The Vine: September 25, 2009
Inevitably there is backstory (which I have tried to keep short), but ultimately this is a request for book title suggestions.
My mom lives in rural Utah.She volunteers for a tiny and ill-funded (understandably; the town has fewer than five thousand residents) 501c3 that provides afterschool tutoring and snacks to about 20 kids, all ESL elementary and middle school students, most several grade levels behind for reading comprehension, very few have even one parent that is comfortable speaking English.
The kids are seriously fantastic.They are engaged, they are interested, they are nifty.They are also easily discouraged when it comes to reading.The reading material that’s provided by the school is clearly remedial and involves lots of word lists, and they’re not learning to read for fun.Reading is a chore, and it’s worse, somehow, than even math, something I cannot imagine.
The stuff the program has is mostly picture books (although recently, there has been an onslaught of Twilight donations, and they do have Captain Underpants), but what they do have that’s at a comfortable reading level, or even an easy-ish stretch, they have all read over and over or is dull subject matter for them, so their comprehension and confidence aren’t increasing.
The reading levels seem to span from about 2nd grade through about 7th grade. My mom needs books for the kids.The kids need stuff to read that’s fun and interesting, and, oh, please, not all about vampires.
I’m good with getting them books (hello, tax deduction!), but I don’t know what titles to get.Kids aren’t still reading Nesbit, are they?Those are the only children’s chapter books I remember, before I started raiding my parent’s bookshelves.
Can your readers give me suggestions? Books that y’all loved, elementary school through, say, 10th grade.Fiction, non-fiction, whatever made you want to read more.
And yeah, the library would seem like a natural resource for this, but parents have to sign off on library-card applications for minors, and — not so much most of these parents.The two kids reading above grade level have library cards.My mom checks out ten children’s books every two weeks for the kids, the maximum allowed.
If you want more details on the program for whatever, I can give you that.
Thanks!
Annie
Dear Annie,
Perfect timing for your letter, for two reasons!First, once the contest page goes live, you and/or your mom can browse some of the reading-project requests and see what other teachers have asked for, to get ideas.I know I’ve added a few Captain Underpants requests to the list.
Second, I myself just finished plowing through the first three books in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.(“PLOOPY.”Manny kills me, you guys.)I don’t know what formal grade level the books are, but I got wind of them from an 11-year-old young lady who found them hilarious, and there’s a website. It also looks like the books come in Spanish, if that’s the kids’ first language; they could start out on the Spanish-language version, get psyched about the books, and be inspired to continue in English. Or at least be inspired to continue.
At that age, I had my nose buried in Stephen King, which I wouldn’t advise but wouldn’t exactly discourage, either (this is why I shouldn’t have kids; heh) — but I also still liked re-reading the Newbery Award set my mom had gotten me: The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and I think Johnny Tremain came as part of that set.(Please tell me someone else had a discussion with her best friend about Rab coming off as a smug dillweed.…Just me and Agent Weiss, then?Great.)
Readers?Any thoughts — on inspiring books for pleasure reading, or on wanting Rab to march off to war and shut it already?
Tags: Ask The Readers contests popcult
My daughter loves Beverly Cleary (even though some of the clothes and figures of speech are dated, Ramona Quimby is still hilarious) and the Judy Blume books like Superfudge. She also likes the Judy Moody books and the Magic Treehouse series. She likes Junie B. Jones, but I can’t stand her, because Junie uses incorrect grammar (“drinked,” “teached,” etc.). The grammar is fine for a six-year-old in theory, but when six-year-olds are reading it, they start to copy Junie’s mistakes in their own speaking. Bleh.
The geek in me also says I must mention Harry Potter, the Eragon series, and the Chronicles of Narnia. I’ll also second the suggestion above that you get some graphic novels–my 6-year-old has just discovered them, and she’s hooked.
I second The Series of Unfortunate Events, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Magic Tree House, and 39 Clues (it’s a fairly new series, but new books come out very frequently because they’re written by several different well known authors)
As far as graphic novels go, Baby Mouse is adorable and Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys and Babysitter’s Club all come in graphic novel form now.
