Reading material for a good 8-year-old reader who resists chapter books

September 14, 2010 11:59 AM

My almost-8-year-old daughter is a strong reader at the word/sentence level, tested to have reading comprehension of a 12-year-old and with great recall of material she's read, but I can't get her into chapter books. Fundamentally, I think she's intimidated by all that unbroken text, and her attention falters. So what are some kids' books that require chapter-book levels of reading & comprehension but have illustrations on essentially every page?

We've tried the Wayside School books, the Judy Moody books, an old-school Choose Your Own Adventure book, Little House on the Prairie, and a few more, but she just can't settle into them. Give her a Sweet Pickles book -- every page is illustrated, but each page also has a paragraph or more of closely set type -- or an Avatar the Last Airbender faux-manga and she happily reads it, again with great comprehension. (And comprehension of matters she couldn't get simply by following along with the pictures.)

I'm willing to hang back and let her develop a taste for unillustrated fiction, but I don't want her reading material to be limited to one-sentence-per-page picture books and comics.* So what books, and/or editions of books, would you recommend that will give her at least a paragraph per page without overwhelming her?

I've read her and her younger brothers The Wizard of Oz, Winnie the Pooh, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Pippi Longstocking, The Jungle Book and numerous other chapter-book classics, but I don't think she's mind revisiting some of those in the proper edition.

* I'm a big fan of comics, but I can think of few that are age-appropriate and also sufficiently meaty reading. I'm happy to take suggestions, but I want her to be reading more than dialogue and "Meanwhile..." captions.

posted by blueshammer to Education (51 answers total)

If she hasn't picked it up yet, I can't highly enough recommend D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths". Great illustrations, and the canon of Greek mythology in an easily-digestible format. If she digs on those, get her into more mythology - the short-story format might help her bridge the gap to chapter books.
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 12:03 PM on September 14, 2010 [6 favorites]

The Dork Diaries, Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, the Captain Underpants series, the Horrid Henry series-- these are all heavily illustrated, but rely on the text to tell the story. My 8 yo loves the Wimpy Kid and Captain Underpants books, especially.
posted by headspace at 12:05 PM on September 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

Roald Dahl's short kids' novels are wonderful for this level of reading (The Twits, Fantastic Mr. Fox, George's Marvelous Medicine, The Giraffe, the Pelly, and Me, Esio Trot, The Vicar of Nibbleswicke...) because the stories are funny and interesting and there's a nice amount of (adorable Quentin Blake) illustration.

I also highly recommend The Man in the Ceiling.
posted by phunniemee at 12:08 PM on September 14, 2010 [7 favorites]

I remember the American Girl books have a decent amount of illustrations - not every other page, but every few pages, maybe.

You could also try magazines - something that would have short, interesting articles at an appropriate reading level with lots of images. I adored Kids Discover when I was a kid - each issue is pretty short and focused on one educational topic. I learned a lot and I always loved reading them.
posted by mandanza at 12:12 PM on September 14, 2010

I loved Horrible Histories, which is apparently a media empire now. Stick to the original series (Rotten Romans, Awful Egyptians, Vicious Vikings). Tons of great illustrations, very funny, learn stuff about crazy people from the Past.
posted by theodolite at 12:12 PM on September 14, 2010 [3 favorites]

2nding Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 12:14 PM on September 14, 2010

i'm sure there will be outcries and allegations of blasphemy, but growing up we had the great illustrated classics.
posted by nadawi at 12:15 PM on September 14, 2010

My kids' first chapter book was The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, but they didn't read it --- I read it to them, at bedtime, one chapter a night. It was fantastic, so much fun. Roald Dahl's books were great bedtime reading too (The BFG was our favorite because I really hammed up the voices). Another she might like is the Very Persistent Gappers of Frip -- girl heroines rock! Daniel Pinkwater is a favorite in our house too.

One of my boys was (and is) a very advanced reader, but I got some good advice from his first-grade teacher when I asked her for recommendations at his reading level. She said to let him read what he wants to read because even though he's capable of reading more advanced work, he's still in first grade emotionally/socially/in all other ways besides academically. Pushing him to read something that he wasn't ready for may well have backfired and made him not want to read for pleasure at all.
posted by headnsouth at 12:16 PM on September 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

I have an 8-year old whom we coaxed into chapter books last year. What is she interested in? Our kid loves to laugh, and Franny K. Stein series, How to Train Your Dragon series, Ivy and Bean fit the bill (though I&B have fewer pictures). We've been reading Captain Underpants and Ricky Ricotta forever, which are graphic + chapter. Wiley and Grampa books. These are all illustration-rich. Dan Yaccarino writes and illustrates some chapter books about Blast Off Boy--there are two or three of them.

