What My Kids Are Reading 4/7/17
Welcome to What My Kids Are Reading! Each week I’ll let you know what my kids have been reading and loving, as well as what I have been reading to them. It sometimes seems as though their interests change every week, but that just keeps their book choices interesting! Hopefully this will helpful to some of you looking to pick up some new books for your kids. Let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions!
The 8-Year-Old
From the publisher: “Greg Heffley’s on a losing streak. His best friend, Rowley Jefferson, has ditched him, and finding new friends in middle school is proving to be a tough task. To change his fortunes, Greg decides to take a leap of faith and turn his decisions over to chance. Will a roll of the dice turn things around, or is Greg’s life destined to be just another hard-luck story?”
Jeff Kinney certainly has hit on a winner with the Wimpy Kid series. My 8-year-old loves the series, and he breezed through book 8 of this series this week. He is constantly telling me the funny parts, laughing out loud while reading, and talking about the characters. This book and series is definitely a winner!
From the publisher: “Max Crumbly is about to face the scariest place he’s ever been: South Ridge Middle School. There’s a lot that’s great about his new school, but there’s also one big problem—Doug, the school bully whose hobby is stuffing Max in his locker. If only Max could be like the hero in his favorite comics. Unfortunately, Max’s uncanny, almost superhuman ability to smell pizza from a block away won’t exactly save any lives or foil bad guys. But that doesn’t mean Max won’t do his best to be the hero his school needs!”
This is a new series from the author of the Dork Diaries. My son just started this yesterday, and so far he likes it. Some of the concepts might be a bit over his head, so we may set it aside for a year or so, but I don’t think it’s inappropriate. My 8-year-old loves to read funny books about slightly older kids, so this is right in his wheelhouse.
The 5-Year-Old
From the book flap: “Is there such a thing as too much birthday? Poor Sister is overwhelmed by her big, noisy sixth-birthday party. Her sympathetic parents help her realize the true importance of having a birthday in this humorous exercise in moderation for cubs–and parents.”
My 5-year-old just learned to read this year, and lately he’s been taking on bigger reading challenges, such as my beloved Berenstain Bears books. I have passed them all on to my kids, and instead of me reading them, my 5-year-old wants to try and read them himself. Any Berenstain Bears books are fantastic, but I’m partial to the ones published in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. (My 8-year-old doesn’t mind listening in when I read them out loud either!)
This might seem like a simple book, and it is, but to a new reader it’s awesome when they can sound out all the words on their own! I’ve read this one to my kids for years, and my 5-year-old can read it to me now. It makes him laugh, and he likes seeing what the silly monkeys will do next!
What We’re Reading Together
I love reading to my kids, and they won’t let me get away with not reading to them, even if it’s already way past their bedtime. This week we have been reading one of my all-time favorite childhood books: Matilda. Roald Dahl was a master storyteller, and really understood what kids want to read and what they think is funny. He didn’t try to spare them unpleasant moments, instead cushioning them with a funny bit involving the unpleasant things. My kids, especially my 8-year-old, have been loving this one. Matilda is funny and shows kids that they can have power too, even if the adults around them don’t always understand.