For the older kids: Coraline (as a novel or graphic novel) any series by Darren Shan (they’re creepy gorey stories that the guys LOVE) and this short book I’m currently in love with called This is What I Did:
There’s a company called Classic Comics which does classics in 3 different versions: Original Text, Quick Text, or Plain Text so you can choose based on the reading level.
Great list, everyone! I’ve been nodding my head & “oh yeah!”-ing my way through the comments, and now I’m going to have to re-read my children’s books again.
Re L.M. Montgomery: I’d say that not all of her books are kids’ books. Definitely Anne, Emily, & Jane are for kids, but some others like “The Blue Castle” and “Kilmeny of the Orchard” are not. They don’t contain inappropriate content (look who wrote them, after all), but the themes are more adult.
I’m kind of surprised no-one has mentioned Lois Lenski. For younger readers, there are a lot of picture books: the “Little” books, incuding Fire Engine, Train, Airplane, etc., as well as the season books, and the “Small” books, including Cowboy, Policeman, etc. Lots to choose from, and many are still in print.
For the older kids, her Regional series chapter books with her illustrations are great, but unfortunately, not many of them are still in print. I think “Strawberry Girl” is the most easily sourced since it’s a Newbery winner, but I’d also recommend “Prairie School” (my personal favourite), “Cotton in My Sack”, “Blue Ridge Billy”, “Boomtown”, “Judy’s Journey”, etc. They date from the 1940s, and do reflect some of the prejudices of the time (definitely not politically correct), but they can be great for teaching kids about American history. They almost always involve a low-income, farming, or immigrant scenario which your mom’s kids might find relatable.
Here’s a bibliography: http://tinyurl.com/yd9he64
I don’t know whether anyone’s already mentioned this, but for children who use English as a second langauge, then high interest, low reading age books are great. There’s a publisher in the UK called Barrington Stoke who specialise in them – I assume the US has an equivalent publisher, or maybe their books are distributed there.
Their books have age-appropriate story lines, but use simple language. They also use popular authors in the UK, like Eion Colfer, who wrote the Artemis Fowl series (which is great, btw).
For the older kids, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsberg, and The Westing Game, by Ellen Rankin, are both fun thriller/mystery type stories. For the younger ones, they will likely find the Sideways Stories from Wayside school (a series, by Louis Sachar) to be a hilarious warping of familiar concepts. If any of the kids are interested in horses, I went through a phase of reading all the Misty of Chincoteague (now kinda boring) and Black Stallion (not so PC, but more exciting as stories) novels. Pippi Longstocking is also fun for the younger ones, as is the Boxcar Children (are those still in print?), and you might try the older ones on Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain series. If they enjoy those, they might also like his other books, and/or Susan Cooper’s Dark is Rising series. That’s probably enough for one post.
Having skimmed through all the comments, I do believe I’ve seen pretty much all my childhood favourites… (The Great Brain! LOVE!!!) Man, Tomato Nation readers have awesome taste, and have given me tons of new things to look forward to reading with the kid (currently in utero) one day. (One of the things I am looking forward to most about impending parenthood is reading with the child — introducing him/her to some of my childhood favourites — and re-reading them concurrently — and in turn being turned on to newer children’s lit. A ways off, obviously, but still…) The one thing I would add is The Little Prince by Antoine de St. Exupery. I remember being completely RAPT by that story when my parents bought it for me at a train station on a long trip when I was 8 or so. Lots of pictures to make it easier going, too. Probably one of the first “longer” books I ever read. (Stands up well to re-reading in adulthood, also, when the “lessons” have a lot more resonance.)
Check out lists for awards like the Coretta Scott King Award, National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, Newberry Award, etc. Some books I’d personally recommend are The First Part Last, about a teen father; Esperanza Rising, about a Depression-era immigrant from Mexico, “The Cheetah Girl” series about a girl band, …And Now Miguel about a boy who wants to join the men sheepherding, & nearly anything by Virginia Hamilton, Gary Soto, or Walter Myers.
I’d like to add A to Z Mysteries to that list. The reading level is about 2nd grade.
Anything that has won a Newbery is also a good bet.
