Call me old fashioned but is anyone else surprised at the level of sass and attitude in a lot of early reader books these days?  Little has caught the reading bug but our jump from beginner books to early readers has been a tough one to navigate.

While I am not naive and don’t plan on sheltering my children, I do believe that setting the right example is the best way to model the behavior I expect for my children and that carries all the way to the content they are being exposed to. At the age of 6, I do not want my children to read books that are full of children being disrespectful, using unkind language, being mean spirited, talking back, and having a negative attitude.  

So in my quest for good reading material I have found several series that have gotten little completely head over heels with reading:

Narwhal and Jelly by Ben Clanton

These silly books kicked off her love of reading.  They are a great introduction to reading with their comic book style and cute, sweet, and fun (all while having a little educational component)  They are enjoyable for both kids and adults and have been re-read a plenty of times!

The Mercy Watson Series by Kate DiCamillo

These books have us all laughing out loud!  The chapters are 3-4 pages long, engage the reader and have beautiful illustrations.  She couldn’t get enough!  Great for early readers as well as engaging for those that have moved on to higher levels.

Princess in Black Series by Shannon and Dean Hale

I am all about books with strong female lead characters and these books deliver while being fun and engaging!  Every page has beautiful illustrations and the stories and again draw the reader in!

Magic Tree House Books by Mary Pope Osborne

Little was exposed to these books in Kindergarten and they have become a fast favorite.  We love reading about the adventures of Jack and Annie, and giving exposure to a variety of topics spanning periods of time.  The entire series consists of over 50 books and we started off with a box set of the first half because she couldn’t get enough!

Please share your favorites in the comments.  I am a firm believer that helping a child find the joy of reading is a priceless gift!

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