Reading

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Hi,
I have recently been told my DD is gifted and talented for reading. I am after some advice on what she could read.
She is in year one at an infant school and is currently bringing home white book band books but her teacher has told me these are much too easy for her but all they have in year one, and that we need to read them but focus on writing alternative endings and they will order more suitable books for her soon.
I feel a bit weird about it as although I knew she was a good reader I have read many mumsnet threads that seem to say she is average so never gave it much thought.
Her teacher said to keep providing her books at her level at home but I am stuck on what to give her. She has read all Roald Dahl except The Witches, Boy and Going Solo. She has flew through the rainbow magic books and I am looking for something her reading/comprehension level (which I was told by her teacher is about year 5) but that have suitable content for a six year old girl. Does anyone have any suggestions?

You could try the oxford reading tree books. DS loves the Project X code books (he is also year 1). Someone linked to a really cheep deal a while ago and we bought the lot up to band 12.
To be honest though it is hard to find books with a suitable subject for DC so young. DS can read anything but quickly loses interest if he doesn't understand it. There are posters on here who say their 4yo is reading Lord of the Rings, DS could read it but it would mean nothing to him so he happily reads comics, childrens atlases and books about dinosaurs.

Apart from reading lot's of books, there is a good website purely for comprehension, if you are interested.(It's American, and it's completely free.) You read short passage and answer few questions. All the topics of each passage is interesting and my DS loves it.

www.readtheory.org/

Hi OP, how about

Enid Blyton's The Magic Faraway Tree
My Naughty Little Sister
Horrid Henry
The Worst Witch
Milly Molly Mandy
Charlotte's Web

At that age, dd enjoyed the Mr Gum books, the Spy Dog series, Pippi Longstocking, Enid Blyton, the early Harry Potter books and classics like Heidi, Ballet Shoes, Little House on the Prairie etc.

My DD by the end of year one was reading mostly sapphire book band books. For us the real challenge was to find books that challenged her comprehension and decoding skills but which were of a level she could deal with emotionally. As we got into the higher bands a lot of the books are aimed at a level of social and emotional maturity that she just didn't have at 6 (understandably). Particularly she had a real issue with threat and would just run away and refuse to read any further. Even books like Pippi Longstocking were too much for her at this stage in year one.

We got around this by reading a lot of non fiction. The usborne lift the flap books were a big hit. As was murderous maths towards the end of the year. We also read a lot of poetry. Her favourite is 'the night mail'. We have a book called 'the nation's favourite comic poems' which we enjoyed together.

From a fiction perspective the Faraway Tree books worked well as did just about anything by Dick King Smith. The Sophie books worked particularly well as we have them as audio books read by 'Old Jack' (Bernard Cribbins) so after she'd read them she could listen to him telling the stories. Towards the end of the year early Roald Dahl came into play she's read Fantastic Mr Fox and James and the Giant Peach.

There are also the dreaded Rainbow Magic books. I think you have to treat them as a gateway drug to get them hooked on reading. I wouldn't introduce them until you think your DD can read them mostly independently as you'll get very fed up with them otherwise. They were the first books where I'd find my DD sat on the stairs ready to go to school reading because she was desperate to find out what happens next.

My DD's favourites at 6/7, though some of these will be more or less suitable depending on your child's sensitivity:

• Lily Quench series (feisty princess - highly recommended, was her absolute favourite for a couple of years)
• Most of the Narnia books (wardrobe, prince caspian, the dawn treader and the horse and his boy all went down well, the latter bizarrely being her favourite; silver chair was too scary and the later books too religious)
• Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest series - another massive recommendation, not scary, very imaginative, strong female characters
• Some of the lighter Diana Wynne Jones books - ogre downstairs, first couple of chrestomancis, power of three - though they do touch on some "older" issues. My daughter's favourite author between about 6 and 9, and she still says power of three is her favourite book ever.

If your dd is reading Roald Dahl all these are within her grasp, but you'll have to make judgements about what is age appropriate for her. DD was randomly sensitive about stuff - she stopped Harry Potter halfway through the second book (in Y1) but all of the above were fine - even though some seemed more inappropriate than HP in some ways.

Oh Laurence Child's Clarence Bean novels - not the picture books, there are proper novels too, my daughter adored these!

And as your daughter likes Roald Dahl, a recommendation from my Dahl-loving son: Jeremy Strong - all his books are funny but the 100 mile an hour dog series is so hilarious that you might want to do some pelvic floor exercises before reading.

Thank you for your replies. I shall have a look at some of your suggestions.

Dr Dolittle books are wonderful. Beverly Cleary's Ramona books are fantastic, and good for her age: clear, simple and elegant writing.