Oh, wow, what a great question! There are a TON of appropriate books–for the older (13+) kids, I’d like to suggest the “Bluford High” series. It has many positives: a) they are often sold for a dollar on their publisher’s website b) they have simple language but interesting storylines that appear to older kids c) did I mention they are often sold for a dollar each?
As a middle school teacher, those books were great hooks in for my lower-level readers, but they are quite “true to life” (there are some drugs and make out sessions) so that may be an issue.
Another wonderful book is “Monster” by Walter Dean Myers which tells the story of a boy on trial for murder in script form–it’s an unusual way of writing that is very text-lite on the page, so it’s intriguing. And again, I have to admit that the grittier subject matter really made it interesting for some kids–especially the boys. Anything by that author is excellent.
As an aside, if she is looking for activities and skills to go over with the kids that WON’T kill their love of reading and will be totally transferable for the rest of their lives, she should check out Kylene Beers’ “When Kids Can’t Read, What Teachers Can Do” which is FULL of strategies and activities that help kids learn to process and read more effectively AND “play” the system that seems to suck all of the fun out of reading.
Another wonderful, older kid, author is Laurie Halse Anderson. Anything she touches is gold. “Speak” is her most famous book, and it is fabulous, but again, middle school or above. Umm, I could go on and on, (I used to do this for a living the reading + struggling readers thing), but I’ll stop and just say to feel free to click through to my website and send me an email, or pass my email along to your friend. I LOVE matching people up with books!
Backing up the recommendation of the Ramona Quimby series. I’d also recommend the “Little House” series by Laura Wilder (‘Little House on the Prairie’, ‘Little House in the Big Woods’, etc.), especially the last one, which is a look back by her daughter at what was true, what was an amalgam of things that happened, and what was made up (and what proof she found in the archives to prove or disprove various things); I’m not sure if they’re still in print, but I remember being captivated by these stories, especially once I found out that they were memoirs set in the third person.
I’m going to try to not repeat books, which is hard because there have been so many “of course!” moments in this list, but here goes:
Alice books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, best read in order since she ages (very good for girls, I still read them to see what happens as she grows up and I’m in my late 20s!)
Roald Dahl, particularly The Witches and Matilda
Judy Blume – Then Again, Maybe I Won’t, Starring Sally J Freedman as Herself, Blubber, but really any and all of her books are wonderful
Bill Wallace – A Dog Called Kitty, Beauty (most of the stories take place in a rural setting)
Paula Danzinger – This Place Has No Atmosphere, Can You Sue Your Parents for Malpractice?. The Cat Ate My Gymshorts
Gary Paulsen – Hatchet
Louis Sachar – There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom, Someday Angeline, Dogs Don’t Tell Jokes, Sixth Grade Secrets
Mary Downing Hahn – Stepping on the Crack, The Dollhouse Murders
Ann M. Martin – Babysitter’s Club (so formulaic, but I used to call the bookstore every month to see if the new one was in), Ten Kids, No Pets, 11 Kids, One Summer
Norma Fox Mazer – Silver
Barthe DeClements – Fourth Grade Wizards, Fifth Grade Can Really Kill You
I agree with the idea that it doesn’t matter what kids are reading so long as they are reading. I never liked books until the BSC came out when I was 8 and then I became a lifelong devoted reader.
I second the Beverly Cleary books, I read them as a kid, and they were still a good read for my son. Ramona was an easy kid to relate to with same problems with school and family and friends kids still have today. Also my son enjoyed. Younger kids might also love the Junie B Jones series, easy read and funny story lines. I adore Junie B. Also recommend The Mouse and the Motorcycle and others in that series.
Didn’t anyone else grow up with Enid Blyton? I loved (LOVED) pretty much everything she wrote as a young reader. Also, I started reading Agatha Christie at a very young age. I know, I know – it’s not high literature, but there’s a reason that murder mysteries are eternally popular on the “reading for fun” list.
So many good suggestions here. I’m throwing in Number the Stars (4th or 5th grade reading level). I loved that book so much as a kid that I visited Copenhagen nearly a decade later solely because it was the setting of the book.
