In which Annie (high school teacher, mother of two young girls and a younger boy) and her aunt Deborah (children's bookseller, mother of two young women in their 20s) discuss children's books and come up with annotated lists.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Learning to read!

Dear Aunt Debbie,

Thank you for those science series suggestions -- I'm looking forward to checking some of them out.  I have to admit, nonfiction isn't my strong suit as a reader myself or as something I seek out for my kids.  But it's something I'd like to explore more.

As I mentioned last week, Eleanor is really starting to learn to read!  She's been practicing with a few amazing short books my mom wrote and illustrated years ago (which I'd love to get published in some form), and last night read two of them to Isabel by herself to distract Isabel while I was cutting her fingernails.  Tonight, Eleanor received a letter from a friend of my mom's -- written to be aimed at her level -- and was able to read almost all of it herself. 
Taking a break from dress-up.  These girls are so ready to read.
So my question is, what should I be steering her towards next?  We have a bunch of Learning to Read series books, some Level 1, most Level 2 or 3.  But what comes even before that?  Are there any particularly good, very early readers that Eleanor can pick up right away?  Anything dreadful I should be steering the family away from?

Love, Annie

P.S. On the subject of repetitive books that can drive you crazy, I came across this blog post: If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, You're Fucked: 10 Tips for Avoiding Terrible Children's Books.  It made me laugh so hard I cried.
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1 comment:

  1. hMarch 6, 2012 at 5:45 PM

    My inlaws are teachers and told me baby books are great for early readers. I've saved them for that purpose. Also, the Noodles series is pretty simple with sweet illustrations.

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