Our Current Reading List

A reader recently asked me to give some specific books that Elliott has read recently and which series I would suggest for 1st and 2nd grade boys.  So I decided just to put up a post every week or two with some of the books that Elliott has read recently and liked.  This week I'm going to start with some series that we've been reading, but I'm hoping to post about some individual books later, too.

 

Right now Elliott is really into the Black Lagoon Adventures chapter books.  He reads one pretty much every day.  And yes, I mean he reads the entire book (they are only 60 something pages each, with lots of pictures) in a fairly short amount of time.  He got a set of 17 for his birthday last month, and already had 2 others.  He's read all of them since his birthday, and read a lot of them at least twice.  He's read the Halloween one so frequently that he can recite much of it word for word.  It's probably his very favorite book right now.  They are early chapter books.  According to Scholastic, they are for 2nd-3rd grades, and have reading levels from 2.4-3.8. 

This reading level system is pretty easy to understand.  The number before the period is the grade level, and the number after the period is the month.  So for instance, the reading level of 2.4 would be the level that a student that meets standards would be able to read in the fourth month of second grade.

They are fun books to read.  The narrator has a very active imagination, and always imagines that things are going to be crazier or scarier than they really are. Elliott laughs and says that things wouldn't REALLY be the way that Hubie imagines that they would be, but still really enjoys the crazy things that Hubie thinks about.  



He's also really into Geronimo Stilton right now.  He asked me if I thought the Easter Bunny would bring him Geronimo Stilton books this year if he's really good.  These books are a little pricier than a lot of chapter books for kids, but they are full color.  There are plenty of pictures, and some of the words are in different colors, fonts, and boldness.  He doesn't read these nearly as fast, but does enjoy a chapter or two at a time.  There are a lot of these books (over 50), so they could keep a child busy for quite some time.  According to Scholastic they appeal to grades 2-4, and are 4th grade reading level.  Even if your child isn't an advanced reader, these would be a fun series to read together.

Geronimo Stilton is a mouse, and the stories are told from his perspective.  Some of the vocabulary used by him is a play on words that we use, just made into mouse-y words.  Like he lives in New Mouse City, Mouse Island.  Things are fabumouse, etc.  The stories are good, and as I said before, the presentation is awesome.  The book includes lots of detailed pictures, including maps and charts.

 

One of Elliott's favorite picture book series is Skippyjon Jones.   Skippyjon is a cat who imagines he is a Chihuahua.  He imagines that he goes on a lot of adventures.  They have some made up words, and some Spanish vocabulary as well, so Elliott has a little trouble with a few words in most of them.  They have reading levels 3.3-4.0 and appeal to kids in kindergarten through 2nd grade.