I’m currently teaching ESL kids in the same age group, and our reading book for this month is a ‘Jigsaw Jones’ mystery. It’s working really well with the students; the plot is pretty simple and they can follow the basic story without too much help. I think the target age group is around grades 2-4 for native speakers.
The other big benefit with ‘Jigsaw Jones’ is the use of idioms. The tone of the writing is very much like an old-school detective movie (‘Something was fishy’, ‘This case was really getting under my skin’, etc.). My kids think they’re hilarious, and it helps them become exposed to different ways of expressing an idea.
Good luck!
A second for Paula Danzinger, whom I think was only mentioned once. Also for Lois Lowry’s Anastasia Krupnik books, which are utterly fantastic.
Ellen Conford is great for middle schoolers- Dear Lovey Hart, I Am Desparate; We Interrupt This Semester For An Important Bulletin; And This Is Laura; A Royal Pain – all are funny and heartfelt. And slightly older readers will like To All My Fans With Love From Sylvie. Most of her titles are out of print, but were widespread in my youth and are still easily found in used bookstores.
JK Rowling. I know many a kid who, once they got a taste of Harry Potter, never put books down again.
Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew are classics. As are the Encyclopedia Brown books.
Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time.
Little Women. Treasure Island. Gulliver’s Travels.
Frank Herbert’s Dune series and Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game books. Books at that level might provide a nice challenge for some of the more advanced readers.
With you Sars on the Stephen King!
When I was around that age, one way my mum encouraged me to to tackle an intimidatingly big book was to occasionally imply it was a little too grown-up for me, and I really ought not read it – then leave it readily available.
Not sure about the ethics there in your mum’s situation, and of course the book absolutely MUST live up to the hype, but it worked for me, so just passing it on for whatever it’s worth!
Ditto on the Great Brain books-particularly since they are set in Utah!
Gordon Korman, Caroline B. Cooney, Eleanor Estes Sydney Taylor (All of A Kind Family), Little House books, Little Princess/Secret Garden, Little Women books, Homer Price, generally short stories-fables, fairy tales-I don’t care what age you are, they’re fascinating-Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang, books about kids running their own businesses, tricking adults (Kids, Inc., Nutty for President), Cynthia Blair (Hot Fudge Sunday, etc), How to Eat Fried Worms, Roald Dahl books, oh and god, a book about Banana Splits and a boy that I just loved but can’t remember the title of.
Clearly, the list goes on and on. You know what I always thought was fun when I was a kid-and I discovered major loves from?-going to used library book sales and picking out random books. They might not look good, they might be raggedy, but there are always treasures. And, I don’t know, maybe we could get a thing going here where people send some of their favorites to the writer’s mom for these kids. Not that I’m the one to organize this, but there’s nothing like sharing books you love with others.
Madeleine L’engle’s The Time quintet–A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time. Good stuff!
Anything written by Garth Nix. Although, most of them are part of a series, so they do have to be read in order.
Definitely Enid Blyton, and I started reading Agatha Christie and James Herriot around 12 too. Especially loved James Herriot. I would add “Fungus the Bogeyman”, I guess it’s a graphic novel, and also can I add some Australian recommendations? Anything by Robin Klein, such as “Hating Alison Ashley”, “Thing!”, “Penny Pollard’s Diary”, anything by Jackie French (she has a whole lot of “history” books as well as novels and picture books), “Looking for Alibrandi”, and also Nick Earls has written a few kids’ books, including the classic “48 Shades of Brown”. I would personally steer away from John Marsden, as I think they’re pretty dark, but I’d second Morris Gleitzmann. Also has anyone mentioned Katherine Paterson, “Bridge to Terebinthia”, and “Jacob Have I Loved”?
7th grade I was all about Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. You might even find someone in your town with a collection they’d like to donate. Besides being a fairly easy read, (IMO) they also teach critical thinking skilz, as you try to solve the mysteries while you’re reading.
Also big (to me at that age): Sherlock Holmes, and Ray Bradbury. Again, more adventures, and Bradbury especially will excite the imagination.
Good luck to you!
Everyone has given such good recommendations so far. I highly recommend them all. One series I didn’t see, but remember fondly, is the Sideways Stories from Wayside School. They were short, easy reads, but very entertaining. Even some plus years later, there are still stories from those books that I remember with laughter.
