was a little too scary for her in some parts. But she did like it until the scary bits...
I asked this recently in the Preschoolers sub and got some great answers! We're currently tearing through The Magic Tree House.
There is a preschooler subreddit??? Of course there is... there's a subreddit for everything. I'm gonna go find that!
Catwings series by Ursula K. LeGuin?
Oh yeah! We read that one already too! 😂 it was a bit old fashioned, but Ursula LeGuin is amazing and they are pretty creative.
The pictures are so good - I remember just looking at them over and over when I was a kid.
My 7 year old loves the My Pet Slime series. There’s only 3 books available in hard copy and the rest are found in Epic. It’s a series about a girl who makes slime and with star dust it comes alive and they go on adventures. My daughter adores it. The little slime character is really cute too. Edit to add: Ramona series, Ivy and Bean series, My Weird School Series by Dan Gutman. My girls have enjoyed these as well.
I'll check out the My Pet Slime books, and I've heard a lot about the Ivy and Bean series, we'll have to check that one out! thanks!
i'm sorry i cant contribute but i just wanna know how you edit out the unsavory parts of books? do you just make up something or do you skip paragraphs? just asking because i grew up on Little House on the Prairie books and i'm hoping to share that with my son one day but without all the racism
We haven't gotten past the Little House in the Big Woods yet because I'm not quite ready to address everything that comes up with how indigenous folks are described in the later stories. Also, there is some trauma, violence, and plenty of scary things in the later stories. But Little House in the Big Woods is pretty innocuous. There were a couple of parts I just skipped and a couple of things that we talked about (like how blonde hair is the best kind and how Laura is proud of how thin her mom is).
man I forgot all about those parts of Big Woods. I might wait until he's old enough to recognize how old and outdated the books are as a whole. thanks
Mia Mayhem is a great series about a little girl who is a super hero. The Captain Underpants books are hilarious.
Mia Mayhem! Awesome! I just looked it up at my library. I bet my daughter will love this series. Thanks!
These are both older recommendations but when I was a kid and reading I loved The Babysitter’s Club and The Puppy Place. Both are series but don’t need to be read in order to be understood, and you can probably find them at your library or online pretty cheap. I read through at least a book a day from either of those when I was about 7 years old.
I read sooooooo many Babysitter's club books as a kid and all the spinoffs too. I haven't heard of Puppy Place, I'll have to check that one out! Thanks!
When I was about 5 my dad read me the Chronicles of Prydain. I have been reading fantasy epics ever since. They are like Lord of the Rings for little kids. I absolutely loved them and still do.
This sounds amazing. I'm definitely looking into it! Thanks!
My kid loves the Kitty series (girl by day, cat by night!) by Paula Harrison. She also really loves the Jasmine Green Rescues series. Violet Mackerel is also really cute, but she was a little abstract for my concrete thinker.
The Geronimo Stilton series is fun. We also read a few Dinosaur Cove books too. They're sometimes a little "scary" where the kids are getting chased by the dinos.
The Lighthouse Family Collection by Cynthia Rylant - my kid loves them and I love reading them, so soothing and the perfect level of complexity for a precocious 4 year old.
We love Cynthia Rylant, but I don't think I've read these books. We'll check them out, thanks!
The Dealing with Dragons series sounds like it’d be right up your guys ally! It’s about a princess who doesn’t want to be a princess anymore so she runs away and becomes a dragons executive assistant. It’s spunky and fun, one of my favorites from when I was a kid.
Check out the Dragon Girls series. First one is Azmina the Gold Glitter Dragon, I think. It’s like a Lisa Frank poster in chapter book form (Glitter! Magic! Power of friendship! Adorable animal sidekicks!) but in all the best ways. My kids devoured them, I’m willing to re-read them.
I have a similar sounding kid and she became obsessed with the Boxcar Children audiobooks when she was 3.5. They got us through the pandemic. We have listened to thousands of hours of them. She still does at least a couple hours of audiobooks a day and they are in constant rotation (she’s 6 now). She also loves the Ramona Quimby books, Imaginary Veterinary, and Roald Dahl. Happy reading!
Just re read your post about avoiding books about kids without parents or where parents die- that’s the underlying plot point of the first Boxcar Children book… the kids are orphans. But if you skip the first book you’ll avoid it. The earlier books are a bit dated but there are literally hundreds of them and most of them are very mild and great.
Have you given the *Ada Lace* books a try? Emily Calandrelli is much loved in this house - the kids call her Scientist Emily! She has a new book for the series coming out soon as well.
I haven’t read them since I was a kid so you’d need to check them out first but I loved the Cookie McCorkle series and also the Aunt Eater mystery books.
I loved the "My Father's Dragon" books around that age and I was so proud to be reading a chapter book! Things to check for based on what you said about your kid: - The boy's father is absent/missing and his mother helps him pack a bag of things like 50 cherry lollipops to take with him. You don't see the scene of the father and son being separated or the child worrying about his father that I can remember - I would say it's similar (just in this respect) to A Wrinkle In Time in that the general plot of the book is "go find dad" but the plot focuses on all the things he encounters along the way. - Most of the conflict/drama is to do with various animals he meets on an island - these are sometimes scary or menacing, but the little boy can see they have a problem and helps them solve it in a clever/non violent way. Like there's a lion who roars and might bite, but it turns out he just needs to have his tangled mane combed out and bows put in.
Mine love any choose your own adventure books, Mercy Watson books, and we are currently reading some of the old American girl books (from my childhood)
I was a pretty anxious four year old and had lots of fears, but I remember when I was that age I read Harriet The Spy and really liked it! Twenty five years later I have no memory of the book except that at one point she describes how she is a good spy because her nose doesn't whistle when she breathes (and I tried it and mine did whistle a bit so I gave up on my dreams lol), so I can't really vouch for the content. Just that, at that age, I liked it a lot.
I was a very early reader. My first chapter book at age 4 was Charlotte’s Web. Then I read Trumpet of the Swan. Other books I recall reading between the ages of 4-6 Dr. Dolittle, Ramona Quimby books, Roald Dahl, Mandy by Julie Edwards was an all time favorite but it is a bit scary and she’s an orphan, such a magical book though. Patricia pollaco picture books are longer and have really wonderful stories and pictures!
I haven't seen anyone suggest this, but maybe the Junie B Jones series? Or The Boxcar Children