moving on from picture books

[codswallop]

I have a 4 and a half year old. We love all the books mentioned in t he other threads but I would like to moive on to more in depth books. IYSWIM.

However i do not want to read to him books he will enjoy reading himself - he has the Horrid Henry tapes for example.
Any ideas?

Encyclopedia Britannica? That's pretty in depth and he certainly won't enjoy reading it himself

bog off!

I've got the Far Away Tree books by Enid Blyton lined up for DS2 (4 and a bit).

good idea pars

Have your tried searching on Amazon? Even if you don't want to buy them, you can see what other books people are buying for 4 year olds - I got quite a few good ideas!
DS1 (3.5) isn't quite really for 'all words' yet, but we're going to try some of the Enid Blyton short stories.

I loved all the Enid Blyton books when I was growing up. Everything from the one with all the dolls that come alive when no one is around to the Magic Faraway Tree series. You can buy them in a variety of fashions, some have huge big pictures and others have less pictures and more words on the page. I'm sure my mum read them to me to start with and then I started reading them myself and never put them away not to be read again. They are all time favourites and I still love them even now. They bring back all those fond memories of childhood where you could truly believe in a magic tree at the bottom of your garden.

HOw about the hungry caterpillar which is also another all time fave.

Have a look at the Book People at see what they are offering for beginner readers (5-7yo). We got a set with Dick King-Smith etc in. These might be good to read to him now, then in a couple of years he may enjoy reading them himself.

We launched into Harry Potter when DD was 5yo but only as bedtime reading. And I think we did some of the Far Away Tree books too. And Narnia.

As bedtime reading, we did books prob aimed 2-3years older than her actual age, whilst letting her read at her own level. It's one reason why I've never objected to school giving her 'easy' books.

I love these sort of threads, as I love reading to my boys! Just bought another bookshelf today, and have been sorting out books, so I'm full of ideas.

How long to you read to your son for each night? Do you think you/he can cope with stories lasting 7 nights or more? or not? (Which books have you enjoyed at the right stage?) Then I'll come to you with some suggestions at the right level.

I second the Roald Dahl and the Dick King Smith suggestions.

kmg1 - I think that reading one story over a number of nights is great - sometimes they need reminding "what happened last night" - but on the whole it adds to the enjoyment and makes reading ( and hearing what happened next ) something to look forward to.

I adore the Orlando the Marmalade Cat books and Babar the elephant.dd does too!

gosh!Have only just checked this. he gets 20 mins a night - sometimes shared with hi slittle brother - likes gruffalo and stuff at the mo but I feel I want to have a seoerate story thats just for him and me and that will give him that lovely feeling of being into a book.

OK - just starting out - I would recommend choose a book with no more than 100 pages, otherwise you'll both get fed up before they end. 70pp is the ideal.

The 'easy' Roald Dahl ones are great: The Giraffe the Pelly and Me springs to mind. Fantastic Mr Fox is great, but is rather 'gun-oriented' so may not suit everyone! Dick King-Smith is lovely, as others have mentioned. 'The Dragon Boy' is an all-time favourite here. also his Sophie stories are lovely "Sophie's snail" is the first one.

The boys like the Faraway Tree and the Wishing Chair, but I don't enjoy it, and we all usually get fed up before the end. But the chapters are very short, which is good.

I wouldn't worry about not reading to him books that he will enjoy himself - you can always read to him things that he will not be able to read himself for a year or two, and he will still enjoy reading them himself when he's older.

A good source at this stage is your local library - section of L - learner readers. Reading 'proper' books to your children at this age is IMO the best thing you can do for their literacy - expands their vocabulary immensely, and teaches them to listen well. Choose your books carefully and you will very soon be able to progress onto longer, more complex books, which are more fun for you all. DS1 is almost 6, and we have already read him things like The Hobbit, The Lion/witch/wardrobe, Harry Potter 1-3, The Railway Children, The Phoenix and the Carpet.

Hope that helps - sorry it was so long