Daniel Manus Pinkwater. Comedic GOLD, and books for a variety of levels. So silly and random—“Fat Men from Space”, “Lizard Music”, “The Hoboken Chicken Emergency”… Like I said, he’s got short books for lower level readers and chapter books for the more advanced. Fun, goofy, and great entertainment for kids. I think his wife illustrates lots of the picture books.
E.W. Hildick did a series of mysteries (called the McGurk mysteries)–a group of kids who solve crimes/mysteries in their town. The names are alliterations usually— “The Case of the Fantastic Footprints” and “The Case of the Muttering Mummy”, for example. It would not be vital to read all of them to enjoy them—the books don’t really build on each other, other than having a first one that tells how their mystery solving team came together.
I read a lot of books by Willo Davis Roberts as a kid—“The Girl with the Silver Eyes”, for example. Sometimes more serious subject matter, usually some kind of mystery/intrigue is involved.
“Harriet the Spy” and other books by the same author, Louise Fitzhugh.
Encyclopedia Brown books–another kid who solves mysteries, but he does it alone and is super smart! Each mystery is only a couple of pages long, but there are lots in each book. The author is Donald J. Sobol and you can buy a used boxed set of 4 Encyclopedia Brown books on Amazon for about $8.
Roald Dahl has a lot to offer, and some of the kids may have seen movies of his works, too. “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “James and the Giant Peach”, “Matilda”, and I think a movie of “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is coming out soon.
If you have a decently stocked used bookstore nearby, go check that out. Any title that is well loved and popular will probably have multiple copies, and will be well-priced, to boot. Or, find someone on Ebay selling, for example, the collected works of Roald Dahl for $9.99 + shipping.
I am currently reading Jan Brett stories with my son – he checked her Christmas Treasury out of the library in September! She has all sorts of stories from all over the world, including Denmark, Africa and Costa Rica. They are beautifully illustrated, detailed and funny. Those are things that captured my interest at that age.
He is also into anything Arthur/DW/Buster by Marc Brown.
I love the Richard Scary books to this day.
A friend who is a teacher turned me onto the Chinaberry.com catalog, which is full of great options from little kids stuff to college-age.
For middle schoolers, we are reading the Frog Princess series by E.D. Baker – lots of fun and witty, though no pictures.
I have a mix of authors and book titles that I hoovered as a kid.
Enid Blyton – The school and mysteries series are great for kids between 8-12 years old. I still find them a compelling read at 23.
The Ramona Quimby books
Judy Blume
Ann. M. Martin’s The Babysitter’s club – my parents thought they were trashy but they have some value in discussing certain issues like racism, eating disorders, death, etc.
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Nancy Drew
Roald Dahl – His stories for kids are fantastically funny.
Agatha Christie
R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books, the novels aren’t very kid appropriate.
Anne of Green Gables series
What Katy Did
The Little Princess
The Giver – This one tends to be a little dark but it was fascinating
The Dark is Rising sequence
Anne of the Green Gables series. Inkheart series.
My son just plunked Mo Willems’ “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” into my lap. He correctly calls it a classic.
That and any of Mo Willems’ books would be great for the older kids to read with the younger kids.
Theresa, my boys LOVE that book!
I have to mention/second the mention of:
Roald Dahl’s stuff,
Russell Hoban’s “Frances” books,
Arnold Lobel’s “Frog and Toad” books and “Owl at Home”,
Ian Falconer’s “Olivia” books,
“Henry and Mudge” chapter books,
the “I Spy” series (“I Spy Treasure Hunt” is hands-down the best), and
Jon Sciezcka’s “Trucktown” stuff, which was begun as part of a literacy outreach to boys who were reluctant readers, although I know plenty of girls who enjoy them too.
