How old were your children when you started reading them chapter books?

[NeverNic]

Could you also please recommend me something to start with?

[AmeliaJack]

Started reading them chapter books at about 4yo. The house to train your dragon series by Cressida Cowell is brilliant.

[AmeliaJack]

How not house!

[exexpat]

About age 4, I think. The BFG, other youngish ones by Roald Dahl & Dick King-Smith, the My Naughty Little Sister books etc.

[RatOnnaStick]

Yeah about the same age - when he started school he was ready for a longer story.

Dinosaur Cove
Flat Stanley
George's Marvellous Medicine
Fantastic Mr Fox
The Faraway Tree series (Enid Blyton) was especially loved.

[SatsukiKusakabe]

Around 4. We read My Naughty Little Sister, Secret Seven. Now 5 and has enjoyed George's Marvellous Medicine is currently having James & The Giant Peach. We did read Charlie and The Chocolate Factory at 4 , but I feel he would have got more out of it if we'd left it a little later, so I'm keeping that in mind for future as even though his comprehension is very good, I don't want to ruin books he's not quite at the optimum age for by reading them too soon, or to deprive him of the pleasure of discovering them himself!

We've just discovered Dinosaur Cove which he enjoys, but I have to admit are less enjoyable to read aloud!

[NeverNic]

We're exactly at that point. My eldest turned 4 a few months ago and has just started reception. Picture books have started to feel a little young, so I'm glad that you've all said now. I remember my mum reading The Magic Faraway Tree to me when I was little and I loved it. So pleased it still works for children now. Keep the suggestions coming! Thank you!

[ShoppingBasket]

Dirty bertie, horrid henry - couldn't get enough of HH and still loves to read them. Anything pretty rude in between!
Roald Dahl, I read matilda etc to him at that age, he liked them but he has just re read them and loved them age 6/7. He really appreciated them this time round.

[BlackIsTheNewBlack]

Like most others, when my ds 4 we started reading chapter books.
George's marvellous medicine
The big
The twits (he loved this one!)

He's now just turned 5 and is reading chapter books from school as his reading books. This has seriously curbed our reading 'for fun'! There's only so many hours in the day 😕

Does anyone have any recommendations of chapter books that would be age appropriate? I'd like to get some for Christmas.

[Whence]

When they were still in an incubator. (I'm not pretending they understood!)

[jayisforjessica]

We started fairly early on (four, five) reading him the Famous Five books. DS is actually named after one of the characters from those books, so he particularly enjoyed those! There's a real sense of "kids save the day" to them, which I liked when I was younger and which DS likes too. Be prepared to have conversations about the classism/racism in them though. It's subtle but it is there, given that they were mostly written in that post-war time and unfortunately reflect the prevailing thought of the time. With that said, if you're prepared to overlook/explain those parts away, they are good clean fun!

[DrWhy]

I've just started reading 5 week old DS famous 5! Like the PP I'm not expecting him to understand it but I got through 2 or 3 shorter stories during his bedtime feed so this is easier. They are my childhood books and I'm not sure if I'd recommend them, they are very much 'of their time' the ones I'm currently reading is absurdly sexist!