Chapters

Back with some book reviews. Eli continues to love to listen to books. A while ago, we got a free "book on CD" in a Kid's Meal (don't judge....). Turns out that this is the best thing we have ever gotten in as the prize as Eli really likes listening to the stories as we drive around town or go on road trips. This has led to us checking out more books on CD on our monthly visits to the library. With all of these stories in the car, I realized that Eli is ready to start listening to chapter books. As of now, we still do picture books before bed, but we read a few chapters before nap time. It helps settle him down, and he looks forward to hearing what will happen next. In theory, this should make him more willing to head up to his room for nap....it only works that way some of the time.

I figured I would share some of our favorite chapter books so far as we haven't found too many that are toddler or preschool friendly yet. We started with The Magic Tree House series thanks to the CD from the kid's meal. Good Morning, Gorillas was our first one, and Eli listened to it so much that he memorized a good bit of it. We have "read" several others in the series before nap and on CD in the car. The main characters, Jack and Annie, are a brother and sister who set out on various adventures through a magical tree house that appears in the woods behind their house. The tree house sends them back in time where they solve riddles, perform other important tasks, and learn history. Eli often stops me to ask questions about parts he doesn't understand or words he doesn't know yet. He is truly comprehending and now looks forward to choosing his next Jack and Annie adventure...as there are MANY books to choose from in this series. ...And yes, he wants a tree house of his own too.

Another fun series we discovered is by the fabulous author, Kate DiCamillo. She is a truly gifted, Newberry Award winning author who I've had the pleasure of reading in my classrooms as a teacher quite a bit. I was excited to find the Mercy Watson series she has written for beginning readers. Once again, we stumbled upon the stories while looking for more books to listen to in the car, and since then we have been checking out the actual books to read for nap time. Mercy is a pig who is treated like a child by her doting owners. She is tucked into bed with a song and fed, her favorite, hot buttered toast. Eli loves the silly stories and the books have such fun, color illustrations on each and every page. It reads well as a picture book and as a chapter book. So far, we've read 3 in the series, and we look forward to more of Mercy's antics.

And we definitely love the Frog and Toad books too. We got a collection of them on super duper sale at a book store and flew through it. The adventures of these two make for simple and enjoyable chapter books. Toad and Frog are, indeed, friends, and their respect for each other comes through on every page. The characters share real feelings and show their care for one another and the world around them.

We are always on the hunt for more fun books, so if you have found a series or a chapter book that your little one really digs, please pass it on. This last trip to the library, I picked up some of the simpler Roald Dahl books to try, so they are next on the list.

Happy reading!