I second the vote for the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. He wrote the first one for the specific purpose of reading it aloud to a class of blind children, so his style is very well-aimed for reading out loud to non-readers. He carefully gives each species of woodland animal its own distinct accent and speech pattern, as well as its own niche in the social order of the stories: otters are sailors, badgers are single-combat warriors, hares are the border guards and general army, rats and ermine and foxes and other carnivores are the enemy/criminal/villain classes, mice and squirrels and voles are the farmers, shrews run the riverfront like longshoremen, I could go on and on. There’s even a vegetarian cat who cohabits with an owl. Jacques has a wonderful sense of plot and character, and there’s even been an excellent animated series that was shown (on PBS maybe?) a few years ago. Each book can stand alone, although I would start with “Redwall” itself, and “Martin the Warrior” second. Available in paperback.
Ok, I read “Huge” again over the weekend & there’s WAY more adult content than I remembered. Yow.
It’s still excellent, just not for the YA crowd.
Wow…223 comments!
To further the L’Engle love – don’t leave off The Arm of the Starfish, which was responsible for a friend of mine becoming a biologist.
I totally loved reading horror-story anthologies (Alfred Hitchcock Presents stuff, for example).
Zilpha Keatley Snyder wrote some of my favorite books (to this day): The Velvet Room, The Changeling, The Egypt Game are a few titles.
The Liza, Bill, and Ted adventures by Peggy Parrish were big favorites of my family.
The Edward Eager books were always the first stop at the weekly library visit; they nearly always were checked out, but when we could nab one or two, it made a great week (though one where the siblings squabbled over the books).
OH – and The Phantom Tollbooth, of course. Darn, I meant to start with that.
Sarah D. Bunting says:
September 25, 2009 at 2:52 PM
@Tisha: Yikes, “Go Ask Alice”? I mean, I read that at 9 years old, but…I probably shouldn’t have. Heh.
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I think I read it at about 13. And, I suggested it because like I said, I was NOT a reader, but it kept me reading. And the OP did say “through, say, 10th grade” so I thought it was ok to suggest for the older kids.
I totally agree with the “anything by Garth Nix” comment. Sabriel, Liriel and the Abhorsen are great books.
Some other series:
The keys to the kingdom – Garth Nix (5 books out so far)
Septimus Heap – Angie Sage (4 books out so far)
Inkworld trilogy – Cornelia Funke (2 out / 3rd in hardcover, I think)
@Leigh in CO
The Egypt Game! I loved that book so much as a kid. Then I started on a small period of very sincerely trying out spells and Egyptian God(ess) worship. (not authentically, just in my mind). Perhaps this was a bit in conflict w/ the methodist upbringing but that book made such an impression.
I had totally forgotten about it. To the library!
Um, I’m kind of in love with all of you. Seriously. I think someone has mentioned every book that ever meant anything to me as a child. Where the Red Fern Grows! Frog and Toad! Amelia Bedelia! Indian in the Cupboard! Best trip down memory lane ever!
A special shriek of love though, for all of the Ramona love. I adore those books. Also, if you live in Portland (as I do!) you should check out Walking with Ramona, a guided tour through the neighborhood that inspired the setting for the books! How I wish I lived on Klickitat street…
I don’t know how they’ve held up over time, but I LOVED Willow Davis Roberts as a kid. I just devoured her books, most of which are mysteries. My faves:
The View from the Cherry Tree
What Could Go Wrong?
Scared Stiff
I scanned over pretty quickly, but I didn’t see the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan mentioned. It’s still in process (I think they’re up to book 6 or 7 now), but it’s a good fantasy/action series that might appeal to older readers.
For younger readers, I’d recommend the Great Brain books by John D. Fitzgerald too.
Arnold Lobel rocks my kid’s world (and mine, too). I love Tamora Pierce – particularly for middle school girls – and would recommend the Boxcar Children series for younger kids. Little House on the Prairie books are always good, as are the color fairy books (The Violet Fairy Tale Book, The Yellow Fairy Tale Book, etc.). I also recommend Sprite’s Secret and the succeeding books for younger readers (my nieces loved them in first grade).
Rats, I forgot to add the Trixie Belden mystery series for 4-6th graders.
A book I loved was Willow by George Lucas and the follow up stories for the almost grownup Elora Danan by Chris Claremont (Shadow Moon, Shadow Dawn and Shadow Star). The Shadow series is probably for an older audience but it is so good. Willow talks about the prophecy for Elora and the Shadow series fulfills it.
