Lots of Summer Reading

Elliott has been out of school for three weeks now.  We have been working on school stuff for a little while everyday, and playing outside every day as well.  We've also taken several small local trips.  But Elliott has still had plenty of time for reading.  He's still reading a lot of the same series that he's told you guys about before (Nate the Great, Black Lagoon, Stink and Judy Moody, etc), but he does have one series to share with you guys today that he hasn't yet.




Elliott started reading Jigsaw Jones (by James Preller) at school this past year, but until last week, I had never read one.  He checked one out from the library on base, though, and we read it together.  Elliott likes detective stories, so he loves it that Jigsaw Jones is a kid detective.  He thinks he is funny, and he likes his friends as well.  He thinks it's crazy that Jigsaw has a large family (3 or 4 brothers and a sister).

Elliott thinks Jigsaw Jones is probably most appealing to grades 1-4.  The lexile measure is 450, which is approximately an end of second grade/early third grade reading level.




We are also currently rereading the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder together.  Elliott is really enjoying the books this time around, and almost always asks for another chapter when I'm done for the night.  We are rereading them right now, and plan on visiting at least one of the places that Laura Ingalls Wilder lived this summer.  This is probably one of our favorite sets of older books to read together.

He thinks that they are going to be most appealing to kindergarten through 4th or 5th grader for listening, but for reading on their own, he thinks about third gradeand up, because they are so long.

Elliott's reading list May 13, 2013

I just realized that it's been quite a long while since I last posted about the books that we've been enjoying at our house.  Elliott still reads a lot, and has even done several book reports about the books he likes, but his mom is a slacker. :)




One series that we have recently found and love is Stink (Judy Moody's younger brother) by Megan McDonald.  We actually started with a Judy Moody book (which we also loved) and while at the library looking for another one, Elliott found the Stink books and decided to try one of those instead.  He started reading it in the car that day while we finished up errands, and by bedtime that night, he had almost finished the book.  There are just over 100 pages in the books, so that's pretty impressive.  He's now working on reading his third one, and we just ordered two from Scholastic, and he found one for $.50 at a thrift store that he hasn't had a chance to read yet.

Elliott really like Stink and Judy both.  He likes that they are regular kids and funny.  He's really liked both the Stink books he has read, along with the only Judy Moody book we've read so far.  I haven't actually read an entire Stink book myself yet.  Like I said, he started reading them independently, and hasn't chosen them as read alouds at all.  With Judy Moody, it was one of the books that we read out loud together, taking turns.  So I don't really have a strong opinion on Stink, but I did enjoy Judy Moody, and found it a good fit our family.  There are several books that are aimed at small children that I think really have to be talked over after he's finished reading them, to discuss why we don't model certain behavior, treat our friends certain ways, etc.  I didn't feel like we really needed to do that with the Judy Moody book we read.

Scholastic says that Stink and Judy Moody are both 3-3.7 reading level.  Stink appeals to grades 2-3 and Judy Moody appeals to grades 2-4.




Elliott discovered the Victory School Superstars series at school.  The one above is the only one he's read so far, but he would really like to read the rest of the series as well.  He liked that even though Josh wasn't good at soccer, his friends helped him to become better.  He learned that it's important to concentrate on what you are doing at the time, instead of what you wish you were doing as well.

This series also has reading levels ranging from 3.0-3.6.  It appeals to readers in grades 1-3.

Elliott's Reading List April 12

Elliott and I have recently been adding to his book collection again.  We got rid of over 300 books that he decided he had outgrown earlier this year, and we've been working on adding more chapter books and looking for new ones to try.

This week he didn't read any new chapter book series, but he wanted me to tell you about  other books that he likes.  He's decided to help me write these blog posts, by doing book reports for me.




One of the series that he thinks is perfect for kids who like picture books is Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin.  He thinks that the books are appropriate for preschool to second graders.  The reading levels range from kindergarten to end of first grade.

We like that the books are upbeat and fun.  He also likes that the cat wears shoes.  He has two of them, and while they aren't books that we have ever read every week or anything, they are ones that he goes back to, and has read several times.



Another series that is relatively new to Elliott is Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat.  These books have been around since the 70's, so some of you probably remember them from your own childhood.

Elliott loves the Nate the Great books he has read so far.  He thinks they are funny, and he likes the mystery.  His favorite characters are Nate and his dog Sludge.  Elliott really likes it that Nate is independent and can do a lot of things for himself.  He especially thinks it's cool that Nate makes his own pancakes.

Elliott says this book was a little easy to read, and probably best for readers that are 7-10.  He thinks that preschoolers through third or fourth graders would probably like the stories.

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.