Books for the Elementary Reader
Book Recommendations
Books for the Elementary Reader.
Last year my daughter started reading chapter books and longer books. This year she started doing book report books. So I have been on the hunt for good books to read. Below I have listed some of our favorite author to read.
In my last post I mentioned the Abeka Book readers. These are still great for the 3-6th grades. One of my favorite things that they start doing in their elementary books is that they introduce different authors. As a child, reading these books myself, it was these exerts of bigger books that I would write down and look for at my library. This way I could finish the story. Then as a child and now as an adult I love that I can trust an Abeka book recommendation of an author. Some of the authors that I write about below are ones that I have found through the Abeka book readers and loved them and others are authors I have read and fell in love with their stories.
Robert Lawson writes many books that are about historical people or stories from an animals point of view. They are often hilarious and give you a different look at history. Disney would put out an animation of his book Ben and Me. (The story of Ben Franklin told by his friend Amos, a mouse) It is so funny and the book is even better! I shall never forget the visual image of Benjamin Franklin meeting the King of France dripping in mice , as Amos and his friends stage a rescue of the mouse royal family! Some of Lawson’s books have been made into audio books and are available on hoopla. Some of my other favorites of his are: Mr. Revere and I, Rabbit Hill, and Captain Kidd’s Cat.
Elenor Estes is another fun author. The book series that I am familiar with is her The Moffats Series. A truly fun read about a family of four children and their escapades. I would say that the stories take place anywhere from 1910-1940s. They are full of kids using their imaginations, playing together and the adventures of childhood. Hoopla has some of these books on audio and they are very well done. My kids giggled all the way through these and asked for more. The books in the Moffats Series are: The Moffats, The Middle Moffat, Rufus M, and The Moffat Museum. She writes other books as well but I have not read them…yet.
Robert Elmer is a great author that writes about WW2. In his Young Underground Series you follow a set of Swedish twins as they help their Jewish friend escape to Switzerland, deliver forbidden newspapers, or help hide pilots from the Nazi’s. Each book is full of adventure and chair gripping circumstances that causes the characters to lean on God and his help. He writes other books about the war as well but I am not familiar with them. However if they are like this series they should be fantastic.
Lois Walfrid Johnson in her Freedom Seekers Series takes the reader on the adventures of the Underground Railroad in America. It is such an interesting time in American history and the bravery that many of the conductor’s showed and risked is largely unknown because it was against the law to do what was right. This christian fictions series is great! She also writes Adventures in the Northwoods Series that talks about a families adventures in the woods of Wisconsin and Michigan in the late 1800s. I do not remember if all of them have a mystery to solve but I know that several of them do. Both of these series have great character lessons in them.
Marguerite Henry wrote many books for children, Most of them are about horses and as a girl I loved them all. Some of my favorites were: Misty of Chincoteague Series, Justin Morgan had a Horse, and Brighty of the Grand Canyon. There are so many more! Be sure and find a favorite.
Another horse series that I love is, The Black Stallion Series. by Walter Farley. I had seen the movie called the black stallion and so I picked up the book at the library and it was really good. I was really excited to find out it was just the first book in a series about Alec and The Black! They are all quite good, my favorite is when he meets a new horse, Flame, in The Island Stallion. His second to last book is a sadder, as he writes it in memory of his daughter who passed away young. His last book in the seriesr that is a different type of story where it deals a lot with grief and living after such a great loss. The only book in the series that I do not recommend is the The Black Stallion’s Ghost. I have never read this book as it deals with mysticism and other things that I don’t agree with. But all the other books are really great and full of adventure and horse racing. A really great read. Walter Farley also wrote a stand alone book, Man O’ War about a horse that is considered the greatest race horse of all time. I enjoyed it very much!
Mercy Watson Series by Kate DiCamillo is the hilarious stories about a pig and all his high jinks he is a part of. Also, if you have a struggling reader this is a series that will encourage the next page to be read. Some of our favorites were: Mercy Watson to the Rescue and Mercy Watson Fights Crime.
All of a Kind Family and More All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor is a story about five daughter of a Jewish family in Manhattan at the turn of the century. A really fun read. One of my favorite parts was when they played the button game with their mom. As I sit here writing it, I thinking maybe I need to bring it 21st century. There are more books in the series but I have not read them yet.
Lastly, I have some stand alone books. Some are written as part of a series while others are stand alone books. I have only included the one or two books here because I think they are appropriate for an elementary reader and not the whole series.
Anne of Green Gables and Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery. The first book is about Anne and how she came to live at green gables. The second book is about Anne and Gilbert’s children. It is full of fun, as they befriend the motherless children of the minister, and together they get into many scrapes and interesting situations.
The Secret Garden and The Little Princess by Francis Hodges Burnetts. These are two stories about courageous little girls who are faced with different challenges after losing their parents.
Black Beauty by Anne Sewel is another story about the life of a horse. It is an heartwarming tale.
Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott is one of my favorite stories. It is about a little girl that looses her parents and goes to live with her Uncle and her seven boy cousins live close by. It was the first book that I read by Alcott and is still one of my favorites.
Lastly, Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater is a humorous story about a house painter and his wife that write an admiral a fan letter and receive two penguins as a gift. Chaos and ingeniuty insue as they look for ways to care for the penguins. I will say that the book is nothing like the movie that came out a few years ago. I would not recommend the movie but I do recommend the book. Also interesting, is that Robert Lawson, an author I mentioned above, illustrated the original book in 1938.
I did want to briefly mention three classic mystery book series that I recommend are: The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and The Hardy Boys.
Whew! That was a lot of books, and I could mention more, but I think this is a nice beginning. I may do another post on this age group later for now I think this is a great start for your elementary reader. I hope you and your kiddos enjoy these stories as much as we have. Happy Reading!