My daughter is in love with dogs, so though I can't abide them, she adores and eats up the Puppy Place books--not illustrated but full of her favorite subject. Little House books come in a "young readers" variety with more illustrations, and there are always the American Girl books (we have no experience with these latter).

She might enjoy some graphic novels like the Baby Mouse series?
posted by girlbowler at 12:17 PM on September 14, 2010

Seconding American Girl, which has lots of smaller illustrations all through the text.

While there aren't pictures, Dear America and the companion series My America are great. Rather than chapters, they're written as diaries at different historical periods. Dear America focuses mostly on girls in their mid-teens, but My America focuses on younger kids - I think about the age of your daughter. It might be less intimidating because it's broken up into segments of a few paragraphs to a few pages?
posted by ChuraChura at 12:19 PM on September 14, 2010

2nding Quentin Blake's illustrated Roald Dahl books and D'Aulaire's (which I read so compulsively my parents had it rebound twice).
posted by jeather at 12:19 PM on September 14, 2010

The Invention of Hugo Cabret has many pages of text and then many pages of illustrations. Quite a neat book.

Or maybe your daughter would be more interested in non-fiction books in the DK eyewitness style? They do a fabulous job of pairing photographs with text.
posted by morganannie at 12:20 PM on September 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

One of the things I read when I transitioned to chapter books were the Berenstain Bears Big Chapter Books. I wasn't a reluctant chapter book reader, but I remember that one of the big reasons I was drawn to these books was that they were chapter book siblings to a picture book series that I already enjoyed.
posted by ocherdraco at 12:20 PM on September 14, 2010

Darn, I came to recommend The Invention of Hugo Cabret. It's fantastic.

Cricket Magazine might be good.
posted by Sukey Says at 12:22 PM on September 14, 2010

I have editions of Black Beauty and The Little Princess that are heavily illustrated. (Not fancy collectibles, just cheap reprints a la Barnes & Noble's bargain table.) Those might work, unless the Victorian prose proves too daunting.
posted by scratch at 12:23 PM on September 14, 2010

On preview: ooooooo, Cricket magazine! I grew up with it and it is dear to my heart. Seconding emphatically!
posted by scratch at 12:24 PM on September 14, 2010 [2 favorites]

Junie B. Jones! Lots of illustrations! Silly situations! Ridiculous nonsense! These were my kid's first chapter books and he really loved them.
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:24 PM on September 14, 2010

I can remember being a speedy reader and having a really hard time settling into Little House on the Prairie. Part of the problem with being an advanced reader is that the books that are at your level reading-wise are often outside of your interest level kidwise. You might also look into books that really up the interest level, even if they're not technically illustrated in the way your daughter seems to groove with. So, my suggestions.

- Winnie the Pooh - high interest & good words and structures while at the same time also sort of about cartoon-ish characters.
- Mystery & Intrigue like The Stinky Cheese Man or The Last Treasure by Janet Anderson. Maybe something fantasy-like like Bridge to Terabithia?
- Dav Pilkey and the Captain Underpants books are lower reading level than you daughter may want, but he has some other books [Kung Fu Cavemen] which would be more up her alley, heavily illustrated but not just comix.
posted by jessamyn at 12:24 PM on September 14, 2010

Illustrated Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass? The Tenniel illustrations are unparalleled. Of course, that may be too weird/out there for an 8-year-old, but I was that age when I first read them, and plus there was the recent Tim Burton movie ..... although Tenniel's weirdness still outpaces Tim Burton's weirdness by multiple factors .....
posted by blucevalo at 12:25 PM on September 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

Lots of "gift" and collector editions at big box bookstores have facing illustrations. She may be able to get into age-appropriate books whose movie adaptations she's seen (the first two Harry Potters, Narnia, etc.)

I also 2nd The Twits and nth Cricket. She may also appreciate whatever Zillions is called these days. I loved it at that age. My sisters were really into the Goosebumps series. And I believe about half of the Choose Your Own Adventure pages have pictures.
posted by SMPA at 12:36 PM on September 14, 2010

Seconding Junie B Jones!

Also the illustrated classics referenced by nadawi shouldn't be overlooked. My 9 yr old (so old already!) picked up a 1940's illustrated edition of The Swiss Family Robinson at a library book sale this summer. The book was a huge hit and we're planning to get some of the illustrated classics as a result.

