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Original poster

Series of first chapter books for 5yo girl?

41 replies

CoffeeChocolateWine · 23/02/2018 11:18

My DD is nearly 6 and LOVES reading. I would like to get her some first chapter books to read with her. When my DS was the same age we read the Dinosaur Cove books together which he loved and I loved reading with him, but my daughter isn't really interested in reading them, mainly because the two main characters are boys.

I'm trying to find a similarly gripping series of early chapter books that she would enjoy, but when I look in the library I am faced with shelves upon shelves of Rainbow Fairies and magical fluffy animals. She has read some of the Rainbow Fairies books and quite enjoys them but I would love something a bit more exciting for her that isn't fairies, princesses or magical fluffy animals! She borrowed a book from the library last week about a young girl pirate which she loves and has read it over and over again, but there aren't any others in my library with the same character...but that is the sort of thing she enjoys.

I thought about Pippi Longstocking but it's in the next age group up in the library so I think it may be a bit a bit advanced for her. Could anyone suggest something else for her?

OP posts:
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JudgeRulesNutterButter · 17/05/2018 20:34

Helen Peters has a farm themed series (“a duckling called Button / a pig called truffle” etc) which my 5yo is enjoying.

All our others have been mentioned already!

Phillpot12 · 17/05/2018 20:25

We love Claude and Squishy quite short with plenty of pictures and fun plots. My daughter then read Squishy McFluff on her own.

thatwhichwecallarose · 17/05/2018 20:18

My dd loves Maisie Hitchens books by Holly Webb. They’ll never win literarily awards but she loves them and that’s good enough for me! Anything to get them to read/enjoy reading!

dolphin50 · 17/05/2018 20:16

the wishing chair collection and the faraway tree books by enid blyton are very good as are the roald dahl books. other favorites are jacqueline wilson and michael morpurgo. they have both written stories for younger children. Jacqueline wilsons lizzie zipmouth, the dinosaurs packed lunch, video rose and the monster storyteller are all books for younger readers and michael morpurgo has great books too. the butterfly lion is a book i cried in while reading to my daughter. the sophie in the saddle series are also great as are milly molly mandy, also the just so stories and the elves and the shoemaker. my 5 year old loves all the fairytales like hansel and gretel, jack and the beanstalk and little red riding hood aswell. we recently read rapunzel before then watching tangled together. other favourites are the land of stories series which is about a boy and a girl who while reading about fairytales end up in different lands like neverland and wonderland and go on all these adventures. the chronicles of narnia, 5 children and it, the secret garden, peter pan, bridge to terebithia and harry potter are great for older readers but can be started on at this age as i know some children of this age do read these sorts of books too. depending of course on the advancement of the childrens reading level.
reading is so important and fun for children as it opens their minds and creativity. its great that you are searching for more books as parents encouragement can end up with a childs life long love of reading.

PopGoesTheWeaz · 17/05/2018 18:34

Magic Treehouse if you can find one on a topic she likes?

Andijustknew · 09/05/2018 17:32

Magic Faraway Tree went down well with my 5 yr old DD. And with my DS when he was that age.

keely79 · 09/05/2018 17:28

Ottoline series by Chris Riddell was popular with DD's class when they were 5/6 - beautifully illustrated.

Waddlelikeapenguin · 09/05/2018 17:22

Spell sisters series
Zoe's rescue zoo

stargirl1701 · 29/04/2018 10:12

The Sophie series.

http://www.dickkingsmith.com/book/sophies-snail-2/

UrbaneSprawl · 29/04/2018 10:08

Take a look at the ‘Anna Hibiscus’ series by Atinuke - we found some of these in our local library, and they’re a fun and accessible introduction to chapter books.

LostInTheColonies · 29/04/2018 03:37

Another vote for Dick King-Smith's Sophie books - entertaining for the adults, too.
The 13 storey tree house books were v popular with DD when she was 5/6.
Billy B Brown?

Lilamani · 29/04/2018 03:00

My DD loved the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary when she was that age. Also the Junie B. Jones series when she was a little younger.

Graphista · 29/04/2018 02:38

If it's a good library they may have abridged children's versions of classics but then I can remember enjoying the original versions of Christmas carol, Oliver Twist and little women around that age

Taytotots · 29/04/2018 02:33

Would Cressida Cowell's 'How to train your dragon' series be too old?

Taytotots · 29/04/2018 02:29

Second Dick King Smith's Sophie series - Sophie is certainly no pushover (poor Dawn!) but very much every day life stories rather than fantasy.

Original poster
CoffeeChocolateWine · 07/03/2018 14:00

Just popped back on this thread to see lots more suggestions, thank you. We’ve taken a few out of the library so will see how we get on with them.

slightlyglitter, the book was called Pirates to the rescue.

Jellybelly, we have the first Princess in Black book and DD loves it...in fact she dressed up as the Princess in Black for World Book Day! Need to get hold of some more.

OP posts:
jellybellywelly · 01/03/2018 23:32

Princess in black series my dd loves. We got the idea from that BBC gender neutral documentary no more boys and girls. A princess who fights monsters in her spare time. Bit formulaic but great for that age /stage I think

schmalex · 25/02/2018 06:53

Another vote for Rescue Princesses - they're much more adventurous than the standard princess story.

Chienrouge · 24/02/2018 22:15

My 4 year old loves Roald Dahl... Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda are her favourites so far.

mayathebee · 24/02/2018 22:13

At that age DD loved Worst Witch, Agatha Parrot series, Girl Wonder series by Malorie Blackman, Daisy and the Trouble With ....... books and My Brothers Famous Bottom series by Jeremy Strong. She also enjoyed My Naughty Little Sister and Naughty Amelia Jane.

slightlyglittermaned · 24/02/2018 16:39

What is the library book about the young girl pirate OP?

Second the Jonny Duddle books - main character Matilda is friends with a pirate boy & they have various adventures. DS loves them. He's also enjoying the Worst Witch books (there's a TV series on iPlayer at the moment tho not sure how close to the books it is).

We also have a couple of Terry Pratchett books of short stories - DS not so keen on those possibly because there isn't a main story to get into.

onlyconnect · 24/02/2018 16:38

It might sound old fashioned but my daughter enjoyed Milly Milly Mandy, My Naughty Little Sister and Mrs Pepperpot

Seeline · 24/02/2018 16:34

Little Animal Ark books (later you can progress to the Animal Ark series)
Tumtum and Nutmeg series

brilliotic · 24/02/2018 16:19

The 'Magic Treehouse' series (not to be confused with the 13 storey treehouse series) is a fun read. Maybe a tiny bit easier than Dinosaur Cove. They were what got my DS into reading.

It is a boy/girl (brother and sister) duo that goes on adventures by opening books in the magic treehouse and saying 'I wish I was there'. In that way they go to all sorts of places/times where they have to overcome mild peril. The boy, though older, is a bit more hesitant, 'scared' so to say, and likes to plan things, whereas the girl tends to boldly just jump in and 'wing it'.

BlueChampagne · 23/02/2018 15:36

Sophie and the Shadow Woods