Any recommendations for books for a 6-year-old boy?

[raccoon]

A rising first grader, and he doesn't read yet.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

1. The Illustrated Chomsky Reader.

:silly: I kid. I kid.

[grasswire]

2. I used to buy the Audubon Society field guide to insects for little boys

That plus a magnifying glass and a little "bug keeper" makes a really cool gift that can inspire an interest in the natural world.

But if your interest is in fiction, I'm not much help. The kids I'm buying for at this point are younger.

[raccoon]

3. I was looking for fiction.

But that's not a bad suggestion.

What is a bug keeper?

[grasswire]

15. something to replace the glass jar with punched lid...

...that kids used to use for viewing the insect.

Many cute examples here:

http://24hours7days.com/Bugs/Insect_Habitats.html

[Ozymanithrax]

4. Can he sound out words like "fan" "sam" "dam"?

Does he recognize sight words like be, and, a, I?

If you go to a book store in the children sections you will find they have books with rating systems.

Look for books rated at 1 describes as beginning reader.

Find books with a sentence, or no more than 10 words per page.

These should all be short words.

There are several phoinics systems. They are very pricy, but work very well.

[Donnachaidh]

5. Captain Underpants!

Great series for kids - makes them want to read!

[qb]

8. I second that! My son got so much satisfaction from his parents rolling their eyes

at the potty humor! I also enjoyed reading them to my son - they throw in some subtle humor adults can appreciate (such as the disclaimer: No animals were harmed in the making of this comic book... no gerbils were forced to listen to Cher)!! I did have to explain to my son why I burst out laughing!

[Donnachaidh]

14. it's weird, but my son *got* the subtle adult humor

And he still looks for that sort of silliness. I wasn't real thrilled with CA at first blush, but it did get him reading, and I grew to appreciate that important fact along with the stories.

[etherealtruth]

10. Could not agree more!

[CBR]

6. Eric Carle... my husband teaches Pre-K and those are his faves. nt

[ret5hd]

7. The Dangerous Book for Boys

http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-Iggulden/dp/0061243582/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280768835&sr=8-1

[Skink]

9. Flat Stanley

[Kali]

11. Where the Wild Things Are

duh

If I Ran the Zoo
any old style comic books

[pnwmom]

12. Here's a good website with suggestions for boys of all ages.

http://www.guysread.com/

Look at the suggestions for "little guys."

But off the top of my head, I think any first grader would like "Diary of a Worm." Very funny!

[lumberjack_jeff]

13. Eric Carle and Where the Wild things are. n/t

[PanoramaIsland]

18. Eric Carle seconded. His stuff is pretty amazingly vibrant.

[fadedrose]

16. Thanks, raccoon - no suggestion here, but

I just wanted you to know I called my daughter about the books recommended here and she's going to pick some up at the library tomorrow for her son - who is 6!

He's been reading (with her) Diary of a Worm and liked it very much. I hope he enjoys the other books too.

Thanks for asking the question and thanks to those who put in their 2 pennies worth to help out.

[PanoramaIsland]

17. I heartily endorse the books of Rainy Dohaney and Shaun Tan.

Dohaney (children's lit pen name of creepy-cute alt-comics artist Renee French) is fun, odd and quietly creepy. Tan is one of our greatest living illustrators IMO, and does an amazing job bending his truly awesome technical skills to the ends of surrealism, pathos, emotion and even a bit of whimsy.

Tan's books are meant for an older demographic, though - older elementary school kids and middle-schoolers. Rainy Dohaney's works are right for your 6-year-old's age bracket. I particularly like The Soap Lady. It's cute, creepy, whimsical and very well-drawn.

Shan Tan's books are so good that I cannot help but push them despite your child being too young...

[raccoon]

19. Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions! nt

[LWolf]

20. So many to choose from! Here are a few.

Dr. Seuss, of course.

Here are some other favorite authors of books for that age range:

ROBERT MUNSCH
Cynthia Rylant
Patricia Polacco (some of hers can be more mature, but some are fine for 6 yos.)
Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
Dav Pilkey
Kevin Henkes
Laura Numeroff

Some specific titles:

The Monster at the End of the Book by Jon Stone
Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester
Mucky Moose by Jonathan Allen
Finding the Green Stone by Alice Walker

And Barbara Park's "Junie B. Jones" series.

[SheilaT]

21. If he's not reading yet, are you

still reading to him? Please say yes.

It's time to move beyond the little kid books, at least some of the time, and starting reading serious chapter books to him. I read Black Beauty to my seven year old, who wasn't really reading yet (a developmental thing with him) and we both loved it. A lot of those children's classics are available in inexpensive editions or, of course, from the library.

There are zillions of good books out there, and you know your kid well by now, so just go into the library and talk to a good children's librarian. That person will have dozens of good suggestions for you.

[abluelady]

24. Was Just Looking for Books

to read to my almost 8 year old grandson. He is a reader, but at night when he's very tired, he would rather be read to, and I'm looking for serious chapter books for him. If he was a she, I would be reading "Little Women," but wasn't sure where to start with a boy. Will pick up "Black Beauty" this week. Any other suggestions?

[SheilaT]

25. Personally, I think Little Women might

honestly be beyond an eight-year old. I have never been able to get passed the early chapter where the girls all act out Pilgrim's Progress, no matter how hard I try.

I read Black Beauty to my oldest when he was about six or so and it was positively enthralling.

We also did Peter Pan, which was actually difficult in that the language of it, when read aloud, did not flow well and I kept on stumbling as I read it. I'm generally a very good read-aloud person, because I can scan at least half a sentence ahead as I'm reading, and it's easy for me to figure out where to put the verbal emphasis by the time I'm saying the words out loud. Peter Pan just was very awkward, although we both loved the story. Black Beauty just flowed along and was a pleasure to read. I also read Pinocchio to him, and that was about half way between the two.

Oh, try this. Read Farmer Boy to him. But absolutely read ahead, because you may choose to censor the part in the first or second chapter where you learn that the big boys in school, who brag that no teacher ever finishes a term at the school because they always beat him up, beat one teacher so badly that he died.

Another wonderful set of books are the Freddy the Pig books, by Walter R. Brooks. I grew up on them, so take a look and see what you think.

[abluelady]

26. Thanks, Will Check Out Your Suggestions

I know before too long he will be too old to read to, so I want to make the most of this time with him.

[japple]

27. Sterling North's book, Rascal. The Phantom Tollbooth by

Norton Juster.

[kcass1954]

22. My son loved Stink Stoppers. I found it in a bookstore in London.

I refused to bring back crap when I went to Europe, and brought books instead. My brother and I spent a lovely rainy afternoon in London bookstores.

[krispos42]

23. The Mr. Putter and Tabby books by Cynthia Rylant.

My son and I enjoyed them, and they're easy to read. The illustrations are pretty good, too.



Hmmm... "Centerburg Tales" weren't too bad, either. And my son seemed to like "The Mad Scientist's Club". He thought the balloon race and the trick mannequen were great stories.