Literature might be a strong word for some of these.
I'm OK with that.
As far as I'm concerned, as long as the kids are reading appropriate content, I don't care what they read as long as they are reading. They'll get to better quality once they get better at reading.
I decided to go straight to the kids.
"Favorite books you've ever read. Go."
Picture Books
Purple, Green, and Yellow by Robert Munsch (and all other 20+ books he's written)
A Is for Salad by Mike Lester
Verdi by Janell Cannon
Bear Snores On (and all the other bear books) by Karma Wilson
Froggy series by Jonathon London
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (and all other pigeon books)
The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak
Moosetache (series) by Margie Palatini
Elmer by David Mckee
Early (ish) Chapter Books
Ready, Freddy series by Abby Klein
Junie B Jones series by Barbara Park
Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner
A-Z Mysteries (No relation to A-Z Challenge, for which this post was written) by Ron Roy
Lexi's Tale by Johanna Hurwitz
The World According to Humphrey (and series) by Betty G. Birney
The BFG by Roald Dahl (and all other books by him)
Sports books by Matt Christopher
Sports books by Tim Green
Big Nate series by Lincoln Pierce
Wayside School series by Louis Sachar
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
Hardy Boys series by Franklin Dixon
Not So Early Chapter Books
Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz
I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb
Chicken Soup for a Kids' Soul
The Last Newspaper Boy in America by Sue Corbett
A Dog's Life: Autobiography of a Stray by Ann Martin
Great Illustrated Classics series (Great way for kids to be introduced to books before they are able to read the full versions (Giant said his favorite of the bunch was Count of Monte Cristo)
The Candymakers by Wendy Mass *** even Star gave this a high recommendation, which is rare, 'cause he's a sulky teen who doesn't like much of anything. :)
Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James Swanson
The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill
Fish by Gregory Mone
Baseball Card Adventure Series by Dan Gutman
The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism, and Treachery by Steve Scheinkin
Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull
Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan
Brotherband Chronicles series by John Flanagan (read after Ranger's Apprentice)
Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
Picks Specifically Made by Buttercup, 'Cause She's the Only Girl (She likes many of the books above, but she's the only one that likes these.)
Anne of Green Gables (and rest of series) by L.M. Montgomery
Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
When I asked her why only three recommendations, she replied, "I've read lots of good books, but these are the ones I've read over and over and over again."
So, have your kids read any of these? What would they add to the list?
Have a lovely day!
I see you have the Hardy Boys series on the list - my son loved those books and I used to read them too, in fact some of them are still here in the bookcase. I liked the Nancy Drew series.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you can still get them but my son liked the Choose Your Own Adventure books - each story had several different plots and the 'adventure' would unfold depending on which page he decided turn to.
Turken is reading them now. He made sure they got on the list. I'm pretty sure Buttercup read Nancy Drew. I know I did.
DeleteI loved those choose your own adventure!! I haven't seen them since I was a kid. I will have to look for them when we go to the library again.
Such a great list. I loved the Sport books by Matt Christopher, Diary of a Wimpy Kid (and those movies are a riot!), Little house on the Prairie, and the Boxcar Children. My all time favorite is Are You There God it's Me Margaret by Judy Bloome
ReplyDeleteIs there a woman our age that DIDN'T read that book? Many times.
DeleteNancy drew and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
ReplyDeleteNancy Drew I know of, but I'm going to have to check out the tree one.
DeleteOhh, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is a must-read for the whole family, as they get old enough! My mom introduced me to the book when I was in high school, maybe junior high. I made my husband read it. Both of my kids have read it. All have loved it!
Deleteas a kid (3rd grade or so)…. Tom Swift Jr!!! ("he said nostalgically.")
ReplyDeleteAh, so many things we loved that the next generation just doesn't understand...or even heard of. :/
DeleteI'll have a look for it.
You know, we have a pretty impressive collection of picture books, ao I was pretty surprised by how few of the ones in that category I knew!!! I'll need to check some new ones out.
ReplyDeleteDo you know I am somewhat befuddled by the love of pigeon books. I much prefer knuddle bunny if I'm going the mo Willems route. I guess I just need more of a story. As for B's picks, yes, yes, and yes. I mean, I read CR as a teacher, but I bet I could have a quote-off with buttercup from the other two series.
Well, let me know some good ones that aren't on the list. I swear, I teach preschool to cover my addiction to picture books.
DeleteReally? I like the pigeon books better. I think I go more for the fun read aloud books. If I can get silly when reading, I'm really happy. :)
I'm with you on the "as long as it's appropriate, I won't worry if it is fine literature," and to illustrate, I will tell you that my kids enjoyed the Animorphs series. (Many of the books your kids mentioned are also on our shelves, too.)
ReplyDeleteHaha! The Animorphs? Wasn't that a cartoon on TV, too?
DeleteApparently, but I didn't realize that until talking to the children's librarian one day. She was considering getting rid of the series, because she wanted children exposed to good literature. (She was a FANTASTIC librarian, by the way.) After I told her that my kids loved the books and hadn't even seen the show, she reconsidered and the books stayed--much to my kids' delight.
DeleteI'm with you on the "as long as it's appropriate, I won't worry if it is fine literature," and to illustrate, I will tell you that my kids enjoyed the Animorphs series. (Many of the books your kids mentioned are also on our shelves, too.)
ReplyDeleteThere are some really good ones here. You are absolutely right. As long as kids are reading good books you're done your job. I love this.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
Glad you liked it. I'm all about kids reading as much as possible, even if it means library fines. :)
Deletewonderful list thank you always looking for ideas of books for my kids :)
ReplyDeleteLet me know if your kids like any of them!
DeleteWhat a great idea for a posts. One of the ideas I had running through my mind for the challenge was kiddie lit - a book for every letter of the alphabet. Maybe next year.
ReplyDeleteTHAT'S A GREAT IDEA!?!?!?!? How did I not think of that?!? I love, love, love picture books! AND as a preschool teacher, I already have at least 2 books for every letter! Good grief.
DeleteI love the Wayside books, I read them all the time as a kid. As for recent childrens books to read - William Gibson's Guardians of Childhood are good. They're not early readers, but not MG either. It's a good series.
ReplyDeleteFulfilling Dreams
I haven't heard of that one. I'll be sure to check it out the next time we're at the library. Thanks for the recommendation!
DeleteSome great books for teens are the Fairy Tale novel by Regina Doman. The books take old fairy tales like Snow White and The Arabian Nights and set them in modern times. The novels are very Catholic in nature and deal with issues very real to young people. As an adult I loved them. They can be found at http://www.chestertonpress.com/fairy-tale-novels/.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Donna! I have never heard of them! We'll be going to the library tomorrow, and I will most certainly be looking for these.
DeleteLike Sarah, I'm afraid I don't know a lot of the picture books, which is surprising, given my vocation....
ReplyDeleteI HATE Junie B. Jones. I wouldn't read them to my kids and I discouraged them from reading them. She is not nice and uses very poor grammar.
I KNEW I loved Buttercup! I can recite every Little House book in the series. I worked and worked and bought each one of them, in order, when I was in about 4th grade (paperback, each costing 95 cents). I refused to watch the tv series, though, because it was stupid and nothing like the books, other than the names of the characters.