Reading book for summer holidays. 6 yr old good reader at end of YR1

[Toowittoowoo]

Hi,

I am looking for a book to read with my 6 yr old over the summer holidays. She is a pretty good reader and she is currently reading those Rachel and Kirsty fairy stories to me. She enjoys them and they have served their purpose over the last term but I want something a bit more exciting for the summer holidays.

It could be at the same level as the Rainbow fairy book and then she could read it all or if it was harder we could read a page each.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Thanks

Go to the library and do the summer reading challenge

Bill's New Frock by Anne Fine.

Was just going to say do the summer reading challenge like tomorrowillbeachicken said.
That's what me and my DD are doing. Six books to read over the break.
DD loved doing it last year especially with getting stickers and when you complete the challenge you get a certificate sent to school .

The library challenge is very good but it doesn't help me pick the books. We have read most of the series that I remember like Worst Witch and faraway tree. We've tried one David Walliams at Christmas but it was a too old I think.

She is my oldest so I am a bit out of touch with what kids are reading now.

Anne Fine is a good suggestion, I remember enjoying her books when I was younger. I have looked up Bill' New Frock and it won the Nestlé Smarties Prize for the 6-8 yrs category. Maybe I could look at the books that won in other years to get some ideas.

There must be better books out there than the 100s of rainbow fairy books....I can't take them much longer!

Ask the librarians! Say what you've said here and they'll be able to suggest similar authors. Or they can say what's popular or you can pick something at random.

We're really lucky with our library and staff - walking distance and they go out of their way to welcome the kids. My son expressed an interest in a particular series of books - next time I went in, they had a dozen books in the series for him!

Sorry I didn''t help Toowittoowwoo our library are very welcoming like Bardolino's library and help children find books and suggest books based on interests so assumed all were similar.

I also got very tired of Rainbow Magic Fairies books at one stage: Some ideas for your daughter:

I expect she would really enjoy the The "Daisy and the trouble with" books and could probably read them all herself. My DC also enjoyed the My Naughty Little Sister series at that age. Jill Tomlinson's animal stories like "The Otter who wanted to know" are also excellent, as are Sally Gardner's magical children series.

My 6 year old has read all of the diary of a wimpy kid and seems to enjoy those!

Otherwise there are still some. I've picture books to enjoy!

Maybe some of the books on the 5-7 or 6-8 lists on here might be worth looking at;
www.badgerlearning.co.uk/ecommerce/primary-resources/library-reading-boxes/confident-fluent-readers/

The Ottaline books by Chris Riddell. My year 1 DD loves them.

Also badger also have real books by book band here:
www.badgerlearning.co.uk/ecommerce/primary-resources/library-reading-boxes/banded-reading-boxes/

At a similar level (or fractionally harder) to Rainbow Magic are:

Magic Animal Friends series
Secret Kingdom series
RSPCA books such as The Abandoned Kitten (several books telling a story of a rescued animal)
Cat Tales books by Linda Newbery (Shop Cat, Rain Cat etc)
Humphrey the Hamster series

Also worth looking at Isadora Moon. Also books by Jill Tomlinson. Winnie the Witch?

If DD brings her reading record home tonight I'll take a look at what she's read over the past year - she's had scores of books out of the library.

I know it sounds a cop-out saying 'look in the library' (as others have suggested), but truly that's the easiest way to try lots of different things. Select a few possibles and get your DD to read the back page summary to see if she fancies them. Befriend the librarian.

My Naughty Little Puppy and Magic Molly books would be good

The dragons of crumbling castle and the witch's vacuum cleaner have gone down well with some children in my class as have the Titchy Witch books.

My naughty little sister books by Dorothy Edwards.

My DD moved to my secret unicorn books (better written than rainbow fairy), the Darcey Bussell ballet books, the worst witch (best of that lot, clearly), and then to Enid Blyton Boarding school books.

A decent bookshop like Foyles is good as well. Ask the staff to narrow you down a selection based on age and reading ability and other books you feel are at the right level. I've done this loads of times and they are so helpful.

When dd2 ran out of Rainbow Fairies, I looked for others with similar covers (you know, pink/lilac, shiny stuff etc) and found Animal Magic and a few similar ones. That expanded her horizons enough that she was then prepared to try a few animal books, that led to some Michael Morpugo and then she was off and running. This was all via the library. I refuse to buy Rainbow Fairy books unless they're 50p in the charity shop.

Have you tried going to the library and just making a massive pile of books, and saying 'read the blurb and put it in a yes pile or a no pile'? That works well for dd2 - she wouldn't take lots of things off the shelf, but given a choice and no pressure, will often choose something that I wouldn't necessarily have expected.

dd2 is the same stage as your dd (just ending Y1) and she's really enjoying some of the old fashioned classics - so perhaps you could try reading something like The Secret Garden or Five Children And It over the summer? I was surprised how much she liked them. And the Enid Blyton school stories are a massive hit, in fact I think she read those almost straight after her Rainbow Fairies stage. Avoid Ballet Shoes, though, the first chapter is too sad.

Bored silly with rainbow fairies here too - one of not many things I point blank refuse to read to children. Wimpy kid is another.

Some things DD has enjoyed at a similar reading level and I find less annoying!
Pretty much anything by Jeremy Strong.
Holly Webb animal stories.
The owl who was afraid of the dark & others in series (chapter book not picture book incarnation)
Ottoline
13 Storey Treehouse
Magic Treehouse
Mr Gum
Claude in the City et al
Winnie the Witch chapter book format books

Agree summer reading challenge is good.
My dd enjoyed reading the David Walliams books at that age
Surely she'll read more than one book!

Swallows and Amazons - all Arthur Ransome stories are entertaining, and describe a world very different from today, so they are like 'informal history'. If it is too difficult for DD to read herself just yet, read it to her, and she will grow into it!

I agree with the suggestions to go to the library & seek help.

In the same boat.

We've liked:

the Violet Mackerel series
Dick King-Smith books (currently digging the Sophie series but also Lady Lollipop and more...)
Captain Underpants
Horrid Henry

& lots more - our library has easier-to-read books in one section so I just pick out stuff on whatever the current favoured theme is (dragons right now!)

She might be ready for Ottoline by Chris Riddell.

Also:
13-storey treehouse
Tom Gates
Little Legends
Secret 7
Some of the Roald Dahl (Fantastic Mr Fox for example)

For your to read to her: Kaspar Prince of Cats by Morpurgo and Little House on the Prairie (to be read alongside some Native American literature)

Come and visit us in the books thread!

Anything by Pamela Butchart
Daisy & the trouble with...
Storey Treehouse books