Also, look into the Bunnicula series of books. They're illustrated, just not heavily so. However, your child may enjoy the stories of a vampire bunny.
posted by onhazier at 12:42 PM on September 14, 2010

I came in to mention Hugo Cabret, but I see someone's beat me to it. The first half is a graphic novel, the second a chapter book. But by the time she's through the first half she'll have to read through the rest out of sheer curiosity. My daughter loved that book when she was 8.
posted by Gucky at 12:47 PM on September 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

One of my favourite early chapter books was The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden. It's a sweet story with lots of gentle illustrations by Garth Williams.

The Borrowers is another high-interest chapter book with illustrations that I remember fondly. I think there is something universally interesting to children about the idea of little tiny people living secretly under the floorboards.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:52 PM on September 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

I have a nine year old and the exact same problem. Nothing I threw at her would stick so I just decided to roll with it. I decided to let her read what she wanted and read TO her what I wanted. Part of the problem when you have a precocious reader is that material that is appropriate for their reading level may not be appropriate (or engaging) for them maturity wise.

Stuff she likes: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Dork Diaries, Junie B Jones (been reading these since Kindergarten though - I think it's the lure of the familiar), anything about Pokemon and/or Avatar. (I ran with this and got her all of the Cardcaptor Sakura manga and she loved it). Anything featuring Garfield.

Stuff she will let me read but won't read independently: Roald Dahl, Wizard of Oz, Narnia Chronicles, Pixie Hollow Books, How to Train your Dragon, Emily Windsnap books

She hated the American Girl books. Harry Potter was too Scary, as was Percy Jackson. The Hobbit was too archaic (or boring).

We both have enjoyed the Clarice Bean books. There are SOME illustrations, often tucked into margins rather than full page, and there is a lot of play with text and fonts as well, which I think help to keep it engaging. The stories are cute without being overly trite, and actually present situations familiar to girls that age.

I started reading the first Guardians book to her and for the first time on record she is reading ahead on her own time. Who knows why that book and no others.
posted by lilnublet at 1:11 PM on September 14, 2010

Another in-road you might have on some of these books is the movies that were made from them. We're reading How to Train Your Dragon, and my kids are able to talk about some of the differences between the movie and the book. Pick out the best pairs that you know of, and maybe do a watch some - read some approach.
posted by ES Mom at 1:12 PM on September 14, 2010

Why don't you read aloud the beginning chapters of the best series' chapter books mentioned above to get her started?
posted by Elsie at 1:14 PM on September 14, 2010

Maybe chapter books that are more episodic, less one big story arc, would be good? I read a bunch of Beverly Cleary books at that age and I sometimes flipped to the most interesting-looking chapter and read that by itself, like a short story, and the rest later or on rereading. (E.g., I opened Emily's Runaway Imagination and went straight for the chapter about the pie. That one had good illustrations too!)
posted by clavicle at 1:17 PM on September 14, 2010

I've been trying to sort through this issue with my own son. I'm a big believer in letting kids read whatever they want, because an enthusiastic reader will work her way up to harder stuff on her own. Reading is reading. I still enjoy the occasional young adult novel, and so far it hasn't meant I couldn't later go back to harder stuff.

My son is about the same age as your daughter. He was reading simple chapter books, like the Magic Treehouse series, til he discovered a huge collection of graphic novels and manga at our local library. They have a few sections at my library: kids, teen, and adult. Stuff in the kids section ('faux-manga' I think you called it) is really fine--let her read blitz through it and enjoy it. It can be nice to have some light reading too.

If you have a good local library, encourage her to start talking to a children's librarian about what books she likes. My son now uses the librarians a whole bunch to find new and interesting things to read.

Good luck. And try not to worry about all the illustrated stuff--she'll get there.
posted by bluedaisy at 1:19 PM on September 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

Here are some rec's I give out to kids with this same issue (very common!).

The Amelia's Notebook series might work. It's pretty text-heavy but reads as a notebook/journal and has drawings and doodles throughout (less intimidating).

Different series, same first name: the Amelia Rules comics are super-super-popular and are also fairly meaty reading.

The Magic Pickle books are a step up from Captain Underpants level-wise and a bit less gross. They're popular with both genders.

The Ellie McDoodle books are similar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but girlier.

The Ivy + Bean books have great illustrations throughout, but lean more toward text.