I second (and third!) the Louis Sachar recommendations. And would like to add “Holes” to the list of books by him — also made into a movie with Sigourney Weaver and Shia Labeouf. A really great option for the boy readers — often a harder demographic to interest in reading at younger ages.
I’d also like to add the Joey Pigza series by Jack Gantos. A great series about a young boy with ADHD — very good for kids with similar issues to relate to. And for other kids to get a sense of the struggle of some of their classmates. Lots of laughs in these books!
“Missing May” by Cynthia Rylant is another great book. Best suited for 4th or 5th graders. Deals with the loss of a loved one in a great way.
Specifically series related: Hank the Cowdog is something my 8 year old seems to be enjoying. Lemony Snickett was a bit of a snooze for my 11 year old, but would introduce a lot of new vocab. The “Dear America” and related historical series are really interesting because they read like journal entries and cover pretty much any historical era you can think of.
@Tanya – my mom loved The Egypt Game too, and STILL wouldn’t let me make a headdress out of a bleach bottle. Smart woman, my mom!
I volunteer for a K-3 reading program that I also worked for a few years back. It’s geared toward kids who have lower reading comprehension and many of them are low income/ESL. Here’s a list of books that I loved to read and that the kids really enjoyed.
Chapter books? The Ramona books are great, so are the “Junie B. Jones” books and “The Magic Treehouse” series. I’d also go with almost anything by Judy BlumeRhoald Dahl or Louis Sachar
Non-chapter: “Click, Clack, Moo,” “Giggle, Giggle, Quack” or “Duck for President,” by Doreen Cronin are all fantastic.
Others I’d recommend: “Cows Can’t Fly” by David Milgrim
“Dog Breath,” by Dav Pilkey
The “Ms. Spider” books by David Kirk
The “Madeline” books
Anything by Eric Carle (“The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” “Polar Bear, Polar Bear, what do you see,” etc. “Hello, Red Fox, also by Carle, has really cool pictures involving colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel, and kids LOVE it)
Maybe Dr. Seuss, except that I don’t know if you want a lot of made-up-words for kids who are ESL. I do know that the kids in my program loved “Green Eggs and Ham” so much that my volunteers asked me to hide it.
Boys like anything about bugs and worms. We had a book called “Do Tarantulas have teeth,” by Melvin Berger, that was VERY popular. And it’s non-fiction, so they’re learning.
Any of the “If you give a mouse a cookie” books (There are a lot of “If you give a Mouse a….” books)
The program I volunteer for gives out an award every year that is based entirely on kids’ votes for their favorite, and Powell’s bookstore in Portland has a whole section on their Web site of books that have won that award. Check it out for more ideas: http://www.powells.com/ppbs/28160.html. I love all of these books and know from years of reading them with kids that they’re very popular and quite appropriate for kids who are just learning the language.
I think I love all the suggestions, but have to throw in another plug for the Redwall series. The books are long, but kids love them. I used to volunteer in my son’s school library, and those books were ALWAYS being checked out. My son is *very* dyslexic, and the books are long, so I never considered them for my son, until another dyslexic kid recommended them to us… we read them (part on his own, part together) and he LOVED them. These books were seriously what motivated him to read. What’s more we went to a couple of different book signings, a year or so apart, with Brian Jacques (we’d told him the dsylexic motivation thing at the first one) and he *remembered*. My son also loves the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, and the Shadow Thief (similar theme, different story) by Anne Ursu. Also, while they’re pretty darned simple, the Maximum Ride series (James Patterson) is also pretty darned popular with the young folk. He also liked (I’m going on the theory that he’s male, and has a hard time reading, so anything that makes an impression on him must be extra-special good) Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac (about the Navajo Code Talkers of WW2), Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury (about a Japanese-American teenager who enlists after Pearl Harbor), and Hatchet by Gary Paulson.
Anne McCaffrey (sp?) Dragon Riders Of Pern!!! (All of PERN, actually. I’m reading them to my 9 year old daughter, but I fell in love w/ them, myself, in Jr. High.)
What about the Encyclopedia Brown books? I loved those when I was a kid!