Now get the rest of the books in the Chronicles of Narnia series and read them to her. I cannot even recall how many times I read these books to my kids when they were little. At least 5 or 6 times! Then they started reading them themselves. No idea how many times.
I have the whole set - preserved from my own childhood! I remember coming back to several of them many times. The Magician's Nephew, The Last Battle, and of course The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe were my favorites!
This was so great, Christina -- I especially loved how you highlighted how you're able to process and make connections when you read slowly. ("Sleeping on it" feels underrated nowadays!)
I'm not sure if your final question was rhetorical or not (haha), but if you're looking for a chapter book, maybe try Charlotte's Web :) I love this quote from E.B. White about writing for children:
"Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time. You have to write up, not down. Children are demanding. They are the most attentive, curious, eager, observant, sensitive, quick, and generally congenial readers on earth....Some writers for children deliberately avoid using words they think a child doesn’t know. This emasculates the prose and, I suspect, bores the reader. Children are game for anything. I throw them hard words, and they backhand them over the net. They love words that give them a hard time, provided they are in a context that absorbs their attention."
If you're not looking for a *chapter* book, necessarily, I'd highly recommend the Brambly Hedge books by Jill Barklem, and many of Beatrix Potter's books. The former are hidden gems, and the latter seem to have an air of being for younger children, but actually appeal to a wide range of ages, and the language is so rich (I'm honestly not sure if I had seen the word "disconsolately" before reading her book The Tale of Jeremy Fisher). Both have some of the English charm of Narnia ;)
I love this, and I’m adding C.S. Lewis to our list! My daughter is 5 and we made our way through all of Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books this summer, and Stuart Little. I wasn’t sure how she’d do with books without pictures but she was obsessed
The Ramona books are definitely on our list! We'd actually not read any chapter books before this venture into Narnia. We tried a few contemporary ones in the past, but they were awful and we only lasted a few pages. I am going to stick to the classics now!
Now get the rest of the books in the Chronicles of Narnia series and read them to her. I cannot even recall how many times I read these books to my kids when they were little. At least 5 or 6 times! Then they started reading them themselves. No idea how many times.
I have the whole set - preserved from my own childhood! I remember coming back to several of them many times. The Magician's Nephew, The Last Battle, and of course The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe were my favorites!
I read the whole set every year around the holidays from 5th grade to, well, way into adulthood. Love these books!
Another one you might try is “Mr. Popper’s Penguins”
I seem to remember your favorite was The Voyage of the Dawn Treader...is that right?? They are all so good!
I will put Mr. Popper's Penguins on the list.
This was so great, Christina -- I especially loved how you highlighted how you're able to process and make connections when you read slowly. ("Sleeping on it" feels underrated nowadays!)
I'm not sure if your final question was rhetorical or not (haha), but if you're looking for a chapter book, maybe try Charlotte's Web :) I love this quote from E.B. White about writing for children:
"Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time. You have to write up, not down. Children are demanding. They are the most attentive, curious, eager, observant, sensitive, quick, and generally congenial readers on earth....Some writers for children deliberately avoid using words they think a child doesn’t know. This emasculates the prose and, I suspect, bores the reader. Children are game for anything. I throw them hard words, and they backhand them over the net. They love words that give them a hard time, provided they are in a context that absorbs their attention."
Thanks Kaitlyn! I was actually thinking about trying Charlotte's Web next. I love that quote you shared!
If you're not looking for a *chapter* book, necessarily, I'd highly recommend the Brambly Hedge books by Jill Barklem, and many of Beatrix Potter's books. The former are hidden gems, and the latter seem to have an air of being for younger children, but actually appeal to a wide range of ages, and the language is so rich (I'm honestly not sure if I had seen the word "disconsolately" before reading her book The Tale of Jeremy Fisher). Both have some of the English charm of Narnia ;)
I love this, and I’m adding C.S. Lewis to our list! My daughter is 5 and we made our way through all of Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books this summer, and Stuart Little. I wasn’t sure how she’d do with books without pictures but she was obsessed
The Ramona books are definitely on our list! We'd actually not read any chapter books before this venture into Narnia. We tried a few contemporary ones in the past, but they were awful and we only lasted a few pages. I am going to stick to the classics now!