The Just Grace books are the same way; small illustrations on most pages to keep things interesting, but lots more text.

And the Bad Kitty books are HI-larious. Big illustrations, larger chunks of text here and there.

Also, don't discount picture books just yet (unless your daughter thinks they're too babyish). There are TON of picture books that are great for this age and reading level. Older picture books tend to be more text-heavy, I find. Some good authors/books in this vein are:

William Steig (Dr. DeSoto)
Bernard Waber (Lyle Crocodile, Ira books)
Doreen Cronin (Diary of a Worm/Spider/Fly esp)
Kevin Henkes (some of his are less wordy, but Lily's Purple Plastic Purse, Julius the Baby of the World, etc. are perfect for this)
Russel Hoban's Francis books

Stop by your library and get some more rec's from your local librarian!
posted by Knicke at 1:22 PM on September 14, 2010 [2 favorites]

Grr, I meant the Ellie McDoodle books.
posted by Knicke at 1:30 PM on September 14, 2010

Nthing Hugo Cabret, Beverly Cleary, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid (and its various imitators).

My 10 y.o. who adores Avatar faux-manga also adores Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes, the Bone graphic novel series, and Yotsuba&! This question may also be useful to you. As might this one. And possibly this one, too.
posted by gnomeloaf at 1:35 PM on September 14, 2010

Factual:
- Children's Encyclopedias are probably a good bet - most have an entry that's a chunk of text with a picture.
- The Cartoon History of the Universe is aimed at adults if you want to get her to read something really meaty!

Fiction:
- How has no-one mentioned the Asterix books! Wordplay, interesting plots, funny, generally awesome (as long as you stick to the Goscinny & Uderzo, and avoid the Uderzo on his own). If that's not meaty enough, get her to read them in Latin.
- Black Ships Before Troy has some of the most lovely illustrations I've seen in a children's book, and it's good re-telling of the story of Troy to boot.
- Bone I'd say is eminently suitable for an eight year old. Stupid rat creatures!
- Wind in the Willows is one I loved - you'll need to check the edition as levels of illustration vary.
- Dinotopia has beautiful illustrations and a more than decent story.
- Terry Jones' Fairy Tales are great stories, but I don't know if the amount of illustration is enough for her. Jones also has the more illustrated book of silly verse, The Curse of the Vampire's Socks.

Finally, though it's difficult to get hold of, I would put the Wrestling Princess down as one of the most inspirational books I've read!
posted by Coobeastie at 1:35 PM on September 14, 2010

FINN FAMILY MOOMINTROLL

No, seriously, it was the best thing for me ever as a kid.
posted by dunkadunc at 1:37 PM on September 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

The "Ivy and Bean" series is pretty good for that.
posted by markmillard at 1:52 PM on September 14, 2010

How about poetry? Where the Sidewalk Ends and similar books have illustrations and short chunks of text that make it easy to skip around.
posted by emjaybee at 1:59 PM on September 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

We got through this period with my son with adult nonfiction, for example coffee table books, encyclopedia style or visual dictionary style books. These showed up in discount bins frequently and covered all sorts of topics interesting to a younger kid, including animals, nature, and mythological topics.

Asterix, Bone, Tin Tin and Captain Underpants were also popular through this time, but maybe not for your daughter.
posted by kch at 1:59 PM on September 14, 2010

I babysat for a family for a long time, and the first chapter books their youngest boy got into were the Warrior books by Erin Hunter. They're about warrior cats who live in a forest in a pretty much otherwise normal human world. I read him bits of them as bedtime stories (picking up wherever he'd left off on his own) and I'm pretty sure there were illustrations, although I can't remember if there were on every page.
posted by colfax at 2:01 PM on September 14, 2010

Oh, I came back into this thread just to say Shel Silverstein. I would say it in flashing 20pt neon pink letters, if this were 1997.
posted by SMPA at 2:10 PM on September 14, 2010

Don't overlook picture books, especially older picture books -- and folk tale picture books. They often have several paragraphs of text on every page and a fairly sophisticated reading level
posted by Jeanne at 2:41 PM on September 14, 2010

Alice in Wonderland! What is the use of a book without pictures or conversations?

Is she interested in any topic like animals or space? My 7 year old nonfiction junkie likes big encyclopedia-style books about his special interests - these are adult-level general interest type books that weigh a ton but have lots of awesome pictures interspersed with the text. You can usually find these cheap at the bargain tables of Borders and Barnes & Noble.
posted by Daily Alice at 2:43 PM on September 14, 2010

Dyslexia presents in different ways with different children and this inability (if it is an inability) to work with multiple sentences and paragraphs may be a sign of dyslexia. If that is the case it is better to know earlier rather than later. Diagnosis of subtle dyslexia like this is not always easy so it may pay to seek out someone with some specific expertise in your area.
posted by caddis at 3:14 PM on September 14, 2010

D'aulaire's really is great. When I was a kid I had condensed HG Wells stories with pictures throughout... the name escapes me, but it's something like Children's Classics.
posted by zvs at 3:43 PM on September 14, 2010

Funny nobody's mentioned Geronimo Stilton books. Chapter books with plenty of illustrations, and even some of the words are done in odd, playful fonts to break up the text. Those could be an excellent bridge for your daughter. My 7 year old loves chapter books, including the usual suspects (Magic School Bus, Narnia, Charlotte's Web), but he's especially keen on the Stilton books (there's a second series with Geronimo's sister Thea as well, but there's not much of a gender divide in them). He broke into my stash of Calvin & Hobbes as well, and quotes strips constantly.

And thanks everyone else for suggestions I can use, too
posted by GhostintheMachine at 3:56 PM on September 14, 2010

Definitely seconding Geronimo Stilton--that's the first series that came to my mind. The Judy Moody Series is very popular and has the occasional illustration, I believe. Her brother, Stink, also has his own series. Both are by Megan McDonald and seem to interest reluctant readers.

Also, I love Amelia's Notebook. I read them as a kid and now I recommend them to girls who like Diary of a Wimpy Kid (and there are a lot that fall into this category!).
posted by Junie Bloom at 4:14 PM on September 14, 2010

Aha, here's what I meant!
posted by zvs at 4:16 PM on September 14, 2010

Robert Ingpen has been illustrating children's classics lately and they're beautiful. Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan might be good for now, and then The Secret Garden when it comes out next spring.
posted by questionsandanchors at 5:19 PM on September 14, 2010

Betsy-Tacy!
posted by brujita at 9:31 PM on September 14, 2010

I was thinking again about this question before I went to sleep last night and I thought of another one: The Secret World of Og. We read this in elementary school and it was just fantastic. It's about a group of siblings (based on the author's children) who discover a secret world underground and go on a big adventure.

The author, Pierre Berton, was a very well-respected Canadian historian; he wrote a lot of history books like The Last Spike (about the building of the railroad), The Invasion of Canada, and Flames Across the Border. But he also wrote this book for his kids, and later on said of all the books he had written, The Secret World of Og was his favourite.

I have the feeling it might be more difficult to get hold of in the US. There are used copies available on Amazon.com, and new copies are currently in-stock at Amazon.ca. The new cover is very Lord-of-the-Ringsian, but don't let that fool you. The illustrations are actually very kid-friendly; they were done by Berton's daughter Patsy, who is also a character in the story.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:13 AM on September 15, 2010

Rather than a specific book, I have a recommendation for a technique to try, which my mom used to great effect: alternate pages with her, with you reading one, her reading the next, etc. We started with Tuck Everlasting that way, and I still remember how very much I wanted the story to continue, so I plowed through my parts willingly.
posted by palliser at 11:25 AM on September 15, 2010

Yesterday I decided I was going to try getting my 9 year old son into the McGurk Mysteries, written by E.W. Hildick. I read them when I was about his age, back in the early 80's, and they're a nice combination of illustrations and text.

Unfortunately they look to be out of print now, but maybe your library system has them?
posted by Lucinda at 7:47 AM on September 16, 2010

A bit late to this party, but I'm here to agree with those who suggested that you not discount picture books, many of which can have pretty complex prose. The strategy that I use with my similarly inclined (or disinclined) reader: we find illustrators that we like and then go to the library and find books by that illustrator. Then the authors that they've illustrated for lead us to other illustrators/author combos, and we continue on.

So, for example, we liked Giselle Potter (illustrator) who works with Candace Fleming (author); in looking for Fleming books, we found Alma Flor Ada (author) because Flor is next to Fleming. All these are in the Picture Book section of our library, and these are books that maybe only take 15-20 minutes to read, but they have complex sentences, interesting vocabulary, etc, and I think at this age that is a critically important thing to get out of a book (and not necessarily what you get in all chapter books: see for example the Daisy Meadows Rainbow Fairy books, for which I care very little).
posted by gubenuj at 1:38 PM on September 16, 2010 [1 favorite]